3 Off-Page Ranking Factors (Off-page site optimization)
In indexing and ranking pages, Google also uses off-page factors. Off-page factors are factors outside your website. Three Important off-page aspects you should pay special attention to include:
1. Back-Links
- Google considers back-links as votes of confidence: when different, high quality sites link back to your website, it tells Google that other webmasters/users find your content helpful. Thus, it boosts your ranking because being helpful is an integral part of Google mission statement.
In terms of back-links, pay special attention to the following
- The Number of Domains Linking Back To Your Site: This one is major. Google uses back-links as votes of confidence: more domains linking back to your site=better rankings.
- Number of Linking Pages: There are instances where one domain will link to you several times. While this may positively affect your overall rank, it is generally better to have multiple pages linking back to your site. Each back-link from a single page counts as a vote; thus, more pages linking back to your content=more votes=better rankings.
- The Rank of the Linking Page: Not all websites and pages are equal. Some pages and domains have better rank. It is better for your website ranking if pages with a high PR (better-ranked pages) link back to you. As you build links, aim to have high quality websites link back to you.
- Link Relevancy: Imagine this, your website is about Games, and then, a site talking about Fishing links back to a page on your website; do you think Google would pay any special relevance to that backlink? NO. Links from pages relative to your subject hold the ranking relevance.
- Homepage Links: According to some SEO theory, links from a homepage carry much more weight compared to links to other pages on the same domain.
- Domain Authority: The authority of a domain linking back to your site is a ranking factor; links from authority sites will boost your rankings.
- Link Diversity: The variety and types of links pointing back to your site matters a great deal. You should aim to create a variety of links. Thanks to Google Penguin, too many links of a similar type may appear spammy and negatively affect your ranking. For instance, having too many homepage links and no other page links may also appear spammy. One thing you should note is that Google does not advocate for link building. Instead, they advocate for natural back linking that provide value to their customers.
- DoFollow vs. NoFollow Links: Google does not count NoFollow links. If you have a ton of NoFollow links and minimal DoFollow links, it is bound to affect your ranking.
- Link Anchor and Contextual Links: Links placed within the body of content hold more relevance when compared to links placed on the side bar. On the other hand, keywords on link anchors can appear spammy and negatively affect ranking.
2. Social Mentions
- Social mentions such as Facebook likes, shares, Tweets,WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, LinkedIn shares, and shares on other social platforms such as YouTube, Pinterest, and social bookmarks is yet another off-page ranking factor
3. Trust and Authority
- As a search engine-ranking factor, trust and domain authority have evolved. In the early days of search, domain age was an important ranking factor. Fast forward to today, since Google web crawlers and search algorithm have evolved, so has domain trust and authority.
- To increase website trust and authority, employ author and publisher tags on your content, be active on social media (social mentions), and liaise with influencers and invite them to publish content on your website/platform. Another ideal way to build trust is to have a central publishing voice on your website or blog, i.e. one-person developing content, publishing it, and promoting it on social media platforms. According to Google, to be successful in your off-page ranking, concentrate on on-page SEO by producing great content that others want to link back to.