On-page SEO involves straightforward actions you can take to improve your website, such as fresh content, adding alt tags to images and keeping meta descriptions short.
Off-page SEO, on the other hand, focuses on improving your site's reputation elsewhere on the web.
Budget-friendly marketing
Sure, you can get your name out there by creating LinkedIn ad campaigns; you can even use lead gen forms to obtain personal data from potential clients. Sponsored Google ads can ensure your product is at the the top of a user's search result.
These tactics work, but they are not cheap. It also takes a lot of time to understand how to get your content served to the right person, at the right stage in the buying process. You might not even see a return on your investment. This is especially true for sectors with strong competition.
Instead, investigate the cheaper route: organic search results instead of paid advertising. In a recent blog post we looked at what you as a small business owner can do to improve on-page SEO. This time, we'll look at off-page SEO.
Interested to learn more about easy on-page SEO tactics? Read our blog post 'Small business tips: On-page SEO'.
Off-page SEO tactics
1. Link Building
Links to your website from reputable URLs indicate to Google that your site is useful/worthy/good. And therefore Google will be more likely to show your pages in search results over other pages that it doesn't think offer quite as good a response to someone's search query.
An insider's trick is to find your competitor's backlinks using a backlink checker tool, and then try to get your company referenced in the same places. It won't be quick or easy, however it could generate referral traffic as well as improve your SEO.
- Aim for backlinks from different domains, not 100 from same site.
- Focus on legitimate, reputable sites - no dodgy directories à la 1998.
2. Content marketing
Engage with your audience on social media. While links from social media have no intrinsic backlink value, they will drive traffic to your website.
Find relevant social media influencers. If you're not sure who the best influencers are for your product/service, look into a free trial from BuzzGuru influencer analytics, or search different platforms for your keywords and see whose content pops up. If you send them your product, they might just like it so much they share it on their channel! Alternatively, discuss a paid collaboration with them.
Consider writing guest posts, hosting your own podcast, being a guest on other podcasts, and answering queries on forums. Content is king!
3. Reviews
Ask your customers to write reviews on sites like TripAdvisor and Trustpilot, or sign up to a service like Feefo. If you sell on Amazon or another platform, ask customers to leave you reviews there.
Monitor all relevant review sites and respond to all reviews.
4. Give yourself something new to talk about
Stay active to increase PR opportunities. Host events and webinars, have sales and seasonal promotions, add new products and services to your portfolio. Consider sponsoring an event or even a local sports team.
If you're doing something new and exciting, it's likely that others will talk about it, too.
5. Focus on local results
Don't forget Google likes to show local results, so make sure to fill in a Google Business Profile, respond to reviews there, and add photos/videos.
Try to ensure any citations on the internet which include your name/address/phone number are all correct; for example in business directories, social media, review sites etc.
Next steps
It's not quick, and it's not as easy as on-page SEO, however off-page SEO will improve your organic search performance. This opens the door for new clients and more sales. Give it a go!
If your business needs a cash injection to fund this next stage of your marketing plan, talk to us about a peer-to-peer loan. From business growth tips to business finance, we're dedicated to small business success.
