Off Page Checklist
Build credibility and improve rankings — use this checklist to manage outreach, backlinks, citations, and brand mentions effectively.
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Backlink Profile & Link Health Audit
Review Backlink Profile Health
Check your current backlinks (e.g., vs Ahrefs/Moz) and flag toxic or low-quality links. Make note of unnatural link sources and potentially harmful patterns.
Check Referring Domain Diversity
Ensure your links come from a wide range of referring domains (not from just one or two sites). A diverse backlink profile appears more natural to search engines.
Inspect Anchor Text Mix
Review anchor texts used in your links. You should see branded terms, natural phrases, moderate keywords—not the same exact-match keyword repeatedly.
Verify No Excessive Link Velocity Spikes
Look for sudden surges of many new links in a short period. Big unnatural jumps can raise flags in algorithmic filters.
Confirm Removal or Disavow of Toxic Links
Check that known low-quality or spammy links have been removed or disavowed via Search Console. The audit should list those actions.
Confirm Link Age & Longevity Patterns
Track how many backlinks are maintained over 6+ months. New links are valuable, but long-term sustained links carry more weight. Flag ones that dropped off too quickly.
Monitor Link Regression or Loss
Watch for lost backlinks (links that have disappeared). Validate whether they were removed by mistake, competitor action, or legitimate reasons.
Audit for Sitewide or Footer Links
Identify links appearing in footers, sidebars, or sitewide widgets. Too many of these, especially on unrelated domains, can dilute authority and appear manipulative.
Verify Backlink Geographic Diversity
Analyze the countries of your linking domains. A global or regionally appropriate spread of links supports international SEO and reduces over-reliance on a single market.
Link Quality, Placement & Context Review
Review Quality of Recent Acquired Links
Check a sample of your newest backlinks: are they from relevant, high-trust sites? Are they editorial (in content) or sitewide/footers? Flag weak ones.
Audit Link Placement Context
Check where backlinks are placed—embedded inside relevant content, near top of body, or hidden in footers or sidebars. Contextual placements count more.
Review Link Context and Surrounding Text
Links surrounded by meaningful, related content (contextual links) are stronger than those buried in lists or boilerplate. Sample a few to assess placement quality.
Inspect Author and Contributor Profiles
Review whether authors of guest posts or external content have strong profile authority (e.g., in niche). Low-author reputation contributors can reduce link value.
Review Affiliate or Sponsored Link Compliance
If you run affiliate or paid placement programs, confirm all partner links use rel="sponsored" and proper disclosures to avoid penalties for link manipulation.
Ensure Proper rel Attributes on External Links
Review outgoing links on your own site used for sponsorship or guest posts. Confirm rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow" or rel="ugc" are correctly used.
Outreach & Link Building Process
Validate Outreach Strategies and Templates
Check that your outreach emails are personalized, aligned with the prospect site, and free of spammy language. Poorly designed outreach can backfire.
Audit Outreach Email Health & Deliverability
Look into bounce rates, complaint rates, or spam reports on your outreach domain. Poor sender reputation harms your long-term link success.
Audit Brand Mentions for Link Opportunities
Scan media and blogs for mentions of your brand without links. Verify whether outreach was done to convert them, and record what succeeded or failed.
Review Link Acquisition vs. Content Release Timing
See whether peaks in link gains align with content or campaign launches, or if they look disconnected (which can appear manipulated). Natural campaigns tend to correlate.
Citations, Mentions & Local Link Signals
Check Citations and Mentions Consistency
For local or branded sites, confirm your name, address, phone (NAP) or brand mentions are consistent across listings and platform mentions. Discrepancies can reduce trust.
Check Local / Niche Directory Listing Health
Review existing directory/citation listings: are they accurate, active, and consistent? Clean or remove outdated or duplicate entries.
Validate that Social Mentions Lead to Link Discovery
Measure whether content you share or promote socially leads to discovery of new links or mentions. A lack of correlation could mean you’re not visible to linkers.
Monitor Social Shares and Engagement Trends
Track how often your pages are shared, mentioned, or tagged on social platforms. While social signals don’t directly affect rankings, they increase link discovery potential.
Competitive & Authority Benchmarking
Review Link Equity Flow to Key Pages
Check which pages in your site receive most backlinks. Ensure your homepage or key content isn't hoarding all link equity while other pages lack links.
Compare Backlink Growth Across Competitors
Benchmark your link growth curve with that of your core competitors. If you're lagging, that suggests missed opportunities or weak strategies.
Benchmark Domain Authority and Trust Flow
Compare your site’s authority metrics (DA, DR, Trust Flow) against top competitors. Use the gap to guide link acquisition and digital PR priorities.