Backlinks and search engines
For any web page to be ‘ranked’ in the search engines and receive traffic it’s essential it has backlinks. Backlinks have three key elements, the web page from which the backlinks originate, the anchor text of the backlinks and what’s on the page to which the backlinks directs the visitor to.
The quantity of backlinks
The number of backlinks to a page is one of the factors the search engines consider when deciding how to position the page in the results displayed to the searcher.
The origin of the backlinks
The pages from which backlinks originate pass ‘authority’ and searchers to the page to which the backlinks point. So it follows that pages with backlinks from ‘trusted pages will receive fairer consideration from the search engines. Pages from sources such as educational (.edu) or government (.gov) sites naturally are attributed with more trust and authority.
Google Page Rank
Backlinks from web pages with high page rank (a ‘reward’ given by Google to a page that it has observed over a period to have attracted, sustained and continued to accumulate relevant backlinks) pass some of their page rank via the backlink to the target page.
The ‘anchor text’
When you see a backlink on a web page it normally has a label a word or text related to the content at the page to which this backlink is pointing, what this ‘anchor text’ says has influence upon the value the search engines attribute to the link. Relevance is the guiding principle for every search engine mechanisms and it follows if the text on the page is about ‘drying chillis” then it is from a search engine’s point of view, more valuable for the backlink’s anchor text to this page to contain the word ‘chilli’ as opposed to a related term such as ‘drying spices’.
Common issues
It’s not unheard of for first timers to confuse the quantity with the quality of backlinks and become quickly frustrated by their lack of progress For example if most of your backlinks to your ‘parenting’ page originate from pages not related to ‘parenting’ then whilst you have backlinks they will almost always bring you the wrong visitors.
How to manufacture backlinks
So here is my risk free guidance for getting backlinks to your pages, great positions in the search engine results pages and the right type of traffic to your web pages.
- It is essential you get the right keywords before you expend any effort whatsoever.
- I like to build a keyword ‘cloud’.
- I always start with a single primary keyword or key phrase which has substantial visitor traffic.
- To work out the volume of visitor traffic is being coming from searches for my top level keyword I use the Google keyword analyzer tool.
- The Google tool presents a list of keywords connected to my main keyword and from this list I build my cloud.
- I then create content in the form of articles and videos containing backlinks with the correct ‘anchor text’ to my ‘money’ or ‘target’ page and send these to the various directories.
- My guiding principle is to write content that will attract traffic and compel them to follow the backlinks to my target pages as well as send backlinks.
Backlinks and Search Engine visibility
Sometimes called off page links, backlinks are the sledgehammer of search engine positioning and traffic generation. To understand backlinks there are three things you need to consider, the source from which the backlinks come from, the anchor text of the backlinks and the content of the page to which the backlinks sends the visitor to.
The volume of backlinks
Just about all of the search engines appraise the number of backlinks to a web page when deciding where this page should be displayed in the search results.
The origin of the backlinks
Backlinks are like votes – the higher the number of votes (backlinks) the more relevant and popular the page is viewed by the search engine. So it follows that pages with backlinks from authoritative pages will receive fairer consideration from the search engines. Government (.gov) and educational (.edu) sites are good examples of sites that are authoritative and trustworthy.
Google Page Rank
Google has the concept of ‘page rank’, this is the value indicator it attaches to a page it considers to have accumulated authority over time from backlinks pointing towards it.
The ‘anchor text’
When you see a backlink on a web page it normally has a label a word or text related to the subject at the page to which this backlink is pointing, what this ‘anchor text’ says has influence upon the value the search engines award to the link. Relevance is the guiding principle for the majority of search engine algorithms and it follows if the content of the page is about ‘drying chillis” then it is from a search engine’s point of view, more valuable for the backlink’s anchor text to this page to contain the word ‘chilli’ as opposed to a related term such as ‘drying spices’.
Common mistakes
Many people mess up their backlinks strategies because they focus on quantity as opposed to quality of backlinks. For example if the volume of your backlinks to your ‘parenting’ page originate from pages not related to ‘parenting’ then whilst you have backlinks they will almost always bring you the wrong visitors.
How to manufacture backlinks
So here is my tried and tested advice for getting backlinks to your pages, great positions in the search engine results pages and quality traffic to your web pages.
- It is essential you select the right keywords before you expend any effort whatsoever.
- I always set out to create a keyword cloud.
- You should always begin by identifying a key word or phrase which has a high volume of traffic.
- To discover the amount of visitor traffic is being generated by searches for my primary keyword I use the Google keyword analyzer tool.
- The Google tool creates a list of keywords connected to my main keyword and from this list I grow my cloud.
- From this cloud I generate a selection of content containing articles, videos and blog posts each with backlinks embedded with the related anchor text and then utilize a portfolio of content distribution systems to send my materials to a group of directories.
- When I author content I do so with the visitor in mind so as each piece of content attracts backlinks to itself as well as sends backlinks to my target pages.
Why backlinks are essential to bringing traffic to your web pages
For any web page to be ‘ranked’ in the search engines and attract searchers it’s essential it has backlinks. To understand backlinks there are three things you need to consider, the web page from which the backlinks originate, the anchor text of the backlinks and what’s on the page to which the backlinks directs the visitor to.
The volume of backlinks
The volume of backlinks to a page is one of the factors the search engines take into account when deciding where to position the page in the SERPS (Search Engine Page Results).
The source of the backlinks
Backlinks are like votes – the higher the amount of votes (backlinks) the more relevant and popular the page is considered by the search engine. But ‘votes’ cast via backlinks from trusted or authoritative pages to a page have greater influence over the search engines consideration of this page than backlinks originating from pages with lower ‘trust’ or authority. Government (.gov) and educational (.edu) sites are real examples of sites that are authoritative and trustworthy.
Google Page Rank
Backlinks from web pages with high page rank (a ‘reward’ awarded by Google to any page that it has observed over a period to have attracted, sustained and continued to accumulate relevant backlinks) pass some of their page rank via the backlink to the target page.
The ‘anchor text’
Just like a label, the backlink anchor text influences the search engines classification of the backlink. Relevance is the first principle for most search engine algorithms and it follows if the content of the page is about ‘drying chillis” then it is from a search engine’s point of view, more valuable for the backlink’s anchor text to this page to contain the word ‘chilli’ as opposed to a related term such as ‘drying spices’.
Common problems
Many people mess up their backlinks building activities because they fixate on quantity as opposed to quality of backlinks. Having a substantial amount of backlinks to your page doesn’t necessarily mean the search engines will see your page as relevant.
How to manufacture backlinks
So here is my tried and tested advice for getting backlinks to your pages, great positions in the search engine results pages and quality traffic to your site.
- When you start you should focus on choosing the right keywords.
- Your objective should be to manufacture a keyword cloud.
- You should always start by identifying a key word or phrase which has a high volume of traffic.
- To discover the volume of visitor traffic is being coming from searches for my primary keyword I use the Google keyword analyzer tool.
- The Google tool puts together a list of keywords associated with my main keyword and from this list I grow my cloud.
- I then create content in the form of articles and videos with backlinks with the right ‘anchor text’ to my ‘money’ or ‘target’ page and send these to the various directories.
- My golden rule is to author content that will attract traffic and persuade them to follow the backlinks to my target pages as well as send backlinks.
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