Online Auctions

In our previous article, we covered the basic theory of SEO and talked about ‘On Page’ factors. Off-Page is much more critical though. Think of it as appointing votes. If another site places a link to your site then that site has given you a vote of confidence. It’s as if they’re promoting the value of the site.

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.

Thus you’ll understand why highlighting ‘Click Here…’ creates no value in SEO terms. The phrase ‘CLICK Here’ is what we’ve voted for! Who thinks of typing in ‘CLICK HERE’ when they’re doing a search? There isn’t anybody.

That’s the reason the anchor text must be right. Since it stands for all the terms you want to be searched for. Interestingly, you’ll see the Adobe Reader download site in pole position for ‘click here’. Do Adobe think ‘CLICK HERE’ is an important term? Heck No! But they’re up at the top because the phrase “CLICK HERE to Download Adobe reader” features on so many websites.

So to count a ‘vote’ for a web page, the Search Engines always go to the anchor text. And doesn’t that make sense? Google wants to emulate what a real human being is looking for and would like to find. To some extent it’s irrelevant what your page is actually about. The only relevant phrases are the anchor text phrases that point to you. That’s how it works.

Of course, it’s not quite as simple as that… The wording on a page being pointed at and its title are taken into account by the Search Engines. And a wealth of other details also. Just as an example – they’ll look at the spread and relevancy of the ‘voting’ sites.

The bottom line is – to SEO successfully takes a ton of back-links. If these back links come from a variety of sites and have well phrased anchor texts, then so much the better. A site’s quality is taken into account as well: There is much more value in a back-link from a highly rated site than from one with no rating at all.

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’.

Hypothesising on likely phrases is very unreliable. A lot of measuring, testing and research of each term is of vital importance. They’ll form the basis of ALL the visitors you’ll get to your website. It’s just like having an ad in a telephone Directory. You won’t receive any calls if you’re listed under an inappropriate heading. Careful keyword research and analysis is the key to effective SEO.