First, off-page search engine optimization is activity which occurs outside of your website, on the Internet, that improves search engine results page (SERP) placement. The concept is simple, but the implementation can be lengthy and overwhelming.  Essential practices for off-page optimization include developing quality links to your site through article marketing, directory submission, social media, social book marking, blogging, press releases, RSS feeds, and forum marketing.
Off-page optimizatiÂon is the most important SEO strategy you need to focus on to start your climb to that number one position on Google. One of the best ways to achieve this is with quality (not quantity) inbound links to your site; meaning sites linking to you should have a higher page rank than your site, helping you to move up in SERP’s. A couple things you need to consider when link building: First, make sure any sites linking to yours have a higher page rank than your site does, and be sure that inbound link text contains your key terms. For example, “SEO consultants” instead of “click here”, so spiders associate your keywords with your pages.
There are three main methods for building links to your site: one-way links, reciprocal links, and three-way links. One-way links are the strongest because you are essentially getting endorsed by a third party website. Reciprocal linking is a link exchange between two websites. In this case, you would link to another website, and they in-turn link to yours; this has value, but not as much as one way. Three-way links are a combination of one way and reciprocal linking. How does this work? By linking to a site and providing your link for the website owner to link back to your site, but instead of linking back from the original, site they link back from another website they own; this creates a one-way link to your site and theirs, it doesn’t appear as reciprocal linking, even though it really is.
Getting quality links to your site may sound like a simple task; however it is not as easy as it sounds. Link building takes a lot of time and effort on the part of the website manager, often several hours a day and results of this hard work generally take six months up to one year to appear. How do you get other quality websites to link to your page? Popular methods like Google AdSense and similar programs can be very pricey.
Another method is article writing. This method can take a lot of time, mainly because articles need to be submitted individually to several article sites. Each submission needs to be slightly different so that you are not penalized by search engines like Google for publishing duplicate content. Link building should be done methodically and consistently; don’t expect to rank number one in a week or even a month.
Another option for moving up in SERP’s is through social media; for example posting your link on FB, Twitter page and even You Tube. Once you have established a network, you can ask others to post and share your links on their sites, blogs and forums. Building followers can be tough and is also something that won’t happen overnight. Be sure to share you handle and your FB “like” button on any blog or webpage that you have and actively follow others yourself. Many people have automatic follows set up, so if you follow them, they will also follow you.
There are several other methods used to move up in SERP’s including press releases, forum marketing, RSS feeds and blogging. These create back links to your site; helping to increase page rank significantly over time. Remember, ranking first in search engines like Google is very competitive, with several industries and companies like yours all trying to rank number one.
Off- Page search engine optimization is not limited to writing blogs, press releases and spending hours on social media sites. Utilizing sources such as Google Places will also help. If you are not registered on Google places, register! This is one of the easiest methods to implement and it’s free. When creating your Google Places account remember that complete and relevant profile information will help your search engine results. Be sure to add as much content as possible, including soliciting customers to leave reviews. Also, don’t forget to add photos and videos.
Business owners, especially small business owners, often wear several hats. Some of those roles include project manager, customer service representative, outside sales, inside sales, accountant, human resource coordinator, custodian, logistical coordinator and the increasingly important role of Internet marketer and SEO analyst. With so many things to do in one day there is not always enough time to give one hundred percent effort in all areas of your business and for this reason, websites and businesses often suffer the consequences of neglect.
Having an amazing, user-friendly website with loads of bells and whistles may keep users searching your site and coming back once they’ve found it- but if your site can’t be found on a Google search, you will soon start noticing that you are not generating as much traffic as you would like. Many business owners spend a lot of money having highly sophisticated websites built without considering what happens after the site goes live. For many, spending money on SEO just seems like a waste of money, but truly the only waste of money, absent a well planned SEO strategy, will be the money you spent developing your site.
One of the primary reasons for unsuccessful websites is the lack of time spent on SEO, and the biggest reason for lack of time spent on SEO is lack of time! Business owners are busy and SEO is the easiest task to put on the back burner. Why? The answer is simple; SEO work doesn’t demand constant attention like customers, employees, and vendors. It’s understandable that we neglect the silent wheel and pay attention to the squeaky one.
Trying to implement a solid SEO plan can be overwhelming, but not to worry as there are plenty of reputable companies eager to help you. Many agencies including, Atwoodz, offer several tiers of search engine optimization packages, including on-page and off-page optimization. You can outsource article writing, press release drafting, e-blasts, link building, content optimization and just about anything else that can help move your website up the SERP.
Contact Atwoodz today if you are interested in learning how we can help you with website optimization. We will be happy to analyze your website and suggest a plan that will best optimize your site for the internet.