Offsite SEO Strategies-Summary

In an earlier post, "Onsite SEO vs. Offsite SEO (Search Engine Optimization)," there are two main ways to make your site more likely to be found on the free side (organic search results) on a search engine: Onsite SEO and Offsite SEO.

To quickly remind you...

• Onsite SEO is when you adjust YOUR website to make it easier for people to find you.
• Offisite SEO is when you leave your site to attract people to your site.

This post will focus on Offsite SEO.

Once you create your website, it becomes sort of a politician.  It's always trying to do whatever it takes to get votes.

Actually, they're not votes; they're backlinks from their site to your site.

Except in this election, you can get votes from other people, or you can get them from yourself.

Getting Backlinks (Votes) from Yourself


Doing things to get backlinks for yourself is just simply marketing yourself.

There are lots of ways to do this, but here are a few of my favorites.

• Press Release: This, in my opinion, is a must.  At the very least, you should write your own press release about your site launching.  Make sure that you include a link to your site.  (This is a backlink.)
• Blog Commenting:  Find other people's blogs that relate to your website, and make an insightful post that also include a backlink to your site.  This is key, because you do not want people to ignore you.  (That's called Spamming, and we all hate spammers, because it's annoying to read, and it poisons the Internet when we want to use it to learn something ourselves.)
• Forum Posting:  Find forums that relate to your topic.  Either you can leave a post or create a new thread (topic).  Of course, leave a link to your website.
• Articles:  Write a helpful, interesting, or entertaining article.  Truthfully, you can put together a mediocre article, if you want, because you can still leave a backlink to your site.
• Directories:  You can pay to be on some directories, and there are free ones, too.  When I'm first starting (and my site has not, yet, generated any money for me), I like to find free directories.  Submit your website link, and you have another backlink to your site.

Other things that you can do are make videos, create social bookmarks, Facebook or other social media posting, and the list continues.

Getting Backlinks (Votes) from Others

It is nice to be able to cast your own votes, but things are easier if you get help from other people.

Here are a few things you can do to improve your chances of getting links to your website from other places:

• Provide Helpful Material:  You can write a blog with helpful hints (Like this one?  I know...That is a shameless plug!!!).  If enough people find your site helpful, they will want to link to it or tell other people about it.
• Comment on Other People's Sites:  Many people would never find you on their own, but you if leave a thoughtful or helpful comment, the owner of the website (or article, forum thread, etc.) will notice you.  Sometimes, that person will be curious enough to visit your website.  Some of those people might link to your website.
• Become the Topic Authority:  Find questions that people have on forums and answer them.  Write articles that help with a problem that a lot of people have.  Do this often, and it becomes a way of branding yourself.  Like Coca Cola, people will think of you first when they begin to think of your topic.  Isn't that what you want, anyway?

I did not provide any details how to achieve these things, but the tips here should be enough to get you thinking in the right direction.

Let me know of any other suggestions people have.  I am always open to learn ways to "get more votes."

Return to the Genesee Internet Club Home Page