Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of making your website as accessible as possible to the search engine spiders so that your website pages are properly indexed. Once your pages are indexed, the search engine will display your page in the natural search results when a related search term is entered by a user. The popularity of your website will have a huge effect on how high your page is ranked in the natural search results. The search engines use analysis of both quality and quantity of inbound links to your website to determine its popularity.

The purpose of off-page SEO is to build one-way links to your website to build the popularity of your site, send traffic to your site, and increase your search engine rankings. As a high rank in the search results for your keywords can mean many thousands of additional visitors per day, off-page SEO has become an extremely important part of the website marketing mix. Properly done off-page SEO can either replace or reduce dependence on other areas of your online advertising such as cost-per-click at a lower rate. As such, SEO should be a mandatory part of any online advertising program.

Off-page SEO uses superior content for link building as quality is more important than quantity. Building links with content ensures that the quality of the link will be high as the content of both the linking site and your website will be related. Using content also ensures that your links will come from sites with a high page rank which also helps your popularity rating.

There are many legitimate and ethical ways to generate links that build your site's popularity. All involve using unique, informative, well written content in the form of how-to articles, newsletter articles, magazine articles, press releases, product announcements, participation in industry forums, blogging on an industry blog site, etc. You need to develop useful, relevant content continually to increase your rankings. In addition, high quality content is what the search engines really want to provide to their own customer.

Content Networks - A Content Network is a group of feeder websites whose domains are created from the keyword phases used to index your primary domain. Banner ads and text links to your website build rank and send traffic. Well written, encyclopedic content for each domain has been proven to rapidly gain rank in the search engines.

Many advantages over article syndication -

• You control what gets published and for how long
• You control how your links are formatted
• You control the keywords used as anchor text
• You can send deep links to your website's inner pages
• You can link to your other articles
• You can update and edit as necessary
• You can add a banner for your product, service, brand name, etc.
• You can add a quote request or lead generation form
• No need to monitor other sites to see if your links are still up.
• You can keep statistics on how many people see your article and how many click through the links to your websites.
• You can use conversion tracking to see how many referred customers buy a product.

Publicity - Press release news syndicates will accept your pieces for free and distribute them to their customers as news feeds - each with a link to your site. Many industries also have online magazines that would gladly publish your news and product announcements.

Article Syndication - There are dozens of article syndication sites that will accept and publish your articles for free - each with a link to your domain. Webmasters use these sites for newsletter content and will re-print both your article and your link. One good article can spawn many inbound links.

Blogs and Forums - Use frequent posts to industry blog sites and related forums. Your signature should always include a link to your website.

Back links - You can use one of many online programs to look at your competitor’s back links and see what other online media they use for publicity.

Directories - Hundreds of directories are available that will post a link to your website for free (or a small fee). While directory submission can bring instant links, the search engines don’t give these links much weight.

Social Network Sites - Use your pages and friends to direct traffic to your website and blog.