Off-Page SEO Strategies
Off-Page SEO is no longer millions of links for the sake of it, while Link building is still an important component to your strategy though only one single component of it.
A well-rounded SEO strategy helps for longevity, and broadens your end user audience.
So, we will start with of the older Off-Page SEO components that some seem to think do not matter in this day and age though are still highly relevant.
Business Directories
Business directories from the oldest kid on the block yellow pages, to Yelp not only does this convey trust with customers it gives your business far greater exposure online.
Platforms
The choice is huge from LinkedIn, Pinterest, FB, you name it and with clever targeting of already loyal customers you can utilize both publishing copy images and video across all these platforms LinkedIn and Clutch as an example are perfect B2B outreach tools.
Podcasts
The numbers vary greatly with eMarketer forecasts estimating the UK has 14.6 million listeners and others as low as 10 million it still is huge numbers which ever data you go off, we like industry specific podcasts as well as ads for greater reach.
PPC
It is a must in the modern age even a little bit of PPC goes a very long way and we always say if managed correctly and not funneled in the wrong channels.
It will increase sales without doubt and there is a nearly a perfect fit for all sizes of business through customized PPC campaigns.
PPC campaigns are great off-Page SEO strategies with the double benefit you gain customers and they spend time on your site the more traffic you drive for your targeted keyword the higher your sites rankings can go.
Are Business Directories Still Relevant in 2021?
Yes, business directories are still relevant, just make sure to follow a plan.
Do not overdo it and make sure you use correct keywords as you do not want your own website to be competed with by the very thing you are utilizing for more online visibility.
Business Directories
Yell
www.yell.com – Price: Free
Thought Yellow pages went away nope for those that live under a rock it is now Yell and arguably still one of the more relevant places to look for services.
Yelp
www.yelp.co.uk – Price: Free
Is listing on Yelp a waste of time? Think again it is the top 1000 sites visited within the UK helping to bring you qualified leads
Thomson Local
www.thomsonlocal.com – Price: Free
These guys still run a print version of their directory and at the time of writing this was in the top 5-6000 visited website within the UK and to still be printing they are doing something right
Scoot
www.scoot.co.uk – Price: Free
Is partnered with publishers The mirror The independent & The Sun so your listing will be published in multiple places across the internet.
UK Linked
www.uklinked.co.uk – Listing Price: £4.99
Real simple to create a business profile this one is not free though the charge is very modest.
UK Linked directory allows you to link to not only a home page but also internal website pages for keywords you are targeting for traffic.
Free Index
www.freeindex.co.uk – Price: Free
With nearly ¾ of a million companies registered in the UK Free Index directory can be a great source of leads for your business.
Hot Frog
www.hotfrog.co.uk – Price: Free
With an international outlook with directories in 30+ countries and now over 1 ¼ million website visitors every month for the UK this is could be very worthwhile listing your business on.
192.com
www.192.com –Price: Free
A Big hitter in terms of how high the site is ranked it is a free business directory listing site that should generate a steady flow of leads and customers.
UK Small Business Directory
www.uksmallbusinessdirectory.co.uk – Listing Price: Free
The UK small business directory has 254,000 businesses listed making it more than worthwhile.
The site was started by a firm whose background is search engine marketing so you should get good visibility from this site.
Opening Times
www.opening-times.co.uk – Listing Price: Free
Opening times is a very popular directory listing local businesses opening times has just over 400 thousand monthly visitors making a great source of potential leads for your business.
Brown Book
www.brownbook.net – Listing Price: Freemium
The Brown Book is a global business directory that is pretty large over 40 million businesses registered worldwide with 2.91 M businesses registered in the UK Brown Book should generate a steady flow of leads.
The Trade Finder
www.thetradefinder.co.uk – Listing Price: Free
The Trade Finder gives you a ton of information about their listed businesses from facilities, opening times, payment methods, maps, directions, website links, photos, it is free to list and they other advertising.
Yahoo.com Yext.co.uk
You have to go through Yext to list with yahoo now is it worth it? Statistics say one in eight searches is still performed on yahoo Would be a hell of allot of leads to miss out on if it is the correct fit for your business.
They offer local listings, site search, reputation management, ecommerce search and a lot more.
Backlinks:
Now we know what you are thinking you said Off-Page SEO is not about 1000, s of links and that is true but there always seems to be a but in SEO! backlinks are still relevant.
We do look at links slightly different at Seo 2 ranking we want people to link to us where the reader will be engaged and actually want to come and read what the darn link is there for,
I Know Revolutionary Rite?
Well not really in the old spam days old SEOs built links for page rank and to trick search engines.
I would rather have 50 links than 1000, s from articles where people actually want to read the content, they found your link and come to read your content.
This is worth its weight in gold for your SEO, your brand and ultimately your conversion rate.
I think all of the search engines will become even more sophisticated than they already are.
Meaning link farms could well die or will find a new way to game the system time will tell in this regard!
Different Routes to Market
If your route to market is best suited to a PPC campaign you can B2B market on LinkedIn, Google ads and a ton of other networks with more refined results and cleaner data regarding PPC results.
Pinterest may be best suited at the start to reach your target audience, even Instagram & one of these maybe well be a perfect fit for you.
We advise starting with what works best for your company first, as every business needs to get up and running with customers over the line.
You should then build out what is most beneficial to your business with the correct research in hand, this saves valuable time and helps to scale at speed.
With great content, you can add value to your industry and get your content recognized to build brand recognition.
Guest blogging & speaking at events can be highly beneficial as long-term drivers in your Off-Page SEO strategy.
Podcasts, ok this may seem a bit out there for some businesses, though with some digging you will be amazed at what content is covered online.
From Video to Social your omni channel options are endless.
So why do we talk about other activities that seem not to be Off-page SEO well some are to be frank!
Yes, you cannot do meta descriptions etc. For Podcasts, though from YouTube through to your business listing directories, social platforms, they all crawl your website pages with some sort of search crawler tool.
Just as you make sure all of your website technical SEO information is giving the correct signals to search engines.
The same applies for every single directory, video platform and social media platform on the internet where your business is listed, ensure you optimize all of your listings for greater reach.
Conclusion
Off-Page strategies for website activity have changed dramatically through the years and arguably with these driving forces they will continually change. Though with affective planning in place and knowing what levers to pull and when, you will best utilize all of your Off-Page SEO efforts that will drive traffic, leads and sales which is the ultimate goal.
