1. Content Structure
2. Keyword Research
3. On-Site SEO
4. Voice Search
5. —>Off-Site SEO <—
6. Local SEO

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Off-Site SEO Guide for Small Business

Your website is stocked with useful, authoritative content. You have an appealing blog, good keyword targeting, and legitimate conversions. But how does Google know how to rank your business compared to other, similarly well-prepared search results? This is where off-site SEO comes in.  Your domain’s perceived authority, authenticity, and popularity will be rated primarily by your off-site strategy and growing presence on the world wide web.

Off-site SEO is critical for small businesses building authority in the greater digital sphere, and many of the methods are approachable for a small team.

Of-site SEO is how you build relevance for your website through backlinks, reviews, web presence, and partnerships. It is your greater web presence strategy, your link-building strategy, and your off-site conversion strategy – all judged by Google to improve your chances of that top spot on the page of relevant searches.

• Backlinks and Link-Building Strategy
• Manage Your Business Listings
  •  Google Business Profile
  • Yelp
  • Angie
• Social Media and Extended Web Presence
• Content Worth Back-Linking
• Influencers and Advertising Partners
• Professional Directories
• Linked Videos and Podcasts
• Guest Posts and Interview Hosts
• Claim Unlinked References

Backlinks and Link-Building Strategy

• Links to your domain from other websites
• Affiliate links and partner links
• Third-party business profiles and listings
• Reference links to your authority content
• Guest appearance links back to the brand

First, let’s talk about backlinks and link-building. A backlink is a link on another website that leads back to one of your pages. Every page that earns a backlink gains greater perceived importance and authority. After all, if your content is worth linking to, it must have greater value. Before those wheels start turning, however, consider that Google already has many defenses against exploitative link-building strategies including link buying, link listing, link circles, low-value links and even news release frequency.

Link-building strategy is a core part of off-site SEO, and there are many ways to do it. In addition, off-site SEO includes places where your products are mentioned and even the SEO achieved by reviews on third-party profiles of your business. Let’s dive into the many ways to build your small business’ off-site SEO.

Manage Your Business Listings

•  Google Business Profile
• Yelp
• Angie

Business listings are third-party sites where your business has an entry that people look up. Google has an internal business listing system that used to be your Google Maps Pin, then Google My Business, and now is called the Google Business Profile. Yelp was once limited to restaurants, but is now an overall place to list and rank local businesses of all types. Angie was recently called Angie’s List and is like Yelp for local service businesses like contractor and HVAC repair.

Whether you are public-facing or even an enclosed B2B office, claim your public listings and create a positive online presence baseline for client searches to find.

• Claim Your Business
  • Look up your business or address on each listing site and claim it as the owner. Take control of the listing and begin tailoring it for a brand experience.
• Fill Out the Details
  • Fill out the proper name, categories, and description of your business. Use every tool and data-entry option available, then setup online booking or ordering, if possible. Use your top keywords when building descriptions of your business and product to help guide ready local customers to your services.
  • Include links to your website, products, and services where appropriate.
• Stock with Great Photos
  • In business listings, photos go a long way. Some venues get tons of user photos, some only have a few interior shots from the staff. Seed your listings with attractive photos of the exterior, client-facing interior, and goods provided by your business.
• Respond to Reviews
  • When reviews come in, respond promptly! Say “thank you” or offer customer service, if appropriate. A responsive business earns more traffic over time.

Social Media and Extended Web Presence

Build your social media presence and your presence across appropriate platforms. Make a business account and maintain regular posts in at least three social media platforms, using similar campaign assets refitted for each. The goal is to spread the word. Through venues like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, you can create a constant stream of links trailing back to your website. While your initial postings typically do not increase your off-page SEO rating, re-tweets, copies, and new links to your revealed content can provide off-site SEO points.

If there are social sites just for professionals who use your products or for businesses in your niche, join them and make a profile. Grow your online presence and increase the total awareness of your brand to increase the potential for links back to your website.

Content Worth Back-Linking

• Original Data and Statistics
• Compelling and Useful Infographics
• Useful Web Tools
• Clearly Detailed Guides and Outlines
• Funny and Meaningful Illustrations
• Cool How-It-Works Demonstrations

Building visibility is essential, but the true key to backlinks is content worth linking to. This is where your off-site SEO strategy circles back to content creation. If you create content that people want to share and link to – especially content that is not easily summarized without a reference – then you will win an increasing number of backlinks through your awareness campaigns.

Original data is useful to those who need to quote stats, so take surveys and publish the results. Infographics from a skilled illustrator, or meaningful cartoon illustrations also win links from those who need to demonstrate concepts. Web tools are linked by those who are providing useful advice and resources, while guides and demonstrations are linked because how-to information is always useful.

Influencers and Advertising Partners

Marketing partnerships are now the name of the game. Affiliates, influencer partners, and businesses who join in joint marketing are invaluable because they allow you to blend your audiences. When an influencer shares your products, they are exposing your brand to their own broad audience. When two businesses do a joining marketing campaign, they blend their audiences and swap awareness-building efforts.

Off-site SEO comes from the fact that these cross-promotions are almost always paired both with links and a growing audience of people to click those links. The more off-site access and traffic you generate, the greater your off-site SEO score can grow.

Professional Directories

Join directories related to your industry and service. There are directories for local contractors, for personal attorneys, and for physicians of every specialty. There are local business directories you can join and business associations or alliances that you can become a part of. Joining groups is a great way to get your business – and your website – listed on a directory where both readers and search engines look for answers.

Directory listings are the last legitimate form of link-listing because each directory is a useful resource listing vetted and legitimate businesses or providers.

Linked Videos and Podcasts

A video strategy is a powerful tool for small businesses. If you have a studio and routine ready to quickly produce fun social videos or informative product videos, you can use your video series to build some serious off-site SEO opportunities.

Build a YouTube Channel

First, start a YouTube channel. Embed your brand name, region, and keywords into the title and descriptive elements. Make yourself easy to find and prepare the channel to host a series of interesting or useful videos. 

Know When to Upload or Link Videos

Some platforms like videos linked to YouTube, some want you to upload directly. Know the difference and gain the SEO boost from using the right method when sharing your videos on social platforms.

Each Video is an Off-Site SEO Asset

Every video title and description is a chance for SEO and off-site SEO strategy. Use your keywords carefully regarding both the brand and content of the video. Then use a standardized YouTube video description template to create navigable links to related videos and on-site pages.

Guest Posts and Interview Hosts

Guest posting is another great way to build off-site links through publication partners. Whether you are working with influencers, complementary brands, or broadcast publications, a guest post can share your brand expertise and personality in a way that wins customers from a shared audience.

One word of warning: Ensure every guest post you share or host has a high content value. Google has cracked down on low-value guest posting in the past.

Send professional guests to niche and industry podcasts. Write expert advice from a new perspective – for clients of other brands with different but related immediate concerns. Share advice or industry knowledge. Then make sure your expert’s name, your company, and the brand website are included in the credits.

Claim Unlinked References

Last but not least, you probably have a few “unclaimed” links out there. These are places where your content was referenced by another article or post without a attributing link. Link reclamation tools can help you scan the internet for quotes of your own pages and identify these unclaimed links. Then, send a friendly email regarding link reclamation and offer a partnership opportunity in return for propper off-site link-building attribution.

If you are ready to up your game on building backlinks, contact us for a consultation on your current backlinking strategy and success.

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