Tips from Google on Hiring The Right SEO and Why You Need It

When hiring a company for SEO services, you need to know what they're talking about. If you plan on doing it yourself, then you need to be even more fluent in the SEO language.Today, we're talking about off page SEO. Read on to find out what it is and why it matters.

On Page SEO vs. Off Page SEO

On page SEO refers to the website itself. It entails proper usage of keywords, optimized internal links throughout your website, fast loading times, etc.Off page SEO refers to the SEO that happens away from your site. Unfortunately, this is where the darker side of optimization lies. Some firms use unfair tactics, commonly known as "black hat," to artificially raise their ranking on the search engine results page.Fortunately, Google is wise to this mischief and punishes these sites severely. Most firms, however, use white hat practices. These tactics will organically raise your rank in Google.Some of these popular practices include...

Link Building

This is the most widely-used method of off page SEO. While many ways exist to build links, we want to touch on some of the most well known.

• Guest Posting - By far the easiest way to build links. You post a piece of content on another website and link back to yours. This site has to be legitimate, authoritative, and open to giving you a follow link.
• The Broken Link Method - This practice seeks out broken links on other websites similar to your own. In exchange for fixing them, the site owner allows you to post a link to your site.
• Infographics - Essentially a graph or chart, infographics relay valuable information by making large blocks of text more readable. You can also link the infographic back to your site.

Social Media

Your social media efforts are also considered off page SEO. While most of your social site links are not followed (an option that tells search engines not to follow the link to its source), that doesn't mean they aren't helping your site. The purpose of your social campaigns is to drive traffic.Page views and time on page are important factors in search engine algorithms. People won't search for your company if they've never heard of it. Your social campaigns should be designed to bring in strangers and turn them into prospects.Social media isn't about making sales. If you aren't helping your customers and providing great content, they're going to abandon your business and find someone who does.Here are some pro tips for making the most of your social sites:

1. Interaction - Many people on social sites want an easy way to connect with a business. They want to voice their concerns. Listen to them and help them to the best of your ability. The more you interact with them, the more likely they will be to become customers.
2. Quality - If you want your content to be shared, go with quality over quantity. Don't just hit up Buzzsumo for viral content. Go out of your way to share the BEST content that's out there, even if it isn't yours.
3. Consistency - Post quality and do so often. Never let your social sites be ignored for long periods of time. The lifespan of your posts, depending on the site, can be mere minutes.

The key word in "social media" is social. Share the greatest content you can find. Interact with your customers. Be friendly and gracious.

Local SEO

Local SEO should be a part of your campaign even if you don't operate exclusively in your physical location.Being part of a community can do wonders for your business. Sponsoring local events will usually get you a banner with your website on it. Local radio and TV will mention your website as a sponsor when they advertise the event.Do you have a phone book ad? Your website should be there.And your physical address should be on your website. Cross promote your brand over every platform available to you.Many customers and businesses prefer to work with local agencies. You're more likely to be trusted by someone you sit beside on at church rather than a stranger from out of town.When people search for x business in y location, your business should be number one on the list. Resting at the top of the page results will only help with your overall campaign.

Bringing It All Together

By now, you've probably realized what we're trying to do with off page SEO.It's about creating trust with your customers and search engines. It's about establishing yourself as an authority all over the web, not just your website.Everything you do should focus on the user experience, often referred to as UX.With off page SEO, UX is just as important as it is on your website. Your infographics need to be eye-catching and informative to the reader. Your guest posts and broken link building strategies need to be featured on sites that prioritize UX.As you can see, on page and off page SEO are equals. While it's easier to focus on the website itself, you must also be aware of what's going on around it. No one operates in a vacuum, especially on the Internet.

Tips from Google on Hiring the Right SEO Company

Might you be in the process of looking for the right company to help you with your search engine marketing? Perhaps you're finding it to be a difficult or overwhelming process. Luckily, Google has recently added a video outlining the things you should look for when hiring an SEO company to help you attain better rankings in organic search results for your website.

Maile Ohye from Google is the face of the video, and she does a very good job clearly documenting the main points one should look at during this process. She outlines the SEO hiring process in these three steps:

• Conduct a two-way interview with your potential SEO. Check that they seem genuinely interested in you and your business.
• Check their references.
• Ask for a technical and search audit.

What did you think of today's post? How are you exploring your off page SEO options? Feel free to comment below. We'd love to hear from you.