AI Search
SEMRUSH ONE
Stay Ahead in AI Search & Traditional SEO
Off-page SEO refers to actions taken outside your website to improve its authority and trustworthiness, which can improve your brand reputation and boost visibility in both traditional and AI search.
Some off-page SEO tactics that can help build a strong online presence include:
And more.
In contrast, on-page SEO focuses on improving webpages by writing high-quality content, incorporating internal links, using proper heading structures, etc., to improve your website’s search visibility.
Follow these eight steps to get the most from your off-page SEO efforts.
Auditing your site’s backlink profile helps you assess the quality and relevance of the links pointing to your site to uncover ways to strengthen your profile. And that can improve your visibility in search results.
Basically, backlinks signal to search engines that your website is credible and deserving of ranking (showing in search results), as long as those links are from reputable and relevant websites.
It’s possible a healthy backlink profile can also impact your visibility in AI tools.
How?
We know that backlinks contribute to high Google rankings. And our AI Mode comparison study shows there’s a fair amount of overlap between domains ranking in Google’s top 10 results and appearance in AI responses.
To quickly audit your backlink profile, enter your domain into Semrush’s Backlinks tool and go to the “Overview” report. Here, you’ll see data points like:
Consider these data points and what they indicate.
For instance, a high number of referring domains from reputable websites with strong Authority Scores indicates that search engines see your site as authoritative. And you don’t need to do much to improve your backlink profile.
Analyzing your competitors' backlink profiles can help you determine whether those profiles are giving them an advantage in rankings. And provide valuable insights into their link building tactics.
For example, if your competitors have secured many high-quality backlinks using infographics, you could start creating your own infographics. Ideally, versions that are even better than what your rivals are publishing.
Use Semrush’s Backlink Gap tool to analyze your competitors’ link profiles alongside yours. Simply enter your domain and the domains of up to four competitors. Then click “Find prospects.”
Scroll down to the “Prospects for” section. Make sure your domain is selected and click the “Best” tab to generate a list of domains linking to competitors’ sites but not to yours.
Click on the arrows in competitors’ columns to see which pages attract backlinks from a specific domain. Like this:
Analyze this information to identify high-value domains and the types of content they tend to link to. And use that to inform your link-building efforts.
In addition to finding opportunities from your competitors’ backlinks, consider several more link building tactics when working through your off-page SEO checklist. Each of these tactics can improve traditional search visibility and possibly your AI search visibility.
Dennis Shirshikov, Founder of Growth Limit, suggests trying these off-page SEO tactics to build backlinks:
“You can [build backlinks] by networking with industry bloggers (they may reference your content in their own posts), seeking out guest posting opportunities (you can often include a backlink within the article or author bio), or by interviewing influencers (they often cite and share the interview on their own platforms).”
Here are some additional ideas for building high-quality backlinks:
Prioritize techniques that seem like the best fit for your business, For instance, if your company employs leading industry experts, sharing their expertise with writers and journalists is a sensible approach for acquiring backlinks.
Semrush’s Link Building Tool can help you implement a variety of tactics for building backlinks.
Head to the tool, enter your domain, and click “Start Link Building” to set up your campaign.
Once in the tool, go to the “Prospects” tab.
Here, you’ll find a list of promising websites to contact.
You may want to prioritize websites with high Authority Scores (listed in the “AS” column). Because these reputable sites can better help you build your own authority.
Once you’ve selected some websites and know which link building tactic you want to use, check the boxes next to those websites, select the drop-down menu next to the “To In Progress” field, and choose the tactic you’ll be using.
Go to the “In Progress” tab—your chosen prospects now appear here.
Click “Contact” to email a prospect from within the Link Building Tool. Available contact email addresses will be automatically added.
Once you acquire a backlink from a prospect, move that website to the “Monitor” tab by clicking the checkmark in the far right column. So you can track if you lose that backlink or if a referring domain is no longer live.
Earning brand mentions involves getting your business name referenced around the web, which may positively impact your SEO and visibility in AI tools.
SEO expert Andrew Holland explains why brand mentions are valuable in the AI-era:
“Large language models cannot judge performance. They cannot look at your product and determine if it's better than your competitor's. They have no way to evaluate quality firsthand. So what do they do? They go to the network. They look at what other people are saying about you. They measure your reputation across the entire ecosystem.”
Being referenced by others can also get you in front of new audiences who may be more likely to click on your results in search engines. And we now know that Google’s Navboost algorithm considers click-related behavior to influence rankings.
As for how brand mentions affect AI platform visibility, a Seer Interactive study shows branded searches strongly correlate with appearance in AI tools.
And because getting mentioned more can lead to more branded searches, gaining brand mentions gives you a better chance of appearing in AI tool responses.
Here are some tactics to earn more brand mentions:
You’ll also want a way to monitor whether these efforts are increasing your brand mentions. And whether those mentions have positive sentiment.
This is where the Media Monitoring app can help. Configure it to track your brand name and go to the “Mentions” tab to see a complete report of your online mentions.
You can filter results by category, sentiment, or importance to focus on what matters most.
By joining and participating in relevant forums and online communities, you can increase your visibility in both traditional and AI search results.
Since Google’s licensing deal with Reddit was announced, there’s been a noticeable rise in forum content showing up in search results. Especially for commercial queries like “best productivity tool for teams.”
These forum conversations also show up in AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews, and AI Mode. Our AI Mode Study shows Reddit is the most-cited domain across these AI platforms.
If searchers click through to those discussions, they might see information about you or even your own insight and be more likely to look for your content later on.
Making the most of forum participation means avoiding being overly promotional or sharing links to your website unless it’s genuinely useful.
For example, the image below shows a user sharing helpful resources for SEO beginners in a Reddit thread:
Mateah Kittle, Online Reputation & Community Team Lead at Semrush, shares her Reddit marketing approach:
“You have to be human. Reddit isn’t a place for brands and formality—it wasn’t built for that. Have a set number of keywords and subreddits relevant to your brand, and check them daily for opportunities to contribute positively to the discussion. When responding from a brand account, personalize your response by signing your name, reminding users there’s a person behind the profile.”
So, show up in Reddit threads with genuine answers, real experiences, and a personal touch.
Further reading: Reddit Marketing 101: How to Successfully Market on Reddit
If you run a local business, off-page local SEO efforts like getting relevant citations and reviews can increase your online visibility.
It helps you show up on Google Maps and search results for keywords with local search intent. Like “indian restaurants in new york”:
To appear for local searches, implement these tips:
Also, make it a habit to respond to customer reviews to show you value feedback and protect your reputation.
You can respond to Google reviews using your Google Business Profile account.
Or use Semrush’s Review Management tool to respond to Google reviews. And get notified about reviews in other directories.
Head to the tool, find your business, and sign up for an account.
Once on the main dashboard, you’ll see an overview of your reviews. Including your average rating.
Scroll down to set up auto-replies if you wish. The tool will even provide an estimate of your time savings.
Scroll down further to see the actual reviews. Where you can manually craft responses or click “Generate draft” to get help from AI.
Click “Reply” once you’re ready to post your response.
Further reading: A Beginner’s Guide to Online Reputation Management
Promoting your content on social media can drive more traffic to your site, increase the chances of more people discovering and linking to your content, and even lead to more searches for your brand later on.
Plus, social media pages, posts, and videos can appear in search results.
Videos also tend to inform AI responses. For example, this ChatGPT response references a tutorial from YouTube:
Here are a few best practices for sharing content on social media:
Planning and posting content across multiple platforms takes time, so use Semrush’s Social Poster tool (part of Semrush’s Social Toolkit) to make things easier.
This tool lets you schedule and publish posts across different platforms. And you can use AI to draft your content.
Social Poster also has an interactive calendar you can use to plan months of social content in advance.
Partnering with online creators in your niche who have a large and engaged following can introduce your product or service to new audiences. And that can possibly lead to more brand searches, brand mentions, and backlinks in the future.
Just make sure to find influencers whose audience aligns with your target market and whose content reflects your brand’s values and goals.
You can manually search for influencers on various platforms.
For a faster approach to identifying influencers, try the Influencer Analytics app.
Start by selecting the platform you want to focus on under the “Influencer Discover” drop-down.
Then, enter what type of influencers you’re looking for in the search bar. And choose a search method—we recommend “Channel description.”
Use the filters (to specify budget, subscriber count, etc.) if you want to narrow your results even more.
Click on an individual influencer’s profile to get additional information and details on how to contact them. And click “In the lists” to add them to an existing list or create a new list of influencers you want to contact.
Once you’ve identified potential influencers, make sure they’re a good fit by looking into their social presence. Specifically, you can:
Using an off-page SEO activities list to implement changes can lead to better results. Then, you can monitor various metrics to ensure your efforts are delivering results:
To see what impact your off-page work has on your performance in AI tools, use Semrush’s AI Visibility Toolkit. Which lets you monitor your share of voice relative to your competitors, see how you’re mentioned in specific AI responses, and even get strategy suggestions.
Cecilia Meis
Cecilia is a senior editor and strategist with more than 12 years of experience shaping editorial strategies, refining brand messaging, and leading high-impact teams. She began her career in print and digital editorial leadership roles before transitioning to SEO and digital marketing, focusing on data-driven strategies. She‘s passionate about ensuring operational efficiency, upholding editorial standards, and mentoring writers to deliver top-quality, brand-aligned content.
Use this SEO checklist to optimize your site for both Google and AI-driven search results.
Follow this 14-step on-page SEO checklist to improve your visibility in traditional and AI search.
Learn 10 link building strategies that can help you grow your brand’s authority and search visibility.
Local SEO is the process of improving search visibility, traffic, and brand awareness for local businesses.
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