This is a post in a series about common mistakes small business make on the web. You can read the previous ones: Small business SEO mistakes and 5 website mistakes made by small business.

Off-page or off-site tactics are things you do that involve other websites or web based tools (ie are not to do with your site). These are primarily about stuff that drives traffic (ie visits) to your website.

1. Poor link building

   Probably one of the biggest SEO challenges for small business is building quality back links. Without the resources and PR muscle of bigger companies it takes a lot of time and effort to build up links from reputable organisations. It means a diligent and ongoing process of spreading the word about you, your business and what you do.

   Poor link building means:

   • Too many low quality back links. Submitting your site to 'thousands' of directories, link exchanges and link farms will get you pretty much nowhere.
   • Too few high quality back links - which means not enough links from large, well known and respected sites. News sites like the NZ Herald might be one.
   • Having no link building strategy at all.

   Instead try:

   • Adding a site listing to a handful of the top most reputable directories
   • Writing articles and submitting them to industry relevant sites
   • Commenting (sensibly) on blogs. Don't be tempted into commenting spam - it will get you nowhere. A lot of blogs (particularly the big ones) put no-follow tags on their comments so you may not get any "link love" anyway.
   • There's nothing like valuable content - people will link back to a useful tool, article or blog.

2. Think social media is a fad?

   Sorry, it's not. There a lot of talking going on about social media, which ones to use and how. The bottom line is you need to at least start thinking about it and decide which tools might help you connect with current customers, and get the word out to potential ones.

   Discussions with customers via the web has been going on a long time through forums, message boards and email. The newer tools such as Twitter and Facebook have made it easier and raised the profile.

   Register for our email newsletter to get a free copy of our "Social Media guide for small business".

3. Disregarding how search engines work

   While the tactics largely do involve your website design or content, you (or your web developer) need to keep up with the way search engines see websites. At one point, keywords were the key (excuse the pun), but are now almost completely disregarded because of irresponsible use. It is also no longer necessary to submit your site to the search engines.

   Your search engine strategies must keep up with reality of how search engines work.

4. Not talking to the customers

   There's a lot to be said about engaging your customers beyond the social media arena.

   For example, if someone sends you an email or submits and comment to your blog, you should respond within a few hours if possible, but no more than a few days. They have taken the time to reach out to you and if you don't respond then it implies you don't care about them. In which case they'll go somewhere else.

   Your customers are an excellent source of information for improving and evolving your services. Forums, surveys and informal conversations are a gold mine of information. People will generally give a great deal of information for little or no cost. If there is some time commitment involved on their part, this could be in the form of a reward or chance to win something.

5. Don't keep up with the Joneses

   It's important to keep an eye on your competitors (say the top three) and what they are doing in order to stay ahead. Competitive advantage comes from being cheaper, better (or unique) or from targeting a niche, but you'll soon lose this if you are not vigilant.

   Make sure you keep an eye on your industry and the competition so you can keep up or - better - stay ahead. Market leaders have a habit of establishing the norm and customers start expecting that from every provider.