by Jason Kendall
On-Page SEO factors have been dealt with in a previous editorial. But the crux of SEO is off page. Imagine it as a 'voting' system. Site A gives a link (vote) to site B. They're suggesting the site is worth looking at.
The link to your site has two main parts. The full web address of the actual page being pointed to. And second, the 'anchor text' or 'keyword phrase' that is highlighted on the web-page for you to click. That page can then be seen as receiving one 'vote'. So, a tick to move the site higher up the listings for that phrase.
It is always so. The keyword phrase and targeted page are completely tied to each other. Or the process can't happen. The SE's know what search term to use for that page based on the anchor text. This is vital to understand: The search terms you will be listed for are completely determined by your anchor texts.
For this reason, a highlighted link with 'CLICK here to read more' would serve no SEO purpose - can you see why? 'Click Here' becomes the keyword phrase we've created a vote for. Who would choose to search for Click Here? Clearly no-one would!
That's why it's so necessary to use the right anchor text. For it represents all the phrases your site will be listed for. And by the way, if you DO Google "Click Here" you will always find the Adobe Reader download site at the top. Is that because it describes their site? Of course not! It's simply that 'click here' features on so many sites to download Adobe Reader.
So the Search Engines draw on the anchor text 'phrase'. It's quite sensible really. Search Engines seek to replicate how an actual person would look for something. But in many ways your actual page content is irrelevant. For if the text that is pointing to your site says Blue Flowers, then that is what you will be listed for! That's irrefutable!
Inevitably there are other things to consider... The Search Engines also take into account a pages' title and its wording. And many more factors too. They'll look, for example at how appropriate the relevancy is of the websites linking to yours.
The crux of it all is though that a mass of back links solves all the problems! And these need to be from as many different sites as possible - with the correct phrases used as anchor text. The 'authority' of a site also plays a major part: Receiving a link from a top site like Microsoft is much more valuable than one from a start-up site.
Selecting the right keywords to build ratings for is quite technical. Always perform keyword research, and check out what the competition are using. But this is the crux of the thing... When someone is looking for your product, what words do they use for their search? Find the answer to that, and you've got your keywords.
Interesting answers often come up when you do your researches and tests. As a matter of fact, the phrases are very often not at all what you'd expect. Human beings are odd creatures and we all have our own ideas of how to find what we want. You may think to Google "quality mattresses" if you're hoping to sleep better. While someone else might automatically think to say 'I need more sleep'.
Would you really want to trust your marketing to vague ideas and feelings about what might be typed in? DO NOT under-estimate the value that well-phrased keywords can carry. The amount of traffic you'll receive is intrinsically linked to this. A comparison could be made with a Business Yellow Pages entry. If you've been entered as a Florist, but you're actually an electrician, you're not going to get anywhere. Similarly, for effective and profitable optimisation on-line, you must perform thorough keyword research and analysis. - 20490
(C) Jay Kendall. Hop over to EvolveSEM.co.uk for logical ideas on (http://www.evolvesem.co.uk/SEM_Consultants.html) SEM Service and (http://www.evolvesem.co.uk/SEO_Consultants.html) SEO Service.
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