We will all probably agree that search engine optimization is very important when building a successful website or blog and off page SEO is a big part of this. We can break search engine optimization into two easy sections, on page and off page optimization.
On page SEO is what you do on your site and off page SEO is basically the back linking you do that points to the On page work you have done. Of course we can get more technical than this, but why bother?
When it comes to off page search engine optimization there are some critical tips to consider:
I know everyone is probably sick of hearing about keyword research, but someone has to talk about it. Unfortunately keyword research plays a massive part in off page search engine optimization and without it, your SEO efforts could be wasted.
The problem is, how can you perform Offpage SEO when you do not know what your keywords are in the first place? All so if you have performed on page search engine optimization, you must have optimize for some keywords. Therefore everything is revolving around your keyword research. You cannot optimize on page or of page without knowing your keyword goals.
There are many free and paid tools that you can use to better help you with your keyword research. I am sure that you have heard of some of these before:
Google Keyword Tool – Off Page SEO
What can I say about the Google keyword tool other than mentioning that is absolutely fantastic. Google updates it and adds more features to it regularly and it is always proved to steer me in the right direction. when using the Google keyword tool I always choose to search using the [exact match] option so I know who my direct competition is. When I research a keyword for a particular article, I like to see 200 or more exact match searches. When I am researching and actual niche topic for a website, I like to see 1000 or more exact searches for my main keyword. Obviously I also research other factors like the competition, the buying probability, and so on.
The original and most precise tool of all, it’s free to use and the information in this tool feeds pretty much all tools in general, so if you don’t know how to use Google’s keyword tool or how it can help you than you are certainly missing out.
Market Samurai or Keyword Elite
These are both paid tools that help you do keyword research, probably a little bit quicker than the Google keyword tool, and definitely required for professional bloggers. Time is a big factor when it comes to running more than one blog or website and any tool that will help you save time is a must!
You also have Seo Book’s Keyword Suggestion Tool which is great and really powerful.
#2. Anchor Text
Anchor text is like putting a hook on your line and going fishing. It is the words you display on your link that points back to your pages. Hopefully the words you use will spike people's curiosity and entice them to click on your link.
Here are some examples of links:
Lets say I want to link to this page http://letsbuildwebsites.com//seo-tips-to-dominate-google/ and the keywords are Dominate Google, Dominate Google search results, and so on.
If I was to leave the entire URL (uniform resource locator) or web address on someones website it would simply look messy. So this is not a normal practice.
Using CLICK HERE for the anchor text is good for some variety but does not tell Google Bots or Humans what the link is pointing to.
Therefore the best anchor text link is to link to use the keywords as the anchor text like this: dominate Google search results
So when a person clicks on this link they will be expecting to see an article about how to dominate Google search results. The link looks neat and tidy compared to the raw URL and is more explanatory then this simple words saying “click here”.
Using a variety of anchor text is recommended so your back linking looks a little bit more natural. You can learn more in my FREE report SEO My Way.
#3. Quality of Back Links to Your Website
So you know how important keywords are and you can understand why we need to use anchor text for the keyword, but now we need to talk about the quality of your back links. Unfortunately, not all websites, or even pages, are equal in the Internet world. There are many factors that can determine the quality of a website or page. For example, some aspects that determine quality include the age of a website, the page rank of a website, the social engagement of a website, and even the quality of the content.
Of course the ultimate goal is to get back links pointing to your website from pages that have a high Google page rank. Obviously these pages are trusted by Google and these sites can pass on the trust to you. However in the real world, it is not that easy to get back links on high page rank websites, but quality websites do not always have a great page rank. The next best thing is to look for older websites that have good regular content flowing through them.
To find out a few SEO details for a website you might want to put a back link on, you can simply use one of the many free tools available that can be added into your browser. For example SEOmoz Toolbar or SEO Quake. Look them up as every webmaster needs one of these tools. The screen shot below shows SEO Quake for Firefox.
If you can get a back link on the page rank five or more website, good for you! But if you cannot then 10 back links from page rank one or two websites can add up to the same value. It is a lot more work but if you can't get the big page rank sites then you still have the other options.
Watch This Video Tutorial Showing Off Page SEO
All of these tips mentioned above go hand in hand. The anchor text, which is the back link you leave on someones website, ultimately should be represented by the keyword that describes the content on your page the best. This is the real key to off page SEO because building links that misrepresent your content is like telling a lie.
If you can always supply the highest quality content that you have promised in your back link anchor text, your off page SEO will skyrocket your blog's success.