Building & Structuring Inbound Links Part 2
12 Essential Strategies
By Stephen Mahaney
Originally Published: December 2004
Continued From:
<<< 12 Essential Strategies for Building & Structuring Inbound Links Part 1
The Number Of Links On The Referring Page
Matters
Another point to remember is
the fewer the number of links on the referring page, the better.
Ideally, the referring page would have only one link and it would be to your page. Of course, that's rarely practical. But, having your link on a page with 100 other links is almost pointless because the value of your link will be divided by the number of links on the page - a condition we call
link dilution.
While easier said than done, the ideal would be to get your incoming links from popular,
on-topic
pages that have few outgoing links within trusted sites scoring PR=6 or better. Now, short of the ideal, bear in mind that every link you
can
get is likely to help you somewhat - and if you can control how those links
appear
(in terms of incoming URL-format and anchor text), you'll be in even better shape.
Maintain Consistency In The
Format
Of Your Incoming Link URL's
Question: Are you aware that...
http://your-site.com
http://your-site.com/
http://your-site.com/index.html
http://www.your-site.com
http://www.your-site.com/
http://www.your-site.com/index.html
...are all
technically
SIX different URLs even though each will land the site visitor on the same webpage?
That's right. And, if those who link to you use six different URL formats to point visitors to your "home" page then your PageRank is being diluted by a factor of six -
not good!
You simply must do everything in your power to standardize your incoming URL-format in order to consolidate your PageRank. Doing so will produce the maximum relevancy-boost possible from your incoming links.
Get Your Keywords Into Your Anchor Text
It's very important that you get your keywords into the
text of the link
(anchor text) that other sites are using to point visitors your way. True, this may be difficult with directories unless the name of your company includes your keywords. Regardless, the boost in keyword relevancy is significant enough that it's worthwhile to contact everyone who is linking to you with a specific request regarding the text being used in your link.
If you happen to be selling
model airplanes, then anchor text such as airplane models or model airplanes will be infinitely more valuable to your relevance efforts than anchor text simply saying 'click here'. From an SEPOV, the
former
states the theme of your page while the
later
gives the engine no clue whatsoever what your page is about.
A word of caution: it will look more
natural
from an SEPOV if the text links that are pointing at your site are
not
identical. Strive to maintain slight variations as would occur if the anchor text were being generated independently by the sites that are maintaining them. Of course, the nature of your business and the name of your company might dictate the range of options available to you. However, do everything in your power to insure that the
text
being used to point visitors and engines to your site looks natural from an SEPOV.
This strategy can make a HUGE difference. Generally speaking, from an SEPOV, it's the anchor text that determines the
theme
(topic) of your webpage.
Continued:
12 Essential Strategies for Building & Structuring Inbound Links Part 3 >>>
Continued From:
<<< 12 Essential Strategies for Building & Structuring Inbound Links Part 1
Part 1:
<<< 12 Essential Strategies for Building & Structuring Inbound Links Part 1
This article is copyrighted and has been reprinted with permission from FirstPlace Software.
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