SEO basics
What is off-page SEO?
Off-page SEO is everything that happens outside your website that influences how search engines rank it. The most important off-page signal is backlinks — links from other websites pointing to yours — because Google interprets them as votes of credibility. According to Google's How Search Works documentation, links help Google understand "the relative importance of pages," which is why a link from a trusted local newspaper or industry association carries far more weight than one from a generic directory. For local businesses, off-page SEO also includes your Google Business Profile, business citations (consistent name, address, and phone listings across the web), and the volume and recency of customer reviews. Unlike on-page SEO, off-page factors take time to build — which is exactly why starting early and building consistently matters.
Backlinks — quality over quantity
A backlink is a link from another website to a page on yours. Google treats backlinks as endorsements: if a trusted, relevant site links to you, it is effectively vouching for your credibility on that topic. Not all links carry equal weight. A single link from a respected local newspaper, a county chamber of commerce, or an established industry association is worth more than dozens of links from low-quality directories. Moz's research consistently shows that link quality — measured by the authority and relevance of the linking site — is a stronger ranking signal than link volume. The goal is to earn links that a reasonable person would see as genuine endorsements, not to accumulate links through bulk submission tactics.
Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is one of the most powerful off-page signals available to local businesses. While it is not a link in the traditional sense, it feeds directly into the map pack — the block of local businesses that appears above the standard search results for local queries. Google uses the data in your GBP (business category, services, geographic service area, and the stream of reviews) to determine relevance and prominence in local results. A complete, actively maintained GBP consistently outperforms an incomplete one. According to Google's local ranking documentation, providing complete and accurate information helps Google match your profile to the right searches.
Citations and NAP consistency
A citation is any online mention of your business's name, address, and phone number (NAP), whether or not it includes a link. Common citation sources include Yelp, the Better Business Bureau, Apple Maps, and industry-specific directories. The critical rule is consistency: your business name, address, and phone number must be byte-identical across every source. A discrepancy as small as "St." versus "Street" in an address creates conflicting signals about which listing is authoritative, and Google resolves that conflict by trusting neither fully. Before building new citations, audit existing ones for inconsistencies and correct them — cleaning up bad data is more valuable than adding new listings on top of it.
Reviews as off-page signals
Google reviews are an off-page signal that directly influences map pack rankings. Four dimensions matter: total volume (how many reviews), average rating, recency (a steady trickle of new reviews beats a large stale pile), and the business's response rate. The HOTH's research on local ranking factors found that brands are approximately 6.5 times more likely to be cited and trusted through third-party sources — including review platforms — than through their own website content alone. Reviews cannot be fabricated: fake reviews risk a Google manual action that can remove your listing entirely. The most reliable way to build review volume is a simple, consistent process for asking satisfied customers immediately after a job is complete.