# Off-page SEO

Category: [Basics & Search Engines](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/category/basics-search-engines/) › [SEO basics](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/category/basics-search-engines/seo-basics/)

**Off-page SEO** covers activities and signals outside your own website that affect how a site performs in search. Backlinks from other websites are the main part. The counterpart is on-page SEO, which works on content and technology of your own pages.

## What counts as off-page SEO?

Yoast describes it as everything you do outside your website to help it rank better. The usual parts are:

- **Backlinks.** Links from other sites. Yoast notes that a few links from trusted sites help more than many from low-authority ones.
- **Brand mentions.** References to a brand or domain on other sites, even without a link.
- **Local signals.** Consistent business details and customer reviews, mostly for local businesses.
- **Social media.** Yoast writes that it does not directly affect ranking but helps people discover and share content.

Google's SEO Starter Guide names word of mouth as one of the most effective and lasting ways to promote a site.

## Where does Google draw the line?

Google's spam policies treat buying or exchanging links to influence ranking as link spam. Links that are paid or sponsored are acceptable with the attribute rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow". Google detects violations with automated systems and manual review.

## Example

A manufacturer publishes an industry study. Trade media cite it and link to it. The manufacturer follows the referring domains in a backlink tool and asks for a link where it was only mentioned.

```html
<a href="https://example.com/" rel="sponsored">Partner</a>
```

## FAQ

**What are examples of off-page SEO?**
Link building, digital PR, guest posts, brand mentions and reviews.

**Do links from comments help rankings?**
They often carry nofollow. They can still send visitors, which is a judgment call and not a Google statement.

## Related terms

- [On-page SEO](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/on-page-seo/index.md)
- [SERP (search engine results page)](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/serp/index.md)
- [Orphan page](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/orphan-page/index.md)

## Sources

- [Spam policies for Google web search – Google Search Central (updated 2026-08-28)](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies)
- [SEO Starter Guide – Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/seo-starter-guide)
- [Off-Page SEO – Semrush (secondary)](https://www.semrush.com/blog/off-page-seo/)
- [Off-Page SEO – Yoast (secondary)](https://yoast.com/off-page-seo/)

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Last updated: October 7, 2026
URL: https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/off-page-seo/