Location & Placement Affects the Power of a Backlink
Backlinks may play the most important role in SEO, other than killer content. If you want to be found whenever someone looks up something in the search engines, then you need to get backlinks to your sites and blogs. However, I’ve found that the placement and location of the back-links can make a HUGE difference. I’m talking about whether you’re link is located in the footer, sidebar, comments, or in the content.
If you didn’t know already, then you probably can guess that a link that’s in the content is more powerful and will give you much more link juice than any other type of backlink. Why is that?
Let’s talk about one particular search engine, Google, the Big Daddy of all the search engines. If you look deeper into the Google Algorithm, then you will learn that Google likes links that are in place to help the reader. So relevant contextual links that serve as a reference and source to the content, makes Google happy. Also, it’s believed that content surrounding a link helps the search engine spiders know what the link it’s following is about, which makes it a more relevant backlink.
That’s not all, many pro seo’s say search engine spiders crawl and break up the page in different sections of importance. For instance, the header and content are the most important parts of the page, with the sidebar and footer being at the bottom of importance. It makes a lot of sense if you think about it, what part of the site plays the biggest part on what keywords you show up for in the serp’s? The title tags and your keywords in the content, right?
Of course not everything is so black and white when it comes to SEO and the search engine algorithms. But from what I’ve researched and experimented on my own, the importance of backlinks depending where they are located on a site really does seem to make a huge difference.
Here’s my experience with link placement
Back in the day I tried a few things out and plus I was ignorant, so I did whatever the heck the experts told me to do. I was told to do a lot of blog commenting and link exchanges with relevant blogs to get more back links to my site. I had acquired numerous backlinks from many of the top blogs for my niche in the top commentators section, usually located on their sidebar or footer. I also left a lot of blog comments on dofollow blogs. Not only that, I managed to get placed on several blog rolls with decent Pagerank with a one way link back to my site. I really didn’t notice any changes after several months. I didn’t gain any pagerank either. After awhile longer many of these links were taken down. I figured I would lose pagerank or positions in the serp’s from losing these backlinks, guess what happened? Squat, I lost no placement or pagerank and nothing really happened. Some of these links I had were on PR 5 or better sites and of course all the links I acquired were all dofollow.
Then, I started to do more article marketing, getting backlinks from guest posts and only worked on getting contextual links. Sometimes I could almost see my sites or pages moving in the serp’s the very next day for the anchor text I was using. It sometimes only takes a few good backlinks in the middle of the content from a trusted site to give you page rank and move you in the search engine results pages. Try it out for yourself.
What’s the best way of getting contextual links or backlinks in the content?
Article marketing is a good way, but the best way is writing valuable content on your site so others will link to you. But if you’re not the best writer or want to speed things up, then you can do guest posting. Which basically is the same thing as someone linking to you in their content. However, not all of us have the time or skills to write guest posts, so the other alternative is to hire someone to do that for you.
I want to add, getting back links on blog rolls, from blog commenting and link exchanges may help your site out. And of course, each site will give different amounts of link juice than others. Back when I was purposely trying to get these type of back links they really didn’t do much for my sites. Do some experimenting on your own and see what gives you the best results. But I guarantee you’ll eventually see that links in the content are the most powerful backlinks of all.
100 Top SEO Tips-Tricks and Resources for 2009
I learned a great deal about search engine optimization (seo) tips and techniques in 2009. It also changed quite a bit this year as in search engine algorithms and social media coming up as a major player for traffic and the way it will change SEO in the near future. I know I love huge lists with valuable information, facts and resources that help me get more traffic and ultimately achieve more success online.
That’s why I decided to go out with a bang for the end of 2009 and compile a Huge List of search engine optimization tips/tricks, resources, changes and some new things I learned this year. Much of this list separates myths from facts and what and what not to waste your time on.
1. – Use the nofollow attribute (rel=”nofollow”) when needed
2. blog commenting is worthwhile but leave good genuine and helpful feedback
3. meta descriptions and their keywords dont matter and don’t boost position
4. post tags or tag clouds are still worth including
5. The Title tag to a post or article is most important, then heading tags is next in importance <h1><h2>
6. use keywords in permalink
7. don’t pay for links or be subtle about it
8. be cautious who you do reciprocal links with
9. use good seo tools to keep up with your competition and see what they are up to
10. post at least one new post to your blog everyday
11. get backlinks from relevant sites and content
12. pay for seo
13. use article marketing
14. most directories are worthless for PR Juice but can confuse your competition via link count
15. submit to “Yahoo directory”
16. submit to “Dmoz directory”
17. use keywords in titles of your images
18. use relevant sigs in forums
19. submit articles to “ezines”
20. interlink pages but in moderation
21. search spiders don’t like flash so use minimum amount as possible
22. implementing links with javascript don’t get spidered
23. create a sitemap
24. create a robots.txt
25. create account with “technorati” and claim blogs
26. create account with “blog catalog” and claim blogs
27. do guest posts on relevant blogs
28. social bookmark your great posts and have others do it as well
29. use “Twitter”
30. make it easy for people to bookmark your articles, with WP, just add a plugin
31. write pillar posts
32. create value in your content
33. don’t create mirror sites
34. stay away from black hat strategies
35. white hat seo methods is the way to go, especially for longevity
36. don’t try to trick search engines, especially Google
37. Google is still King
38. treat Google like a family member
39. hiring a good, legit and professional seo firm should cost thousands a mth. or a few hundred an hour, concentrate on ROI not the cost
40. read problogger
41. read doshdosh
42. read dailyblogtips
43. read dailyseotips
44. read google blog
45. read Matt Cutts blog
46. use wordpress
47. “all in one seo plugin” for WP is Awesome
48. “xml sitemap plugin” for WP is Awesome
49. don’t allow spam comments with permalinks to irrelevant sites
50. use link baits – examples: tutorials, vast collection of resources, solution to a common problem
51. use videos
52. use images
53. add titles in images, and keywords in your image alt or description tags
54. use “blogger”
55. read search engine land
56. read seomoz
57. Build the Perfectly Optimized Web Page
58. 301 redirect (permanent redirect) link it’s pointing to gets credit as the “real url” not the requested link (shortened link)
59. 302 redirect (temporary redirect) the requested link (shortened link) gets credit as the “real url” not the link it’s pointing to
60. SEO and search algorithms change constantly, stay on top of it
61. content is king as well as self promotion
62. use a good keyword tool, Google keyword tool is O.K. but a little behind on stats
63. anticipate what people will search for or “The Next Big Thing”
64. be careful of duplicate content, especially with your url’s
65. watch your Anchor text, don’t use “click here” use your keywords
66. stay focused on creating awesome content not “adding as many keywords you can”
67. only link to sites you feel worthy of linking to
68. Awesome Complete Search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO) lists and resources Top Rank Blog
69. Publish at least one killer blog post or article per week
70. spend one hour a day brainstorming and researching to write your pillar articles and link baits
71. network with other like minded people, marketers and bloggers daily
72. promote your killer articles and blog/sites everyday
73. consistently give value to your readers daily
74. shorter the url or domain name the better
75. personalize your content in your blogs and let your readers get to know the real you
76. build trust and create value
77. use Facebook
78. social media marketing is the future
79. 20 Top SEO plugins for WP mashable
80. use pinging services, like “pingomatic”
81. link build daily
82. every page should target a tight collection of keywords, around 3 to 5 all relevant to each other
83. create content that starts conversation or controversy
84. create content that drives conversions (sales)
85. keywords should be spread throughout content naturally, seen by search engines but not obvious to your readers
86. domain name registration length is a (SEO Myth)
87. Bold your keywords so they stand out
88. the first words of your content should include Keywords relevant for that page
89. All the SEO resources and tips/techniques for your “Videos” Reelseo
90. In SEO, keywords and branding don’t mix, optimize for your keywords to get traffic and your site should naturally rank for your brand name
91. don’t use tiny url’s to often, it can scare away some and not good for branding
92. use squidoo and hubpages
93. Anchor text links – keep under 8 words and 55 characters
94. search engines bring in most of the traffic to most sites but social media brings in more returning traffic to a website
95. use white space effectively in your web design
96. moonlighting in other areas can be a positive thing, example: you’re a pro. SEO and you also moonlight as a affiliate marketer and social media
97. adaptability and diversity will help you succeed and good for longevity
98. Top 50 SEO Blog Posts for 2009 Evancarmichael
99. Read as much as possible about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) from credible sources
100. – Experimenting on your own is the best way to master SEO!
There you have it, my list of 100 to end this year. I hope this list and sources will help you out in some way since I’ve learned so much from others who write great and valuable content. I know I’m looking forward to 2010 and ready to improve my seo skills and implement what I’ve learned. Feel free to add anything you’ve learned this year or anything I might have missed.
Happy New Year!
Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Optimization involves a number of things. The term is used to describe the process by which the visibility of a site is increased. Search Engine Optimization is therefore not limited to just webmasters, marketer’s bloggers or the like.
For anyone looking to have a strong online presence and increase the number of people visiting his or her site, then search engine optimization is the answer. The importance of these techniques can best be explained by reviewing how people search for information online. In most cases, people rarely go past the first page in a search result. The goal of any webmaster, marketer or blogger is therefore to appear on the first page of a search result.
While this is easier said than done, appearing on the first page of a search result demands devoting a lot of time, effort and money to the search engine optimization techniques, trying out what works best with what and having an ongoing project of SEO.
Any one SEO technique is not a guarantee that it will result in amazing results, even when it is perfectly implemented. A lot of factors that go into consideration during a page rank make this almost unpredictable. Thus, effective SEO experts realize that using more than one technique is more likely to produce the desired results.
While is common among Search Engine Optimization experts to place a lot of emphases on pleasing Search Engine Spiders, it is equally important to think about the end user. This is because, those who return to a website after the initial visit are more likely to purchase something or make a subscription.
Think of the market needs and have your website content updated frequently with new relevant material. For example, when dealing with ‘auto insurance’, think outside the box by offering content that target tracking companies, mothers, moving companies and others.
You will be amazed at how many people will visit your website due to that content. Good content brings returning visitors who eventually link to your site and this results in your site getting highly ranked.
Seo Techniques to Rank #1
Increasing web traffic to a website is challenging. However, by employing a number of SEO techniques, this seemingly enormous task can be undertaken with amazing success. In order to attain good search engine rankings, the use of the right SEO techniques is almost always a priority.
In fact, without some SEO techniques being incorporated into a website, a website may not be picked at all by a search robot and will therefore not show up when a search is made. Some common terms that one may come across when doing SEO for a website are targeted traffic, traffic increase, SEO and others. All these terms simply try to show different ways that SEO implementation can be undertaken.
Use of keywords on page text is unquestionably the most common SEO technique currently. The ease of this technique makes it the preferred choice by many. On top of that, a website owner can do it without the knowledge of web design or search engines.
When choosing the keywords to use, ensure that they are not overly competitive and are also commonly used in searches. This information can be gotten by use of SEO tools like wordtracker. These tools give one a level of competition among keywords and sometime offer options that can improve traffic flow to a site.
Use of links to direct people to your site is also an important SEO technique. When many websites link to your website, then the search engine robots will tend to view your website as having valuable content and therefore give it a higher rank than a site with less links. The more the number of links on a web page, the higher the rank the page will have. Consider also article submission to online directories like Ezine.
Another way is to pay for clicks so that your site will be seen by others in the sponsored links section. These SEO techniques, when used in conjunction with others will greatly increase targeted traffic to a website and thus more revenue.
