Link Blog

For those of you that might not be familar with SEO^[1] lingo, anchor text is simply the words that go in a hyperlink. Anchor text is extremely important to search engine spiders because it should tell them what the page being linked to is about. In fact anchor text is so important, particularly to Google, that it is possible to have a page place in their results without having a reference to the term anywhere on your page!

This means when you are seeking links you want to make sure that you are using the most effective and descriptive words you can about your site. It is a good idea to avoid setting up links that point to you that say things like "Click Here". It will serve your purpose much better if you use a keyword in the anchor.

So if you have a site about dry erase markers and that is the target phrase you want to place in the serps^[2], then you need to set your links up in a way that has those terms in your link. So an effective ad might be, "Super discount deals on dry erase markers. Visit us Today!" instead of, "For discount dry erase markers click here".

Anchor text has been responsible for something known as Google/Yahoo Bombing. Since the discovery of Google Bombing it seems to me that the search engine spiders are looking more carefully at the anchor text being used. So, if you have 1000 links and every one of them have the exact same anchor it seems that your placements would not be as effective as they would if you added some diversity to your anchor text. So instead of always having people link to dry erase markers you could have them link to blue dry erase markers.

Personally, I like to use anchor text that reflects a page within a site. So when I set out on a link campaign I would review the interior pages of a site to determine what the best anchor text to use would be. This allows for diversity and relevancy. So before you go anchoring away check your sitemap (you are using a sitemap, right?) and use the keywords and phrases that are already set up within your site.

SEO - This is a term that is acronym for Search Engine Optimization.

SERP - This is a term that is acronym for Search Engine Results Page. If this word is new to you, it won't be for long, SEO and SEM (stands for Search Engine Marketers) guys and gals use this term very often.