Posts Tagged ‘BACKLINKS’
I’m going to keep this post short.
Today was the day I dedicated to arduously moderating the more than 400 comments in the comment queue of Backlinks For SEO. Yes, I visit each and every URL submitted. Yes, I analyze each and every site for page rank and/or the number of pages indexed. Yes, this takes hours of my time, but I do it to ensure that this backlink resource is a worthwhile investment for everyone. Just like the old saying, “one bad apple spoils the bunch,” so too is the principle that one backlink associated to porn or gambling can have a bad impact on the reputation of this site, as well as every site that links to or from it. But that’s not what I wish to discuss. Actually I wish to discuss the importance of building backlinks that look natural to the search engines.
There’s a plethora of information out there about building backlinks that look natural, but I’m going to dissect it into one tiny segment: “Pages You Link To”
Link To Internal Pages:
I couldn’t help but to realize that many visitors who submit comment here at this site only fashion the backlink to the landing page of their site. In most cases many of the sites I visit have numerous pages, yet there’s only a link to the landing page. Why? Are the other pages not worth the time to visit? I would certainly hope not! Is it just a matter of being lazy? Probably not… Most importantly, what do you think it looks like from the viewpoint of the Google search engine — or the Google employee who happens to randomly review your site — when all of the backlinks to your website are directed at only the landing page? Got you thinking? Good! Because I’m willing to bet that you agree with me that this doesn’t look very natural. Not to mention the fact that neglecting to promote the entirety of any website is likely detrimental to a sites SEO. Just a thought…
Anchor Text:
Another matter is the text or anchor text that you use when creating the actual backlink. Do you always use the same anchor or keyword? Does that seem natural to you? Probably not. But some times we just use the same term anyway — hoping and impatiently awaiting for our site to rank for the term. Did you ever take into consideration that on many sites the text for a URL is “Visit Website” or “Website”?
In the least I would recommend a random anchor backlink of this type. Perhaps 1 out of every 10 backlinks would be the best proportion; though I’ve heard as high as 20%… Nevertheless, break up the monotonous anchored backlinks directed toward your website or blog they look more natural.
So there you go. Chew on this information a little bit and analyze it. Most importantly, start getting some backlinks to ALL of the internal pages on your website to make the link-building process more natural!
Here are some excellent backlink resources to help and get you on your way:
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http://www.websiteoutlook.com/
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http://www.alexa.com/
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http://www.cubestat.com/
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http://www.quantcast.com/
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http://www.aboutdomain.org/
Website development entails numerous components which ultimately determines whether or not your site sinks or swims! Getting the right backlinks is the most important factor to consider. Moreover, even if your site has thousands of backlinks pointing to it, if it is not properly developed for search engine optimization chances are the site will not maintain its placement in the SERPS. (Search Engine Result Pages)
I find it simply amazing that there is so much content floating around in cyberspace about the various attributes of back links and whether or not their value has any significance for your website or blog. Some critics will vehemently proclaim that no follow back links have no value whatsoever! Others state that keyword anchored backlinks with either do follow or no follow attributes have positive value as long as they are acquired from a source that:
- has relevant content to the key words utilized in the link; and
- is credible by scrutiny of the search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing.
In any case it is important to know what does and does not work, otherwise you may just be spinning your wheels…
As for the truth to whether the “do follow” vs. “no follow” attribute matters, it is essential to know that the only difference between do follow and no follow is that a “no follow” attribute is a hyperlink inclusion that tells search engines not to pass on any credibility or influence from the host site to any outbound link from that site. In doing this it allows the host site to maintain its integrity or page ranking assignment. However, that does not necessarily mean that the fact that a site with PR 6, 7, or 8 — a site considered extremely credible by search engines — cannot afford credibility to outbound links from the site, does it?
A recent discovery in my Hostgator cPanel helped me to conclude that even “no follow” backlinks can boost your site up in the SERPS past high PR sites, even if your site has zero or lower PR! What I discovered is that my cPanel now includes SEO Tools called Attracta SEO and it is excellent!
My opinion is that Hostgator is the best hosting source available. My sites are never down, it has an excellent cPanel, and their support is extraordinary! What has this got to do with Backlinks? Well, when you use the coupon code: “FREESEOTOOLS” when you sign up for Hostgator Hosting you save money in conjunction to a service that has excellent SEO tools, resources, and credibility with the search engines.
In conclusion I wish to end this post with a simple question to visitors:
Would you pay for PR 6-7 backlinks? If so:
How much would you pay for six of these high PR backlink resources?
Looking forward to your responses!
Effectively Marketing Your Site For End-Users
Although it can often times be easy to forget, first and foremost the essential and fundamental truth about websites which transcends all the conjecture floating around in cyberspace by so called SEO and internet marketers is this: Sites that do not work for end users (i.e., customers, visitors, and browsers) absolutely do not work! Websites are simply no good for anything or anyone other than the self-serving ego of their creator if their primary is search engines… Most importantly, unlike us mortal beings, search engine robots with their crawling spiders — limited only to that which was programmed into their silicon chips and lacking any free-will — never forget this truth! Relentlessly crawling and collecting words and link sources, search engine robots always put the end-user friendliness and content quality high on the priority list of factors when they are assigning return position and/or page rank of all sites. So the next time you stumble across a site and read that backlinks — one way links, regardless of quality or relevancy – have become the crème de la crème of search-engine optimization and are the only kinds of links the search engines are still including in their ranking calculations, just bear one thing in mind:
This unfounded myth is patently incorrect!
Go ahead… ask! Don’t be shy? I already know; your wondering how I or anyone else would know this, right? It’s relatively simple. Because they (the search engines) say so! That’s correct… facts right from the source. And there’s no better place to get the facts, unless of course you wish to skewer them for self-serving interests?
Now before I go any further, perhaps you might be thinking, “yea right; why should I believe what the search engines publish?” “Such and such site states that one-way backlinks are gospel, and that search engine technicians and publicists are likely to misguide webmasters to try and keep their algorithm parameters (or some other off-the-wall rubbish) a secret … For this type of proposition I would be forced to respond with a few simple questions?
- What are the credentials of the author at such and such site, and where does he or she obtain the factual basis to support their proposition?
- What is it at the such and such site that they are marketing or otherwise looking to: a) gain from you, or b) keep from you?
- Why would anyone render anything from an internet marketer, webmaster, or SEO — whose identity may or may not be available — gospel over the credibility of huge corporate businesses whose ultimate goal is to become most popular by rendering the best end results for people searching for things? It is my experience that the primary goal of search engines is that they want your legitimate, popular, and NO SPAM site to perform well for the customer just as badly as you do.
What the major search engines state about indexing, return position, and page rank:
Google:
“make pages primarily for users, not for search engines.”
~Official Quality Guidelines
Yahoo!:
It prefers to index “pages designed primarily for humans, with search engine considerations secondary.”
Bing:
Microsoft advises webmasters trying to optimize for Bing to concentrate on making sure the site’s “target audience is interested.”
That is what they say, and they want NOTHING from me or you other than simple compliance with user friendly principles. Now back to links…
Good backlinks can often help a site’s search engine rating. All links are a sign of popularity or a “vote” for your site. Believe it or not, search engines do tabulate votes favorably as long as:
a) the links are relevant
b) the links are organically obtained; and
c) the links are non-spam in nature.
Now because search engines primarily trade in relevance, and make very few — if any — value judgments whatsoever, it is practically impossible for a backlink to hurt your sites page rank. And although backlinks can and will drive potential customers to your site and act as votes by search engines, they provide absolutely nothing in the form of value or benefit to your end users! They don’t see them, and probably don’t even know that they exist. Moreover, as for fulfilling the prerequisites of the search engines by creating “pages primarily for users and being designed for humans,” it becomes clear that one-way backlinks are detrimental to the rudiments of successful SEO and internet marketing campaigns which focus on conversion and targeted traffic.
On the other link horizon, however, are reciprocal links, and for the purpose of catering to the end-user they are the best link source. Here is why.
Not only are reciprocal links an integral part of making a site “primarily for end users“, they are also pathways to:
- how to tips and tricks for fixing stuff
- virtual rooms jammed with useful information
- portals to necessary service providers and communities
Moreover, a quality reciprocal link is better than a one-way link because its diverse nature enhances your site’s search engine appeal twice-over by providing both a backlink vote with search engines, and a forward link which can help you comply with search engine recommendations to “make pages primarily for users.”
What are Reciprocal Links?
Wikipedia defines a reciprocal link as follows:
“A reciprocal link is a mutual link between two objects, commonly between two websites to ensure mutual traffic. Example: Alice and Bob have websites. If Bob’s website links to Alice’s website, and Alice’s website links to Bob’s website, the websites are reciprocally linked. Website owners often submit their sites to reciprocal link exchange directories, in order to achieve higher rankings in the search engines. Reciprocal linking between websites is an important part of the search engine optimization process because Google uses link popularity algorithms (defined as the number of links that led to a particular page and the anchor text of the link) to rank websites for relevancy.”
Granted, quality reciprocal links relevant to your site are very tough to attain and take a lot of manual work, but the benefits achieved through your hard work serve the common goal of both you and the search engines by marketing your site for end-users.
When the search engines like your site everyone is happy!
Why Not Link To Sites With Low Page Rank?
It’s no secret in the SEO world that quality, relevant, reciprocal links added to a site in appropriate numbers at reasonable intervals may very well improve a site’s appeal by Google. Moreover, gaining backlinks from high PR (Page Rank) sites provides a higher grade of influence for your site by virtue of the linking sites achieved status via their established Google Page Rank. But does that necessarily mean that sites with low or even zero PR do not provide useful backlinks? And how do you suppose that these high PR sites gained their authority to begin with?
It is estimated that about 99 million of the internet’s approximate 110 million websites never attain a position in Google’s SERPS to really matter. And although most webmasters refuse to admit or otherwise believe it, Google’s algorithms pay very little attention to PR when assigning return positions. So then, if PR is practically irrelevant to your sites return position in the SERPS, and return position is the only thing that determines if you will get page views via Google’s natural search results, then why not get backlinks to low PR sites?
Google, as it has been repeatedly stated in its official pronouncements, considers backlinks an integral and essential part of the web experience; using them as a factor in both its assigned ranking and return position. Just as good links are good links and can be beneficial for your site, bad links are often harmful for your site. The difference between how a link to a so-called “popular” website with a high PR and a less popular site with a lower PR impacts a given site’s return position is simply just a matter of such small degree that PR should really bear no relevance whatsoever in your backlink campaign. The simple TRUTH is that backlinks to quality, content-compatible sites with low or even no PR will not hurt your ranking and can actually drive traffic and customers to your site!
Contrary to the unfounded belief of many webmasters that only PR matters, there simply is nothing in the Google Guidelines which states that they penalize sites for having good but not high PR backlinks. As a matter of fact, the guidelines clearly state that the following “black-hat” linking practices may affect a site’s ranking adversely:
- link schemes designed to increase ranking or Page Rank
- links to web spammers or “bad neighborhoods” on the web
The Google Guidelines say absolutely nothing about downgrading any website or blog for a quality backlink from a relatively new or otherwise under-ranked site. As such, because there is nothing contained within the guidelines about penalizing good links to low-ranked sites, it is absolutely illogical and bad business practice to refuse a link that would otherwise provide valuable information to your end users, or by creating a portal for new prospects to your site, simply due to the that link’s low PR status.
My suggestion is that when in doubt, read the directives from the source! Don’t fall for all that hype from third parties who get their facts mixed up, or simply create dissension for the sake of acquiring visitors to their sites…
How To Avoid The Bad Neighborhood Blues
I can only suspect that you have managed to find your way to this site because your interest falls into either or both of the following two categories:
a) You are a social blogger looking for popularity and/or fame; or
b) You are a webmaster looking to brush-up on or advance your backlink skills for the sole purpose of successful internet marketing.
Now as most of you may or may not know, the term “SEO” is an abbreviation for Search Engine Optimization. And it is no secret that gaining backlinks is the primary means upon which to get your website or blog positioned well in the search engines… But I’m going to jump a little bit ahead of the game here to help eliminate a potential and inevitable problem that you may face in your backlink building conquest; especially if you are new to the game.
As with any internet marketing technique, there are certain risks attributable to having other sites linking to your site. This is because any given site could ultimately turn out to be a bad reference or otherwise have less than a reputable character with the search engines because they have been associated with SPAM; thereby imputing that status to your site. Although there are some reputable resources out there that teach you skills on how to build effective backlinks — sites I will respectfully endorse a bit further on in this site — for now I find it very critical to focus on a subject that most of these sources simply glean over and/or fail to mention altogether. That subject is known as “Co-Citation”.
Now just like anything else there is both bad and good co-citation, especially when it comes to backlinks. Although the term “co-citation” is rarely used by seasoned webmasters or internet marketers, the term that most webmasters are familiar with when it comes to link building is “Bad Neighborhood”. Both terms essentially have the same meaning, so distinguishing between the two is mere semantics because the term “bad neighborhood” is simply a case of co-citation. Needless to say, at all cost you want to avoid being associated with sites that have been branded as a bad neighborhood! To achieve this it is imperative that you understand how your site might become associated with a bad neighborhood through co citation.
What is Co-Citation?
Co-Citation is a popular similarity measure used to establish a subject similarity between two or more items, in this case we’re referring to backlinks. The following illustration provides an example.
The upper four sites A, B, C and D all link to the other sites 1, 2, 3 and 4, but A, B, C and D do not backlink to each other. However, despite the fact that sites A, B, C and D do not link to each other, search engines imply that sites A, B, C and D are related to each other because sites 1, 2, 3 and 4 link to them. In other words, if your website is “1″, because your site is linked to from A, and A links to sites 2, 3 and 4 your site is considered to be associated in the same neighborhood as sites 2, 3 and 4. Likewise, the relationship of site B linking to sites 2, 3 and 4; or site C linking sites 2, 3 and 4; or site D linking to sites 2, 3 and 4 — all create and form the same co-citation association to your site. If any of sites A, B, C, D or 2, 3 or 4 are associated in a bad neighborhood these backlinks could could substantially jeopardize the trust-rank of your site in the eyes of the search engines.
Therefore, when you are getting backlinks to your site, the most critical element is not only who you link to or receive a link from, but also who is linked on these same sites with you! It does not matter if you are not directly linked to sites that are considered bad, the fact that you are on the same site pages with bad sites means that your site is now linked from a bad neighborhood, which could substantially hinder your sites ranking and trust in the search engines. Granted, having a lot of backlinks to your site is good SEO, but being conservative and cautious as to which sites you link with could save you from potential problems in the long run.
