Basically the SEO Off Page includes all external positioning factors, ie those that do not belong “to your page” and theoretically you can not control directly through the SEO On Page .
Although the SEO On page is fundamental to create a good base of positioning, most of the factors that influence the ranking of a page are based on Off Page Optimization.
And very especially, still in 2018 , in the quantity and quality of the links that point to your pages.
And since links are so important for positioning, it is normal for SEO Off Page to have as main objective to obtain or facilitate other pages linking to yours.
And also to talk about them in Social Networks, Forums, Blogs, etc.
The best answer is: both.
SEO On Page is essential, but by itself does not guarantee a good positioning, especially when you fight in competitive niches.
And that’s where the SEO Off Page comes in, which will help you gain authority and raise search positions.
Getting Inbound Links (“Link Building” in English) can be one of the most annoying, but necessary, tasks in almost every SEO campaign.
Therefore, it is an activity that you must at least know because it is very important in Web Positioning.
Because they greatly influence the PageRank , since Google considers each link as a “vote of confidence”
Every time you get a link, you talk about your page on Facebook , Twitter , Google Plus , etc., Google “takes note” that your content is good enough to be shared.
Of course not all links have the same importance, those that come from recognized authorities (for example Wikipedia ) will contribute more to your positioning than dozens of links of lower quality (for example comments in Blogs)
We all know that it is not easy to get a link from a website with Authority, and Google knows it too, that is why the Authority plays such an important role when evaluating the links.
You will find many opinions about the links dofollow or nofollow, and I will give you mine, but I beg you to investigate for yourself and apply common sense.
In principle it is assumed that “dofollow” links are those that transfer you part of the Authority and Pagerank of the page that links you.
And the “nofollow”, because they simply mention you, but they do not transmit authority or PageRank.
However, not everything is so simple. In the first place because (to my knowledge) no one has shown that this is always the case, so it is possible that they will transfer (even if it is a part) these benefits.
In addition, each link, of whatever kind, is an opportunity to get visitors, who tend to be of better quality (more relevant to your offer) than organic visitors.
And finally: nofollow links are necessary to have a natural profile, and decrease the risk of being penalized. It would not be logical that most of your links are dofollow.
They are the most valuable links, and therefore the most difficult to obtain.
The most recommended technique to achieve them is to create quality content that is useful to your visitors, and that encourages them to share it.
And although it seems complicated is the logical thing: if you share value with your visitors it is more possible that they share it in turn.
But … and this is very important, do not trust that they link you and share “because you’re worth it”
Unfortunately, this does not happen often, so you should make sure to introduce promotion techniques and distribution of your content.
Promote and distribute your own content, nobody will do it with more affection.
Although I have already talked about the optimization of content, and its importance for SEO On Page, in Optimizing the factors I summarize some essential points:
As I said, unfortunately, even if you publish quality content you will not always be rewarded with a tide of visitors and mentions in Social Networks.
Today, still in 2018, to leave in the first positions are needed links.
The main problem: most websites find it impossible to get enough organic links to position themselves.
And do not say if you want to position yourself in some very competitive niche or “special”, where it is extremely difficult to position yourself with organic links, because your visitor profile is not given to share.
These difficulties make the “Link building” so popular, and necessary in many occasions, and that is why it is usually offered as part of the Web Positioning campaigns.
Comment on Blogs and participate in Forums is an activity that can provide multiple benefits.
In addition to getting links you can generate interesting relationships with other people, and in the process learn by participating.
Do not comment on a blog just to get a link: it adds value.
If you collaborate with an interesting comment that adds value to the conversation, you will create links with the other participants, they will be interested in you and it is very possible that they visit your website.
Do not be tempted to use the comments as a strategy to get links in bulk, with a tool like Scrapebox or similar.
The time it would take you to organize a comment campaign with an automated tool would be much better spent looking for authoritative blogs in your niche and providing valuable comments.
Keep in mind that the vast majority of links that you can insert into a blog or forum are going to be “nofollow”, but they will help you create a natural anchor text map and (if you choose well where to comment) a good thematic relevance in your niche
Guest Blogging consists of publishing articles on third-party websites, and it is one of the best tactics for obtaining links since (if the article is of quality) in addition to getting one or several links you can generate direct traffic.
The process is relatively simple: it is about finding the most popular and relevant blogs in your niche and identifying those that accept the publication of guest articles.
In exchange for your article you usually get a link to your page in the author’s biography at the end of the article, and sometimes even one or two links in the content of the article.
Collaboration proposals are not always accepted and it is often difficult to open the door of the most prestigious Blogs, so it is a good idea to grow with the most modest until your reputation is solid.
This technique, much more common in the Anglo-Saxon market than in Spanish, consists of writing articles to be published in specialized pages.
According to some experts, this practice is not as effective as before, but it is another weapon that should be in your arsenal.
Generally these directories are paid, and allow to include a paragraph with the author’s biography and a couple of links to the website.
Although publishing links in directories lately is frowned upon, it is still beneficial.
But only if you publish your link in directories of recognized quality.
There are many directories of all types, and it is easy to find them, although it is true that it is easier to do it in English than in Spanish.
In the free directories normally it is enough to fill in a form, and wait for our link to be approved, all very simple and fast.
But for that reason they are usually the ones that are more saturated with Spam, and they will not give you the same value as a link in a quality directory, in which you have to “win” the entry.
In the payment directories the process is just as simple, except that you must make the payment at the time of registration.
There are also directories in which to enter for free, but which offer better visibility conditions, promoted links, etc., if you pay a fee.
Strive to be creative and find opportunities to get links that are not so obvious.
A reciprocal link is one in which a web links you in exchange for you doing the same.
It is a simple system that has given very good results, but lately (2018) is more controlled by Google, and these links are no longer as effective as the one-way links.
Google can not know with certainty if a reciprocal link is natural or artificial, so choose to assume that a one-way link is much more likely to be natural and therefore gives more importance.
Until a few years ago this was one of the most common and effective practices … and to a certain extent it still is.
The problem is that the paid links do not like Google, because it knows that they are very effective, and if it catches you it will penalize you.
Google algorithms are increasingly useful when detecting patterns that indicate the purchase of links, so be very careful.
This technique is as simple as its name suggests: it is asking to be linked for free.
If you contact the right person and your page can provide value, it usually produces positive results.
At this point it is already evident that Social Networks occupy an increasingly important place in online marketing.
Although they do not directly influence the web positioning, it is known that Google relies on them to determine the author of a content and its authority on the issues it publishes.
We could say that now, in addition to the “traditional” page authority system, we have a new kind of authority: the “author authority”
According to different opinions, the contents that are shared on Facebook are one of the social signals that is most associated with helping to achieve a good positioning.
Twitter on the other hand is an excellent tool to connect with clients and launch viral marketing campaigns. And Google Plus is fully integrated in searches.
Social networks can be an excellent way to get authority and links, but also to find new customers or retain the ones you already have.
Although you must take into account the cost of creating and maintaining an active social profile, so you should find out what social network may be most convenient for your case.
As you can see, SEO Off Page is an activity that takes a lot of time and effort, and that is often worth delegating to a team of professionals, especially if you have a business with which you make a living.
Despite the fact that this article has more than 3,000 words, it only deals with the most essential aspects of this task, given its complexity and constant updating, so if you have been interested in this topic, I advise you to keep searching and contrasting information.