What is Off-Page SEO?
Off page optimization (off-page SEO) is a strategy for search engine optimization that is done off the pages of a website to maximize its performance in the search engines for target keywords related to the page content. Examples of off page optimization include linking, and placing keywords within link anchor text. Methods of obtaining links can also be considered off-page optimization. These include:
- Public relations
- Article distribution
- Social networking via sites like Digg and Slashdot
- Link campaigns, such as asking complementary businesses to provide links
- Directory listings
- Link exchange
- 3 way linking
- One way linking
- Blogging
- Forum posting
- Multiway linking
This definition came from the online dictionary, wikipedia.
Page Rank
Again lets reference wikipedia on the definition. PageRank is a link analysis algorithm that assigns a numerical weighting to each element of a hyperlinked set of documents, such as the World Wide Web, with the purpose of “measuring” its relative importance within the set. The algorithm may be applied to any collection of entities with reciprocal quotations and references. The numerical weight that it assigns to any given element E is also called the PageRank of E and denoted by PR(E).
The name PageRank is a trademark of Google. The PageRank process has been patented (U.S. Patent 6,285,999). The patent is not assigned to Google but to Stanford University.
Link Poplularity
Link popularity is a measure of the quantity and quality of other web sites that link to a specific site on the World Wide Web. It is an example of the move by search engines towards off-the-page-criteria to determine quality content. In theory, off-the-page-criteria adds the aspect of impartiality to search engine rankings. Link popularity plays an important role in the visibility of a web site among the top of the search results. Indeed, some search engines require at least one or more links coming to a web site, otherwise they will drop it from their index.
Search engines such as Google use a special link analysis system to rank web pages. Citations from other WWW authors help to define a site’s reputation. The philosophy of link popularity is that important sites will attract many links. Content-poor sites will have difficulty attracting any links. Link popularity assumes that not all incoming links are equal, as an inbound link from a major directory carries more weight than an inbound link from an obscure personal home page. In other words, the quality of incoming links counts more than sheer numbers of them. Of course this is from wikipedia again.
Inbound Marketing Strategy
Now that we have the definitions out of the way, how do we put these terms to use? It will be some hard work, but I think the biggest effort needs to be in building relationships. Make a goal of how many inbound links you want to bring to your site each week and try to meet it every time. Try to network with decent page ranked sites. Do linkage searches on your competitors and see who is inbound linking to them. Call those sites and get on their sites as well. Once you establish the relationships, then you can get them to format the links in a way that will bring the highest value for your site’s inbound links. In addition, you should write articles on your blog and reference back to you site’s shopping cart to promote certain items. Create a buzz about them. If you would like any other tips on this subject, be sure to write me at eric@vandermause.com. Have a great week!!!
