SEO Off-Page SEO 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which link building tactic involves creating a free tool or widget that other sites embed with a backlink?
- Skyscraper technique
- Broken link building
- Linkable asset / widget bait (Correct answer)
- Private blog network (PBN)
Correct answer: Linkable asset / widget bait
Offering embeddable tools or widgets that require attribution creates a scalable source of natural backlinks.
Question 2: What is the 'skyscraper technique' in off-page SEO?
- Building links from skyscraper-rated tall buildings' official sites
- Finding top-ranked content, creating a significantly better version, then outreaching to sites that linked to the original (Correct answer)
- Stacking multiple exact-match anchor texts to boost rankings quickly
- Creating multi-page pillar content that links to all subcategory pages
Correct answer: Finding top-ranked content, creating a significantly better version, then outreaching to sites that linked to the original
Coined by Brian Dean, the skyscraper technique improves on existing popular content to earn backlinks from sites already referencing the topic.
Question 3: A backlink from a site with a Domain Rating (DR) of 85 but completely unrelated to your niche is generally considered:
- More valuable than a DR 40 link from a highly relevant site
- Equally valuable as long as the linking page has strong traffic
- Less effective than a contextually relevant link from a lower DR site in your niche (Correct answer)
- The best possible type of link due to high authority
Correct answer: Less effective than a contextually relevant link from a lower DR site in your niche
Relevance is a key factor; a link from a niche-relevant site often provides stronger topical signals than a high-authority but irrelevant link.
Question 4: What is 'broken link building'?
- Building links using 404 pages on your own site
- Finding dead outbound links on authoritative pages and pitching your content as a replacement (Correct answer)
- Submitting broken URLs to Google to request recrawling
- Disavowing links that return HTTP errors
Correct answer: Finding dead outbound links on authoritative pages and pitching your content as a replacement
Broken link building identifies 404 links on relevant sites and offers your working content as a substitute, providing value to the site owner.
Question 5: Which of the following is an example of a 'white-hat' link building strategy?
- Buying links from a link broker network
- Using automated software to post spun articles across thousands of directories
- Publishing original research that journalists naturally cite and link to (Correct answer)
- Exchanging links through a private reciprocal link scheme
Correct answer: Publishing original research that journalists naturally cite and link to
Publishing original data or research earns editorial links naturally, which aligns with Google's quality guidelines.
Question 6: What does 'social proof' contribute to off-page SEO indirectly?
- Social shares are a direct ranking factor counted by Google's algorithm
- High engagement on social platforms increases content visibility, which can lead to more natural backlinks and brand mentions (Correct answer)
- Facebook likes are converted into PageRank signals by Google
- LinkedIn endorsements directly improve a site's authority score
Correct answer: High engagement on social platforms increases content visibility, which can lead to more natural backlinks and brand mentions
While social signals aren't direct ranking factors, wider social reach amplifies content exposure, increasing the likelihood of earning editorial links.
Question 7: What is 'HARO' and how is it used in off-page SEO?
- A backlink analysis tool similar to Ahrefs
- Help A Reporter Out — a service where you pitch expert quotes to journalists who may then link to your site (Correct answer)
- A Google algorithm that evaluates outbound link quality
- A paid link marketplace for acquiring high-DA backlinks
Correct answer: Help A Reporter Out — a service where you pitch expert quotes to journalists who may then link to your site
HARO connects experts with journalists; providing a cited quote can earn a high-authority editorial backlink from news or media sites.
SEO Off-Page SEO 3
Which link building tactic involves creating a free tool or widget that other sites embed with a backlink?