Your company’s online presence is more than just a website – a very large and vital part of it belongs to offsite content such as YouTube videos, syndicated articles and press releases, guest blog posts, social media accounts, etc. And because it’s likely that search engines will find this content when someone searches for your company name, services, or products, it’s just as important that it is optimised, too. Is there a way to use SEO on offsite content rather than just relying on organic optimisation? There sure is! Here are some best practices for off page content SEO.

Meta Tags

One of the simplest, but most effective, ways to optimise off page content is through the use of appropriate meta tags. Much like keywords on your website, meta tags on videos, press releases and accounts help ensure that this additional content will show up in related search page results. Meta tags allow search engine spiders to index this content and make it much more likely to gain rank in SERPs. Using the meta description can also make your content even more appealing to searchers who may opt to click on a result in a search engine results page.

Keywords

Remember that search engine spiders can’t “see” content such as photos, videos or audio podcasts; it’s up to you describe it to them. Keywords such as “recorded interview”, “how to instructions”, and “video demonstration” are all excellent ways to indicate the type of content. Using proper names is good, too – if you’ve established a reputation for yourself, add your own name to the keyword list, along with something like “CEO XYZ Company”. That indicates who is referenced in the content and gives search engines another way to link it to your online presence. Don’t forget to add the names of other people featured in the content as well, such as a guest speaker or celebrity endorser.

Bio or Account Info Boxes

An important way to ensure that off page content not only is optimised but useful for driving traffic to your website is through links included in a bio text box (press releases, blogs, article syndication sites) or account information box (social media or video sharing sites). Use the space allotted to your best advantage by including as many links as possible to your blog, website and other online content. This helps search engine spiders connect your content with your website and give you a higher PR rank.

Tip: To serve double duty as a way to increase website traffic, add a special offer to entice readers to click the links.

Off page content shouldn’t be viewed as merely more places for potential customers to find you online, it’s also a great way to expand your online presence and tell search engines more about your business so it can be better indexed and rank higher in results. Remember to optimise the content through meta tags, keywords and info boxes each and every time you post something new. Your continuous ongoing honest efforts to optimise your online presence will help you build authority and trust with your audience.

Need help with SEO? Market Ease can help with your on page and off page SEO efforts. We can also help with web design, email marketing, pay per click advertising, and more.