[intro]In this guide, you’ll learn all about the different aspects of Off-Page SEO and how it is utilised to improve the ranking of your EKM online shop. 

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Off-page SEO refers to the strategies and actions taken outside of your own domain to improve search engine rankings, online visibility, and website authority. Unlike on-page SEO, which focuses on optimising your domain’s content and structure, off-page SEO relies on external factors that demonstrate your site’s credibility and popularity.

Why is Off-Page SEO Important?

Off-page SEO plays a crucial role in:

  • Search engine rankings: Quality backlinks signal to Google that your site is trustworthy and relevant, helping it to rank higher in search engine results.
  • Authority and trust: Links from reputable sites act as endorsements for your content.
  • Brand exposure: Being mentioned or linked across different platforms expands your audience.
  • Referral traffic: Visitors coming from other websites are often highly engaged.
  • Online reputation: Engaging in off-page activities helps maintain a positive brand image.
  • Competitive advantage: Strong off-page SEO can help you outperform competitors.

[tips] Always focus on ethical, natural strategies. Avoid black-hat tactics such as buying spammy links, which can harm your SEO. [/tips]

Key off-page SEO tactics include:

1. Backlinks: Backlinks, also known as inbound links or incoming links, are links from other websites that point to your website. Search engines consider high-quality, relevant backlinks as indicators of your website's authority and credibility. The more authoritative and relevant the linking site, the more value the backlink holds.

2. Link Building: This is the process of actively seeking and acquiring backlinks from other websites. Effective link building involves creating valuable content that other websites want to link to, reaching out to industry influencers and participating in relevant online communities.

3. Social Signals: While the exact impact of social signals on search rankings is debated, social media engagement (likes, shares, comments, etc.) can indirectly influence your domain's visibility. Popular content tends to attract more attention and potentially more backlinks.

4. Brand Mentions: Even without a direct link, brand mentions across the internet can contribute to your website's authority. Google's algorithms can recognise and attribute brand mentions, especially when they come from reputable sources.

5. Influencer Outreach: Building relationships with influencers and industry experts can help you gain exposure to their audiences. If they share or mention your content, it can lead to more visibility and potential backlinks.

6. Content Marketing: Creating high-quality, valuable content can naturally attract backlinks and shares from other websites. This can include blog posts, infographics, videos, and other forms of content that are useful and relevant to your target audience.

7. Guest Posting: Writing articles as a guest contributor for other reputable websites in your industry can help you showcase your expertise and gain backlinks to your own website.

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What is Guest Posting?

Guest posting is when you write articles for another website or blog in your industry. Approved articles often include backlinks to your site, helping you:

  • Gain authority in your niche
  • Increase brand exposure
  • Attract referral traffic

Being invited to write blog articles on someone else’s blog or having your article published on a website with you as the author is called guest posting. It’s a fantastic strategy to acquire backlinks and build up your profile as an authority and expert in your industry or niche. Many websites have guest blogging opportunities where you can submit your articles to be reviewed and, if approved, published on the website. If within the policies of that website, one or two backlinks might be allowed as well, providing opportunities to build authority on your domain. Before deciding whether a guest post opportunity would be worthwhile, always check the Domain Authority of the domain and how well the website is ranking for industry and topic keywords that relate to your EKM online shop.

Doing a topic gap analysis, which means looking at which topics the website has or hasn’t covered yet in its content, will allow you to strategically approach them with content that they would find valuable and would help them improve their search engine rankings as well.

When you approach these guest post opportunities with a data-focused approach, presenting relevant topics that haven’t been published yet and targeting keywords with a decent search volume, then there is a high chance that you’ll be featured and can gain quality backlinks from that site. [/tips]

8. Online Directories and Listings: Submitting your website to relevant online directories and business listings can help improve your online presence and provide additional sources of backlinks.

9. Press Releases: Distributing well-crafted press releases about important events, product launches, or significant updates related to your business can lead to media coverage and backlinks from news sites.

10. Forum and Community Engagement: Participating in online forums, communities, and discussion boards related to your niche can help you establish yourself as an authority. Sharing valuable insights and linking to your content when relevant can attract traffic and backlinks.

11. Broken Link Building: Identifying broken links on other websites and suggesting your content as a replacement can help you earn new backlinks.

12. Local SEO: For businesses with a physical presence, optimising for local search can involve getting listed on Google My Business and other local directories, which can lead to better local search visibility.

Remember, the key to successful off-page SEO is to focus on providing value, building genuine relationships, and earning backlinks naturally. Avoid black-hat SEO tactics that can harm your website's reputation and result in search engine penalties. Over time, a well-executed off-page SEO strategy can contribute significantly to your website's authority, traffic, and search engine rankings.

What are Backlinks?

Backlinks, also called inbound links, are hyperlinks from other websites that point to your website. They are considered ‘votes of confidence’ by search engines; the more high-quality, relevant backlinks you have, the more authoritative your website appears. Backlinks help drive traffic, improve visibility, and strengthen your site’s credibility.

What are Backlinking Strategies?

Backlinking strategies are methods used to acquire high-quality, relevant links. Some effective approaches include:

  • Guest posting – Contribute content to reputable websites.
  • Influencer outreach – Collaborate with influencers to gain mentions and links.
  • Content creation – Develop high-quality, shareable content.
  • Broken link building – Replace broken links on other sites with your content.
  • Competitor analysis – Identify where competitors are getting links and reach out to the same sources.
  • #journorequest – Respond to journalist queries to earn backlinks.
  • Local listings and directories – Build links from relevant local websites.
  • Social media engagement – Shares can attract attention and links naturally.

Focus on quality over quantity. Links from authoritative and relevant websites are far more valuable than numerous low-quality links.

What is Link Equity?

Link equity refers to the value or authority passed through backlinks from one website to another. The more high-quality links pointing to your site, the higher your link equity, which can improve your search rankings. Evaluating relevance is equally important. Backlinks from websites related to your industry or niche are more valuable than those from unrelated sites. Search engines analyse these connections to determine how relevant and reliable your content is, which significantly impacts your overall SEO performance.

How can I maximise Link Equity?

To maximise link equity:

  • Diversify your backlinks across multiple high-quality websites - By obtaining links from various high-quality websites, you can enhance your domain's overall authority. This diverse link portfolio helps search engines recognise your website as a reputable source of information. Diversifying your backlink profile is crucial. 
  • Use internal linking strategically to distribute authority throughout your EKM online shop - An effective distribution of internal links throughout your website is essential for optimising link equity. By strategically placing internal links within relevant content, you can guide both users and search engines to essential pages on your EKM online shop.
  • Use descriptive anchor text for links - Understanding the role of anchor text in internal linking is very important. Using descriptive anchor text that includes relevant keywords can further enhance the SEO value of these internal links.
  • Regularly audit backlinks and disavow harmful or spammy links – you can do this using the Backlink Healthcheck page in your EKM SEO account. 

Best Practices for Improving Link Equity

  • Focus on quality content that others naturally want to link to
  • Create a clear site hierarchy and internal linking structure
  • Build genuine relationships with other websites, influencers, and industry experts
  • Continuously analyse competitor backlinks for new opportunities

Remember: off-page SEO and link building take patience and consistency. Quality, relevance, and ethical strategies will pay off in the long run.

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[contact]If you need our help with your EKM online shop, contact your Ecommerce Expert, Account Manager, or the Customer Support Team, who can point you in the right direction. Our opening hours are 9 am - 5.30 pm Monday to Friday, for telephone calls, live chats, and emails. Outside of these hours, you can leave a message for us in the live chat window or email support@ekm.com, and we will answer as soon as possible. If you'd like to suggest a feature or an upgrade on any of the EKM platforms, please let us know on the EKM Suggestions Board. [/contact]