Off Page SEO is frequently overlooked by the majority of professional service firms that do not outsource the search engine optimization for their online businesses. In fact, the majority of professional websites do not make as much use of off-page SEO as do so-called amateurs that use internet marketing to earn themselves extra spending money.A major reason for that is that many look upon off page SEO as involving back-links from other websites, attained through reciprocal links, link farms, reciprocal link-building software and submissions to website directories. Only now are many professionals considering article marketing as a possible means of attracting the links back to their web pages that are becoming increasingly more essential for Page #1 listings on Google.In fact, many are now finding article marketing to be of the most successful online link-building techniques around today, offering several ways in which both links and direct visitors can be achieved from a well- constructed marketing campaign. However, there is more than article marketing in the successful off-page SEO basket of opportunities. Here are a few of them that you might not have thought of:Social NetworkingSocial networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter can be used to advertise your website and also to achieve large numbers of back-links to your web pages. Facebook offers you the opportunity to build your own fan pages around your business, and while many professionals feel such sites inappropriate for their profession, that is a very short-sighted attitude since you can be certain that either a) your competitors are making hay while you lag behind, or b) you can get the jump on them by designing your own Facebook fan page and collecting loads of potential customers before your competition catches on.You will have a significant advantage if you get there first, because many join only one fan page for one product or niche, and it takes quite a long time to set them up and get them promoted. If Facebook doesn’t appeal to you, then why not get your webcam out and make a few videos with your website link on them for publication on YouTube? This is another very viable opportunity for off page SEO for professional service firms that many use, particularly in respect of professional business development. There are many people out there that love video adverts.Alternatively, Twitter can be used to get together a good following of people interested in your profession. There are ways to attract the right people, and by tweeting them regularly with new developments or professional services you can not only build an interested following, but also develop your business.SquidooLike social networking sites, Squidoo is free to join and Squidoo lenses are just like long web pages. You can use a different lens for the various aspects of your professional portfolio, and its promotion is just like that of a blog or a regular website. More than that, however, the Squidoo community tends to get together and help to promote each other, and there are also specific groups you can join or even set up yourself.BlogsWhy not run a blog from your website? You don’t have to update it daily – many do so weekly, and you can keep people up to date with anything regarding your profession that you believe people might be interested in. Blogs tend to get good listings on Google and other search engines because they are regularly updated, both with your own posts and comments made by visitors.ForumsIf you can find some forums related to your profession, they can be very useful to professional services such as yours, particularly in respect of professional business development and getting your name and that of your business known in the community. By answering a few questions or solving some problems online in a forum you will get known and that will do your professional business development a lot of good.This type of off page SEO is targeted by many professional businesses due to the success that many people achieve by using them. Forums and blogs allow a degree of interaction with the public that you won’t find elsewhere – even if you visit blogs of others that are perhaps seeking professional help. Helping others with their questions on a forum can attract you a number of potential customers.Every one of these mentioned above also enables you to publish a link to your website, adding to your PageRank and also offering the opportunity of direct clicks and visits to your site.There are many options for off page SEO for professional service firms that can not only provide you with back-links to your website but also help with your professional business development through interacting with the public, which only demonstrates that there is more to SEO web optimization than just link building and pleasing the search engines: you can also please the public and in so doing build yourself up a good reputation as somebody to whom to turn when professional help is needed.
