3 Off-page Ranking Factors Affecting SEO Ranking on Google Search
SEO, or “search engine optimization,” is one of the most critical aspects of digital marketing. It’s what helps your website rank higher on the search engine results page (SERPs), which means more visitors and potential customers. But what many business owners don’t realize is that off-page factors also play a significant role in SEO ranking. You will always want to improve SEO ranking and get on top of Google’s search algorithm. So if you’re looking to boost your Google search results, be sure to focus on these three factors as well!
First, let’s look at SEO ranking holistically. How does SEO ranking work? What do you need to do off-page to boost your search engine ranking? Do you need to change the website structure for search engine crawlers? Write high-quality web content? Do I need to know all the search queries?
We can achieve good Google rankings for a website in many ways. In addition to on-page SEO (quality content, image optimization, core web vitals, site speed, page speed, technical SEO, etc.), off-page SEO is among the most important.
When looking into this for your own website, keep in mind top search results to increase your website visitors. This will help you get an in-depth understanding of website optimization, and search engine results pages. If you would like to learn more, read our other blog here.
But many people ignore the importance of off-site optimization. However, a comprehensive approach and good SEO require each factor to complement each other nicely and effectively improve organic traffic and your website’s Google rankings. Let’s look at three of the most essential factors of off-site optimization.
1. Is SEO page ranking linked to your website’s domain authority?
Each website is rated for its Domain Authority in Google’s algorithm. In short, the higher the domain authority, the better the search engine rankings.
To give this a bit of context: Ahrefs has researched 200K websites to find out the relationship between website authority and keyword ranking. The results show that there is definitely a strong correlation between website domain authority and keyword search engine ranking. In the world of search engine optimization, domain authority is an important ranking factor.
But what constitutes a website’s authority, and how do you improve it? The most straightforward answer is to simply turn to Google and see what factors they use to judge how much a website is trusted.
For example, well-known brands often have websites that Google trusts and assigns a high level of authority, such as the official websites of Apple and Microsoft. In addition, websites that use a .edu or .gov domain are given a high level of authority. But what if you’re neither an educational nor governmental organization? How can I improve my website’s authority and make Google trust it in the same way that Apple or Microsoft is trusted?
The answer is backlinks. If you would like search rankings to improve, looking at backlinks is an SEO ranking factor to consider.
2. What role do backlinks play in search engine rankings?
External backlinks (Link Building or external links) are an integral part of SEO ranking. It is an essential factor contributing to website domain authority. Getting your external links right can really help improve organic traffic and your SEO ranking. This, of course, will lead to more traffic
Imagine a candidate that gets the vast majority of votes. It means that more people trust him and agree with his ideals. The concept of backlinking is similar.
The more backlinks a website has, the more Google trusts it, and in turn, the more authoritative these external links are, the better the website ranking. Increasing the number of external backlinks is a vital search engine optimization off-page factor, and one note to be forgotten.
Backlinks can be classified into three basic types:
- Natural Links: they are naturally established links that webmasters cannot edit the content of. For example, if a travel blogger writes an article and then adds a link to the restaurant or accommodation they recommend.
- Manually Built Links: Intentionally obtained backlinks. This includes connecting customers to your website or asking a KOL (Key Opinion Leader) to share your website content.
- Self-created Links: Self-created backlinks on forums, blogs, etc. It should be noted that the creation of many self-created links can be regarded as black hat SEO, which has been recognized and criticized by Google, so be careful.
Google is smart. Your search engine ranking will drop sharply if you start excessively creating self-created backlinks. Google can understand and differentiate artificial and random backlinks and can punish the website. The critical takeaway is that quantity isn’t going to help. On the contrary, low-quality or spammy links will make the website fall behind, and you won’t be getting more traffic.
Source: gotchseo.com
3. Is social media important with search engine rankings?
On the surface, social media may not appear to have anything to do with search engine results. However, it may serve as a link between websites, bringing in additional prospective users and organic traffic. From this perspective, social media is among the most important ranking factors and any search engine.
To improve clients’ perceptions of your business, try to establish your social media, produce new material, upload appealing pictures, and even promotional content. You may even ask customers to share material from your website on their social media networks.
This activity is similar to backlinks in that it can help your website to some level if individuals with a decent following share your material.
Remember that an essential SEO off-page aspect is social media, which should constantly be considered.
What else can you do to improve your search results?
There are also a number of other ways to improve search ranking. These include:
Ensure that you know about search intent
As anyone who has ever tried to search for something online knows, search engines are complicated beasts. They take into account a multitude of factors, from the relevance of the results to the user’s location, in order to determine the best possible outcome.
However, one of the most important factors that search engines take into account is search intent. In other words, what is the user looking for? Are they looking for information, or are they looking to make a purchase?
Understanding search intent is essential for a good SEO ranking. Local businesses, for example, should focus on local SEO in order to ensure that their website appears when people in their area are searching for relevant keywords.
Similarly, e-commerce sites should focus on keywords associated with buying intent in order to appear at the top of search results. Understanding search intent is essential for any business that wants to rank well on search engines.
Get on top of your mobile ranking factor (Mobile first indexing)
With mobile phones becoming the primary device for most people online, it’s no surprise that mobile ranking factors are starting to play a more important role for a good SEO ranking.
With mobile first indexing, Google is now taking mobile compatibility into account when ranking websites. This means that if your website isn’t mobile-friendly, you’re likely to see a drop in your SEO ranking.
In addition, mobile phones are generally used on the go, which means that people are more likely to look for quick, convenient results. As a result, say a mobile ranking factor like as load time, and click-through rate are becoming increasingly important.
If you want to ensure a good SEO ranking for your website, it’s essential to make sure that it’s ready for mobile first indexing, has mobile-friendly images and is optimized for mobile users.
Have internal links in your website
When it comes to SEO, most people focus on external factors, such as building links from high-authority websites. However, internal linking is also an important ranking factor that should not be overlooked.
Internal links and your internal link structure help Google understand the structure of your website and find new pages. They also provide a way for visitors to navigate your website and find the information they want.
As a result, internal linking can positively impact your SEO ranking and your website’s usability. When adding internal links, be sure to use relevant keywords and links to relevant pages. We highly recommend that you consider forming an internal link structure strategy. This will help improve your website’s visibility in search results and make it easier for users to find the information they need.
Use local SEO and local ranking factors to your advantage
Local SEO and local search is essential for good search engine rankings. Here’s why: when someone does a Google search, the Google algorithm looks at several factors to determine what results to show.
One of those factors is the location of the searcher. So, if someone in Hong Kong searches for a “plumber,” Google is more likely to show results for plumbers in Hong Kong than plumbers in Singapore.
This is where local ranking factors come in. Local SEO is the practice of optimizing your website and online presence to rank higher in google search results for searches done by people in your local area.
By Optimizing your Local search and local search results, you can increase your chances of getting search visibility from people who are searching for businesses like yours. And, as we all know, traffic = conversions.
So, Local SEO on Google search is not only important for good search visibility, but it’s also important for getting search queries that generate leads and sales for your business. If you’re not optimizing your Local search, you’re missing out on potential local organic traffic – and customers.
Make sure your website has quality content
Quality content is essential for a good SEO ranking. The Google algorithm looks for a variety of factors when determining where to rank websites in the search results, and quality content is one of the most important factors.
Websites with high-quality, informative, and keyword-rich content are more likely to rank higher in the search results than those with low-quality, thin, or duplicate content.
In addition, quality content helps to build trust and credibility with potential customers and clients, which can lead to higher conversion rates.
Quality content is an essential component of any successful SEO strategy, and businesses should focus on creating quality content if they want to improve their SEO ranking.
Final thoughts
While on-page ranking factors (quality content, image optimization, core web vitals, site speed, page speed, technical SEO, etc.) are important SEO ranking factors, off-page factors are also vital to achieve good google rankings.
In order to improve your website’s search engine ranking, it is essential to focus on building high-quality links and developing a solid social media presence.
By following the tips we’ve outlined in this blog post, you can start improving your website’s visibility and driving more organic traffic your way. Moreover, search engine crawlers will love your website too!
Do you have any questions about how to improve your website’s search ranking and search results? Want to know how First Page uses SEO strategies to help you achieve higher rankings for your search results on Google? Feel free to contact us for a free SEO analysis report!
Off page ranking factors FAQs: Get help with your SEO strategy
What are some SEO tools that can help with off page SEO?
There are many tools you can use. Here are our recommendations:
- Google Search
- Ahrefs
- Majestic
- Moz’s Link Explorer
- SEOquake
- Screaming Frog’s SEO Spider
- BuzzStream
- SEMRush
- Kerboo
- SurferSEO
What role can Google Search Console play in off page SEO?
Google Search Console is a powerful tool that can help you improve your SEO ranking. By tracking search visibility for your website, you can identify potential issues and take steps to fix them. In addition, Google Search Console can help you understand how the Google works and make sure that your website is compliant with all the latest changes. As a result, Google Search Console can be an essential part of your SEO strategy.
How can I use Google image search to improve SEO?
Google image search is a powerful tool that can be used to improve your SEO ranking. By including relevant keywords in the tags and descriptions of images, Google will be more likely to include those images in search results. In addition, Google’s algorithm considers the number and quality of links to an image when determining its ranking. As a result, optimizing images for image search can help to improve a website’s position in SERP. Finally, image search can also be used to generate traffic to a website. By including links to websites in the tags and descriptions of images, Google image searchers will be directed to those websites. As a result, using Google image search can help increase SEO ranking and website traffic.
What are web core vitals?
Google’s web core vitals are a set of metrics that measure the performance of a website. They include things like loading time, interactivity, and stability. Google uses these metrics to help determine SEO rankings and search visibility. The web core vitals are an important part of Google, and they can have a big impact on a website’s traffic. That’s why it’s important for website owners to understand what web core vitals are and how they can improve their website’s performance. By optimizing their website for web core vitals, they can ensure that their site is visible in search and attract more traffic.
How important is keyword research in SEO?
If you want to improve your ranking and have better search visibility, keyword research is essential. By understanding what people are searching for, you can ensure that your content is optimized for the right keywords. This will help you to attract more organic traffic and improve your SEO ranking. Furthermore, keyword research can also help you to understand the latest trends and changes in Google’s and other search engine algorithms. By keeping up-to-date with this information, you can make sure that your website is always compliant with the latest rules and regulations. In short, keyword research is an essential part of off page SEO and should not be overlooked.