On-page SEO is what you say about yourself. Off-page SEO is what the rest of the web says about you. Search engines pay close attention to the second, because it’s harder to fake.
What counts as off-page SEO
Backlinks. Links from other websites remain the biggest off-page signal. Quality and relevance matter far more than quantity (see backlink).
Brand mentions. Your business named in articles, forums and lists, with or without a link. Mentions also feed what AI assistants learn and cite about you.
Reviews. Google reviews and reviews on industry sites, especially important for local rankings (see online reviews).
Citations. Listings of your business name, address and phone number on directories.
Google Business Profile activity. For local businesses, the profile is effectively off-site too.
Social presence. Social signals aren’t a direct ranking factor, but an active presence helps people discover, mention and link to you.
PR and partnerships. Coverage in news and industry publications, sponsorships and associations.
Why it matters
Two dental practices with equally good websites can rank very differently because of what happens off-site. Brightside Dental’s competitor has 400 reviews, coverage in a local parenting magazine, links from a children’s charity it sponsors and a listing on the state dental association site. Brightside has 41 reviews and few mentions. Its website is fine; its reputation online is thin. That’s an off-page gap, and no amount of on-page work fully closes it.
How to build it, safely
- Earn reviews from every satisfied customer, and reply to them.
- Get listed on the core directories and the ones that matter in your industry.
- Join and support local and trade organizations that list members or sponsors.
- Become a source for journalists and bloggers in your field, through digital PR.
- Create things worth citing: local data, useful guides, tools.
- Ask for links where you’re already mentioned without one.
See link building for more detail.
What to avoid
Buying links, link exchanges at scale, private blog networks and fake reviews all break Google’s policies, and fake reviews also break FTC rules. They can lead to links being ignored, manual actions or suspended listings.
Common mistakes
- Measuring off-page SEO only by backlink counts or authority scores
- Neglecting reviews and mentions because they “aren’t links”
- Short bursts of outreach followed by nothing
How to track it
RankThat’s Backlinks feature shows your backlink profile, new and lost links, and link building prospects. Local SEO tools cover citations and Google Business Profile reviews, and AI Visibility shows whether AI assistants mention you.