SEO „off-the-page“ optimization

Under Off-the-Page-Search engine optimization (SEO) methods are measures that are carried out around a page or website.

Domain name, name of the directories and files

The term that forms the domain name is rated very highly by some search engines (Fireball, Google). A URL (web address - „Uniform Resource Locator“) can be structured as follows

http:// Domain name / directory name / document name

be provided with keywords.

Examples:

  • http://www.autos-mustermann.at/gebrauchte-autos/mittelklassewagen.html
  • https://www.ewerkzeug.info/ueber-suchmaschinen/off-the-page-optimierung/

Terms from the URL should also be included in the document title of the page (see On-the-page optimization) can be used.

Note You should be aware that the use of generic names („car“, „cat“, ...) in domain names prevents the creation of a trademark. You will not achieve a recognizable trademark with „katzensitter-koeln.de“ as easily as with „sanfte-pfote.de“ or „katz-fatz.de“.

Timeliness and change frequency

Search engines prefer up-to-date information. In the case of documents of equal value, the one that is more current due to the date or is updated more frequently is rated higher. A high frequency of changes also influences the visit frequency of the web robots. This seems to be a particularly important criterion for Google.

However, „change“ means a genuine change in the sense of new content. Simply rearranging sentences or paragraphs is not a change. Search engines also recognize this.

Frequency of visits

Google can use various methods to track which websites are visited by users and how often. According to current knowledge, a higher flow of visitors can also have an effect on the ranking in the results pages. You should therefore provide attractive content („linkbait“, see below) that attracts visitors.

Make it easy to recommend a page to others. Include „share buttons“ on your pages and posts that can be used to share URLs on social media platforms - even without violating the GDPR. This will lead to more links to your website without you having to do anything else (assuming you have good content).

Pay attention to what a preview of the post looks like. You can influence the preview with most SEO tools (keyword: Open Graph meta tags).

Link strategy

The quantity and quality of backlinks that a document receives from others significantly influences its positioning in the results. This method (link popularity) has been used by Google from the very beginning: the Google Page Rank - a number between 0 and 10 - provides information about the degree of linking of documents. Although Google is now focusing more on recognizing text quality, links still have a supporting effect.

The aim of search engine optimization is therefore also to have other information providers refer to the website wherever possible: friendly companies, company directories, directories of chambers of commerce and economic chambers, topic-related forums and portals.

Ideally, the links should come from thematically related pages that are themselves very well linked.

Furthermore, it makes sense to Keywords in the link text (or have them listed), and to vary these link texts a little.

Possible link sources:

  • Websites of partners, customers, suppliers, associations, ...
  • Articles in online media about you or your products: do online PR, write to specialist journalists
  • Blog posts: who could blog about your services/products? Identify relevant influencers, write (spam-free) comments there.
  • Links from Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, ...
  • Social bookmark platforms: diigo, mix, etc.

Linkbait

Ideally, you will receive tons of links without any request because you offer something special on your website. This can be:

  • unique (exclusive) information
  • Unique preparation of information
  • Viral marketing elements (images, video, audio)
  • Online tools

This approach is called linkbait. It is very popular:

Or you see linkbaiting for what it is: producing interesting content. And interesting content spreads by itself. So always focus on the added value for people.

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