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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, the makers of WebPosition.
FirstPlace Software helped define the SEO industry with the introduction of the first product to track your rankings on the major search engines and to help you improve those rankings.

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July 24 2008 03:31 UTC