SEO: Keywords Part 17 – Anchor Text
Yesterday we talked about anchor text and how Google began using links as the primary means for ranking sites about 5 years ago.
Today, we’re going to pick up there and talk about good anchor text vs. bad anchor text. I had one of those moments a couple years ago where a little light bulb came on. For years so-called “SEO Gurus’ had been saying that you had to get links from sites that were closely related to your topic if you wanted your site to rank well. In fact, if sites that were not closely related to your site, linked to yours, it would count for little or even potentially harm your ranking on Google. This rhetoric was great for scaring people. Then one day, I decided to search Google for the phrase “click here.” Try it yourself.
The results are the same today as they were years ago. Adobe’s website comes up ranked at the top. Specifically, their page where you can download the Adobe Acrobat Reader. But here’s the funny thing. That page doesn’t mention the word “click” or “click here.” The page doesn’t even mention the phase so how on earth could they come up ranked number one for that phrase?
Because millions of sites link to them with the phrase “click here.” Practically every site that offers some sort of PDF download, also says that if you need the Acrobat Reader, you can click here to download it for free. Bam the light went on. It wasn’t about the sites that linked to them. It wasn’t about the content on the Adobe page. It was only about the anchor text on millions of other sites and what it said. The sites that linked to Adobe could have been everything from auto dealers to doctors’ offices. It didn’t matter whether or not they were closely related to the same topic as the Adobe site.
So that raised the question, how many people had wasted time getting other sites that were closely related to them, to link to them but neglected to use good anchor text. You see, if you get a hundred sites to link to your site and all of them use “click here” as the anchor text, your site will only rank better for that silly phrase. On the other hand, if you own a real estate brokerage firm in Miami, and you get a bunch of sites to link to your site with the phrase “Miami Realtors” you’ll likely rank better for a phrase that would benefit your business. Are you starting to see the difference between good and bad anchor text?
Here’s one of the big mistake web designers make. They have a link on someone’s site that looks like this:
Miami Real Estate
http://www.miamirealestate.com
That sort of link just increases your site’s visibility when someone is searching for http://www.miamirealestate.com. Think about how stupid that is. If they know the domain name, they don’t need to search for it. You want to be found when someone searches for Miami Real Estate so use that as the link itself. This is much better:
Miami Real Estate
http://www.miamirealestate.com
Now do you see the difference? I hope that helps. Just remember to use good anchor text and more importantly, when you trade links with another site, get them to use good anchor text to link to your site. If they don’t know what you’re talking about, refer them to this posting. Otherwise you’re just wasting your time building links to your site with a link that is worthless in terms of your Google ranking.
Chadd Bryant
Founder, IBCC
