We post a lot on the subject of SEO, and the reason is that the term ‘SEO’ really covers a lot of ground.
In that sense, the concept of Search Engine Optimization is not very useful for know what to do to get your website to rank for organic (non-paid) search activity, so at the very least, it’s a good idea to break the concept of SEO down into more manageable parts.
On-site and Off-site SEO
At InterNotable, we would argue that the natural breakdown of search optimization activity is between on-site and off-site SEO. Since website development is a big part of the services we provide to our clients, we’re well versed in the tasks needed to ensure that on-site (and more specifically on-page) SEO is being handled effectively.
When it comes to off-site SEO, however, there are so many different aspects of what might (or more accurately, should) be doing to help your website pages rank on Google, Bing and other search engines, that is can become dizzying. Even worse, there is a long history of off-site SEO practices that not only won’t help your site’s rankings, but can even hurt them — sometimes to the point of harming your website’s rankings so badly that you are better off starting a new website from scratch!
But even if you are diligent in following best practices for off-site SEO, there are still so many different factors to consider that determining where to begin can be daunting.
The Importance of External Links
Well, there is an easy answer to what’s most important to off-site SEO, and that is the effort to get quality external links to your website’s pages.
Great, you say, that’s where I’ll start. That fine, but unfortunately, because of that critical word ‘quality,’ it turns out that what is arguable the most important off-site SEO activities is also one of the most difficult to achieve.
Don’t Take Shortcuts!
And because the process of getting quality external links is difficult, the temptation to take shortcuts, such as buying external links or hiring a so-called expert on some of the virtual contractor sites that are out there can be strong. Our advice – Don’t do it! In fact, in almost every case, going down this path will harm your website’s rankings much more than it will help them!
Getting Started With Link Building
So, if you’re ready to start the process of quality external link building, we recommend you check out a fun and useful article we’ve found that covers the “the Seven Deadly Sins of Link Building.” It’s a quick read that provides an effective roadmap on what not to do when you’re spending valuable time working to build real, quality external links to your website.