Links- Staying the Optimization Course

Your golf game can break down over just one flaw in your swing or miscalculation of the wind. The success of your website can do the same – there are several key factors, and a breakdown in any of them can cause disaster.

Links are one of the most important facets of your site’s search engine optimization. Making sure you don’t pass up the opportunity to plug your keywords is imperative!

You can use links on your site to get from page to page, and also to link from your blog to your site. You can always keep it simple and simply make your anchor text read ‘click here’, but you will be missing out on a totally natural, easy way to plug some of your most needed keywords.

For example, if you are setting up a blog post you could mention your daughter’s cat and how silly she looked all dressed up in an old baby bonnet and some socks for mittens. Then you can add that she would probably been much happier in a ‘made for felines’ outfit from PetsStyles and highlight those six words as your visible anchor text for your link back to your pet clothing site.

You can even make it a deep link that will send you to a landing page specifically devoted to cat bonnets and booties – with an appropriate ‘home page’ link on that page as well of course, in case they have a playful pooch at home too!

Links in articles on directories or submission sites should also contain links where permissible, and these should be optimized as well for your keywords – not necessarily just your site name. Don’t forget to link to appropriate pages!

When linking to other sites, whether for reciprocity or because they are super relevant, remember that unless you have agreed to link with text of their own design you have yet another chance to optimize the anchor text. Don’t be afraid to make your anchor text longer than a few words if necessary.

If you decide to link to a site that does dog grooming, you can still plug your keywords: ‘On a clean and groomed dog, clothes look twice as good!’ This will ensure you are taking every opportunity to make your links beneficial.

Once you make it a habit to think about the anchor text of every link you place, it will become second nature just as it did with your content. The trick is to submerge yourself so deeply into the idea of optimization that it becomes reflex ; after a while you do it without even thinking about it.

When your content, pictures, videos and links are all optimized correctly, you can begin branching out into the more complex ideas behind SEO – and this is where you have to start watching your step. Black hatters are behind every bush, and you must be careful not to be lured into traps that can result in a penalty from Google or worse.

Tomorrow: Branching Out