Off-site SEO relates to all the activity which takes place online (but not on the clients website), with the aim of improving their search engine positioning. Off-site SEO does not include other elements of online marketing which are not specifically undertaken for the purpose of improving performance on search engines.

For example, a paid banner advert on a website is online marketing, but will not impact on search engine positioning. Pay per click advertising on search engines is online marketing, but will not impact on search engine positioning.

The ultimate aim of off-site SEO is to further improve the position on major search engines and generate increasing volumes of 'organic' search traffic. Organic Search traffic is visitors that come from search engines via the standard results, rather than through the sponsored placement and pay-per click marketing. High volumes of 'organic' search results are the holy grail of online marketing. They have more impact, a higher conversion ratio and offer more longevity; therefore they deliver a stronger return on investment.

Off-site SEO includes activity such as:

• Targeted link building campaigns

• Placement on key online spaces such as Yahoo Directory and Dmoz

• Social media marketing such as Twitter and Facebook

• Online networking through properties such as Naymz.com and Linkedin.com

• Forum and blog posting

• Article posting, white paper publication and similar endeavours

• Online Press Release distribution

There are a wide range of methods which can be used, not all will fit with the brand image, target markets or preferences of a particular client. As such, it is important to clearly define an online marketing strategy which identifies elements of the online marketing mix which match up with a clients brand values and position in the market while also providing maximum impact demonstrated by realistic and measurable returns on investment.

On-Site SEO, sometimes referred to as On-Page SEO is arguably the most critical success factor when it comes to online marketing. Without a website which can be readily indexed by all major search engines, all 'off-site' website marketing efforts will deliver poor results in a best case scenario and could even have a negative impact in the worst case.

In order to ensure a website can be indexed by search engines a number of steps need to be taken. Changes need to be made to the website on a technical level and content must be optimised for search engines. These on-site changes are commonly referred to as 'On-site SEO' where SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation. Implementing these changes would make up the first phase of implementation and is discussed in more detail below.

It is important to note that On-site SEO is not a one off process (although completing it at least once would be of more benefit than doing nothing). On-site SEO is a cyclical process and efforts should be refined and improved on an iterative basis while considering the wider context of keyword research, online search trends and changes to legal terminology, as examples.

On-site SEO is neither an art-form nor a science, it does however rely on a fusion of the two. Creativity must be combined with precision in order to ensure the best possible results are attained. Each page of the website must be analysed and optimised to target highly relevant and popular keywords and phrases. These must be phrases which lay-people and prospective customers use when searching for your product or service. These may differ from the ideas which you have on which keywords are the most important. As such, analysis and optimisation should be carried out in phases. The top level of a sites structure should be optimised first, then sub-levels should be optimised according to the resources available.

Once initial on-site SEO is completed, your website will gradually rise up the ranks on major search engines. To assist with this, to provide a higher ranking and more rapid accession to the top of the search engine results 'off-site SEO' comes into play.