Chapter 5:

Off-Site SEO
 Learning Objectives
• Identify the various types of links found on a web page
• Determine the weaknesses in a website’s link profile that are
preventing it from ranking well on relevant searches
• Create and implement a plan to earn high quality links from
external sources to improve a website’s search engine
rankings on relevant searches
Chapter Review
Links
Google has long been the world’s <a href=
“https://google.com”>top search engine</a>.

Google has long been the world’s top search engine.

No-follow Links
“Don’t follow links on this page”
● Untrusted content
● Paid links
● Low priority links
Affiliate Links
The image on the following slide comes from a website called Tom’s Guide, which
recommends products from a variety of categories. The image we see shows a list of
exercise bikes. Should the links employed on this site have a nofollow attribute? Yes,
because the website will make a commission if a user clicks on one of the bikes and
purchases it, so the link is a paid link. By right-clicking on the link and selecting,
“Inspect element,” we can see the code that generated this link. Interestingly we don’t
see a ‘nofollow’ attribute, but instead a ‘sponsored’ attribute. The ‘sponsored’ attribute is
relatively new. Google now prefers that paid-for links have the ‘sponsored’ attribute
instead of the ‘nofollow’ attribute, but the ‘nofollow’ attribute is still fine. (The noopener
attribute is included along with the nofollow attribute. The noopener attribute is about
security and performance, and more can be read about that here.)
Affiliate Links Example
Link Profile
A website link profile is the list of
all of the backlinks to an entire
website.

Search engines use link profile

information to glean information
about a website, its popularity, its
content, and more.
Popularity Metrics
● Number of backlinks
● Backlinks from related/relevant websites
● Anchor text
● Link neighborhood
● Link freshness
● Link diversity
● Social sharing
Backlink Types
● Editorial links
● Manual links
● Manufactured links
 Link-Building Tactics (Editorial)
● Content creation ● Outreach
○ Compilation of expert ○ (In-person) networking
knowledge ○ Provide embed code
○ Graphic information ○ Contact websites of existing links
(infographics) ○ Contact websites that have linked to
○ Video content competitors
○ Press releases ○ Provide service in exchange for link
Link-Building Tactics (Manual)
● Directory submission
● Google My Business (and counterparts)
● Guest blogging
Link-Building Tactics
(Manufactured)
● Blog comments
● Additional websites at new domain names
Content Marketing
Appealing content
● Entertaining
● Useful
Distribution
● SEO
● Social sharing
● Paid
Conversion
Lecture
SEO Value
SEO investments take time to
materialize, especially off-site
SEO investments. Before off-
site SEO investments can yield
profits, people have to discover
your content and link to your
content.
 Content that Ranks
Content Type Example
Blog post Live & Dare's Benefits of Meditation
Short-form evergreen content Jim Collins' Piece on Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals
Long-form article Wait But Why on the Fermi Paradox
Photo gallery Right Hairstyles' 100 Cool Short Hairstyles for Men
Information-rich list Wareable's Best Fitness Trackers of 2022
Interactive tool Zoopla's House Prices Tool
Category lander HGTV's Kitchen Ideas
Multi-page guide HubSpot's Ultimate Social Media Marketing Guide
Visualization of complex data CNN's Election Results
Video Moz's Whiteboard Friday
Research paper Oracle Marketing Cloud’s Research Collection
Linkbait Example 1
This article appeals to people https://backlinko.com/google-ranking-factors
who are serious about SEO
because most lists like this have
only 8 or 10 factors, so
promising 200 factors gives the
(accurate) impression that this
article will be thorough and thus
definitive.
Linkbait Example 2
http://xkcd.com/radiation/
The layout of the chart,
particularly the way it
transitions from the low dose
events to the higher dose
events, provides interesting
information in a digestible
format.

Source: http://moz.com/blog/10-extraordinary-examples-of-effective-link-bait
Linkbait Example 3
Lists tend to attract both clicks
and links. In this case, the list is
focused on information that is
useful to people who have a
website, so these people have
the means to provide a link.

http://www.seobook.com/archives/001792.shtml
Source: http://moz.com/blog/10-extraordinary-examples-of-effective-link-bait
Linkbait Example 4
By making very useful content https://www.mnot.net/rss/tutorial/
free, it attracts not only traffic
but also links, which in turn
attracts additional traffic and
higher search engine rankings.

Source: http://moz.com/blog/10-extraordinary-examples-of-effective-link-bait
Linkbait Example 5
Many people are interested in seeing a
comparison of the relative sizes of social
media platforms. This image provided this
comparison and shows the growth of those
platforms over time and their relative founding
dates, which made for a single chart full of a
multiple pieces of interesting information.

http://www.searchenginejournal.com/growth-social-media-2-0-infographic/77055/
Source: http://moz.com/blog/10-extraordinary-examples-of-effective-link-bait
Linkbait Example 6
By providing a thorough list of
conservation methods, laid out
in a visually pleasing manner,
this website ensures that any
webmaster who supports the
cause will consider linking here.

http://wateruseitwisely.com/100-ways-to-conserve/
Source: http://moz.com/blog/10-extraordinary-examples-of-effective-link-bait
Linkbait Example 7
This image shows how certain
styles of music developed over
time and geography, and the
music styles that shaped them.

How music travels: the evolution of western dance music

Source: http://moz.com/blog/10-extraordinary-examples-of-effective-link-bait
Creating Value
Customers
Industry professionals
Ancillary businesses
Linkbait Creation Exercise
Your client’s website is well-optimized but still ranks poorly on
all of the important keywords. Come up with a great linkbait
page for your client. Your client is:
● A family practice doctor
● A CPA
● A financial planner
● A physical trainer
● A mortgage broker
● A cake decorator