Off Page SEO Definition

Over the past decade, with the hyper growth rise of company earnings in the search industry, nearly everyone has heard of search engine optimization or seo. While the level of awareness has dramatically increased, the novice probably does not know the difference between on page and off page seo. In fact, most of the top internet marketing firms who are aware of the differences, do not understand how to effectively execute a scalable off page seo campaign for their clients. Most of these firms are forced to outsource their off page seo work to an agency that specializes in this constantly evolving complex segment of seo. To help decipher the what is off page seo question, in this blog, I will provide an off page seo definition and extrapolate on what it means.

“Off page seo is the practice of search engine optimization for factors including link building where the implementation of strategy occurs externally of the site architecture and the intent is to enhance the value of the owned webpage or website for a specific keyword or list of keywords in the SERPs.” – Andrew Bart, Founder & EVP of Digital Strategy at Pop Results

Off Page SEO Means – Relationship Building & Content Currency

At its core, off page seo means relationship building with other websites and blogs of relevance that are considered authoritative by search engines. Whether the goal is to gain additional traffic, enhance PageRank, MozRank, AuthorRank, or any of the other key metrics, by definition, off page seo requires that you engage with others in a creative way that is mutually beneficial. With the evolving rules of increasingly more intelligent search engines, the rules of the game are always changing but, one means of off page seo barter remains constant.

Quality editorial content is the currency of a solid white hat off page seo strategy. When this content currency is combined with a likeable or respected personality of authorship, websites and blogs are likely to accept this powerful on page seo value for their site. In the eyes of a search engine, the end result of the connection between the authoritative site, the respected author, and the site that provided the content is a dynamic connection or positive vote for the content provider. While the process of this execution is put in very simplistic terms, the fundamental principle is that off page seo entails the development of a relationship using a mutually beneficial editorial content currency that provides value to both parties involved.

Off Page SEO and Link Building – The Return

If quality content for on page seo value is the primary currency used to entice the third party website or blog, the primary return for the content provider besides the placement of the content is the value of having a targeted destination link that points their web property. This link serves as the driver of traffic, and it passes value of PageRank, MozRank, and other key off page seo metrics to the content providers page and site. Link building is the most talked about off page seo factor and it is also the most abused seo tactic. It is absolutely critical to utilize link building strategies that are not only white hat today but, you also need to have foresight on what the search engines are likely to deem as being inappropriate or unethical in the future.

At the end of the day, off page seo and link building strategies can seem like a cat and mouse game but, by adhering to the general principle of creating and distributing truly resourceful content, the search engines cannot deny the value. Tim Berners-Lee created a World Wide Web of information and that web is based on the connectivity of resourceful links. Personally, I do not see this foundational principle changing anytime soon.

Off Page SEO Is Like Being The Most Popular Person At The Most Influential Party

On a personal note, in addition to my work as the founder of Pop Results, I also happen to be the Director of Growth Initiatives at iAcquire. iAcquire is a leading digital agency and hands down the leader in the world in enterprise level content marketing and off page seo solutions. Between my in-the-trenches understanding of off page seo, content marketing, and link building strategies and being raised by a mother who has spent an entire career working in high net worth circles of philanthropy, I see a lot of parallels between the two.

As a child, my Mom took me to every fundraising event she organized and she taught me how to work the room. She schooled me on who to target, how to identify them, and the proper ways to approach them and engage on a personal and professional level. Off page seo is not so different. You need to be able to determine what website to approach. You need to know how to target them and you need to have a plan for approaching them to gain a long term relationship. Off page seo is about mingling for your website. Work the web like you would work a room.

Off Page SEO Definition