One of the most overlooked aspects of search engine optimisation is link popularity. This variable indicates not just the number of other sites linking back to your site but the quality and relevance of those third party pages. As off page optimisation is half of the organic search battle, concentrating on the quality rather than the quality of links built can have a direct impact on search positions.
In SEO terms, a link is like a reference or seal of approval. It tells the search engines that an independent, third party web site sees your site as a valued resource and one that it is happy to redirect some of its own traffic towards. Not only does this help you gather search engine brownie points, relevant links referring traffic will lead to a greater number of page views and interested site visitors.
Choosing your link partners carefully will determine the extent of the success –or failure- of your search engine optimisation campaign. While it can be tempting to set off on a link treasure hunt to gather up as many links as possible, being a little bit more discerning will actually propel you through the search results and lead to an optimised presence a lot sooner.
So what should you look for when targeting links for your web site? The check list is a large one and there are multiple variables to consider concurrently but keep the below in mind and your link building is sure to show greater signs of success.
1. Relevance Is A Priority For Off Page Search Engine Optimisation
The best type of link, whether it is sourced purely for organic search reasons or not, is one that is relevant to your business and your web site. A relevant link can be one from a trade association you are a member of or on a page featuring a news item or product review about your particular service.
One indicator of a site being relevant to your own site is if it references any of the same keywords as those you are looking to optimise. Check the page title, text content and the anchor text of the link pointing back to your page. If any of these offer similar content to your web site or feature the same primary or secondary search strings, you’re on to a winner.
Not only will this help your SERP presence but it will also help you to target more relevant traffic – this in turn should help to increase leads and conversions.
2. Few outbound Links Equal More Search Engine Optimisation Success
It’s a universal fact that the less there is of one particular thing, the more we want one. You can apply this theory to limited edition cars, covetable antiques, and haute couture clothing. The same is also true of links. If the page that links to you has few outbound links in the source code, all the better for your ranking prospects. The more of something there is, the less valuable it becomes so try and avoid pages with hundreds of outbound links. From a search engine perspective, the quality of the referrals is diluted as the page is not carefully sifting through the millions of available pages to find only the best and most informative sites to direct traffic towards.
3. A High Google PageRank
The Google PageRank is a measure of Google’s perceived importance of each web page. You can view this ranking by downloading the Google webmaster toolbar. The best links come from links that are hosted on pages with a good Google PageRank. The scale runs from 0 (being of no importance) to a 10 (the most important). Bearing in mind that Google give their own home page a PageRank of just 9, don’t waste energy chasing after the impossible.
Your web site inherits a sliver of the PageRank from each link that points back to it so always try and hit above you station. If your home page has a PageRank of 3 for example, aim for links from PageRanks of 4 and above.
4. Anchor Text
While it’s not always possible to specify the anchor text of all links, where this is an element of control, anchor text is an important metric. The best links will combine all of the above points plus anchor text that is optimised. By optimised, the text should include a keyword relevant to the underlying landing page as well as other words or phrases. Around three or four words in a coherent sentence work well. Variety in anchor text is also important so mix it up where possible and try a number of different keyword combinations.
