Optimal Linking for SEO - 10 Useful Tips for New Sites

The way you link, both internally and externally from your site, is crucial for achieving results in today's competitive market. Getting help from an SEO Agency can give you the advantage you need when it comes to search engine ranking and those all-important hits on your site.

As SEO experts are bound to point out, it's a process that needs to be carried on over time and considered whenever you make any changes to your site. As a new site you'll need strategies to assist you in climbing the ladder to good Internet ranking placement as quickly as possible.

Here are 10 very useful tips on links and linking architecture for anyone with an interest in SEO, and if you're involved in marketing of any kind over the Internet, then that's you.

1. Think About Who Links to You

You'll already know the value of reputation when it comes to marketing your product or service. If sites that are associated with good quality products are clearly seen by users and search engines to link to your own then this will reflect well on you.

Pay close attention to the number of .com and .co.uk sites that link to you, for example, and think carefully about ways in which you can encourage others to do likewise.

2. Think About Who You Link to

The same rules as before. Linking to good quality sites reflects well on your own. Keep up to date with innovations and developments and stay relevant with fresh links on your pages. Try to develop a balanced portfolio of links on your site.

3. Avoid Broken Links

As part of ongoing site maintenance for SEO you should be aware of any links that are no longer in use and remove them from your site.

4. Think About Relevance

This is very important. Link to sites with a clear relevance to your own only. Search engines pay special attention to this, as do users, and every irrelevant link on your page is detrimental.

5. Internal Links

Think about internal links and whether your site is user friendly. Make the most of internal links and get some advice from SEO experts about ways to link internally that will benefit your site's ranking.

6. Maps

Think about linking back to homepage and site maps. Make your site as easily navigable as possible. This will encourage users and benefit your site as search engines see these links when they probe it. A map is a useful way to introduce internal links and make the site easier to get around.

7. Link Building

Think about the use of exact match terms for link building. Build links using exactly matching anchor text. Remember though, don't get carried away - an excess use of keywords can be as bad as a lack. Using terms you want to rank for and that summarise the topic referred to, in moderation, can strengthen the ratings of your site by search engines.

Find a balance and use your senses. If you feel that you've gone overboard with repeated words or phrases in your internal links then you probably have.

8. Avoid Cloaking

Search engines are increasingly sophisticated at detecting 'black hat' or unscrupulous SEO techniques. While it may be tempting to improve your popularity on the net by attracting unwitting visitors to your site, be aware that techniques that accomplish this can get you into trouble.

Users and search engines are alike in their approach to cloaking - they don't accept or tolerate it. Stay within the boundaries to avoid problems.

9. Look at Where Your Competitors Link

This is legal and it can give you an advantage or at least level the playing field somewhat when it comes to links. Go to Yahoo and type in link: www.competitorsite.com to get access to useful tools for viewing your competition's linking activity. Remember that knowledge is power.

10. Strategise

Have a solid strategy for linking to, from and within your site. Think before you link and use every intelligent strategy at your disposal. Getting advice from website optimization specialists can really help.

To conclude, it's hoped that some important considerations about link building were highlighted for you here in our list.

Some areas were only touched upon, and in an environment such as computing where change is a constant, it pays to stay abreast of developments. Remember that if you're short on time, search engine optimisation specialists are available for SEO and improving your ranking and your profits.

Source: http://www.seoconsult.co.uk/

How to Judge the Value of a Link (New Google patent)

Google has been granted a new patent with the name "Determining quality of linked documents" some days ago. The patent might give us further insight on how Google judges the influence of a link on the search engine positions of a web page.

What is the patent about?

Here's the official abstract:

"A ranking component ranks documents, such as web pages or web sites, to obtain a ranking score that defines a quality judgment of the document. The ranking score of a particular document is based on the ranking score of the documents which link to it and based on affiliation among the documents."

According to the patent description, Google could rank the backlinks to a web page differently based on the relation of the pages to each other.

For example, links from pages that have the same author might have less influence on the rankings of a web page that have no affiliation with the linked site.

The patent also contains an image that illustrated how the related of web pages might be:

How does Google limit the value of a link?

According to the patent, Google might do the following:

• Google assigns a maximum value to links that come from affiliated pages.
• Google might assign individual values to links from independent pages.

That means that three links from an affiliated website carry more value than a single link but the total value of all links from the affiliated website is limited.

How can Google recognize affiliated web pages?
The patent shows a number of methods that Google can use to determine the affiliation of web pages:

• Interlinking: websites that are more closely interlinked to each other than the average pages on the websites might be considered to be affiliated.

• Hostnames: web pages that have the same domain name or subdomains that are on the same domain are probably affiliated.

• IP addresses: if the first two or three components of the IP addresses are identical, the web pages might be affiliated.

• Visitors: web pages that share many visitors during the same browsing session can be considered to be affiliated.

What does this mean for your website rankings?

Although Google has been granted the patent this month, they filed it a few years ago. That means that the methods described in the patent probably have been in use at Google for several years.

Basically, the patent confirms the previous recommendations in our newsletter and in our SEO software IBP:

• Try to get high quality backlinks from as many different websites as possible.
• Do not participate in automated linking schemes.
• The quality of the links is more important than the quantity of the links.

Article Source: http://www.free-seo-news.com

---

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Process

• Initial Analysis 
• Keyword Research & Analysis 
• Competitor Analysis
• On-Page Optimization
• Usability & Conversion Optimization
• Sitemap + RSS Feed inclusion 
• Search Engine + Directory Submission
• Social Bookmarking
• Blogs + Press Release Creation
• Articles Submission
• Link Popularity
• SERP Report
• Site Maintenance..

---

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Reporting Agreement Template

YOUR COMPANY

Company Address, Phone

Search Engine Optimization and Reporting Agreement

This agreement is hereby entered into between YOUR COMPANY (hereinafter referred to as “Company” and _____________________ (hereinafter referred to as “Client”) on the ___ day of _______, 200___.

1.”Company” agrees to provide Client with Search Engine Optimization and Reporting Services (hereinafter referred to as “SEO”) as described in this agreement. “Company” is authorized to use the specific keywords and/or phases set forth below for development, improving the ranking of, and/or positioning the contents of the Client’s URL(s), http://www.______________________.com in the search engines and/or directories that are most frequently used by the general public which are defined below.

2.Client agrees to pay “Company” a fee as stated in “Proposal.” Fee must be received prior to the start of any services provided. SEO Services are intended to provide the client with preferential positioning in selected search engines and report results on an ongoing and timely basis. SEO Services include:

• Research keywords and phrases to select appropriate, relevant search terms. Number of keywords is listed in the Proposal. Additional keyword purchases will require Addendum or separate contract.

• Edit various html tags and page text as necessary prior to submission to selected search engines and directories.

• Create as required, additional web pages for the purpose of “catching” keyword/phrase searches.

• Hand-submit your pages to the engines and directories stated in this agreement.

• Create positioning reports for main site and any associated pages showing rankings in the major search engines and under which keywords.

4. For the purposes of providing these services, client agrees to provide:

• Give “Company” FTP access to the main site for uploading new pages, and making changes for the purpose of optimization OR approval to go through 3rd Party.

• Client authorizes “Company” use of all client logos, trademarks, Web site images, etc., for use in creating informational pages and any other uses as deemed necessary by “Company” for search engine positioning and optimization.

• If Client’s site is light in textual content, client will provide additional relevant text content in electronic format for the purpose of creating additional web pages. Client agrees to provide content, for example 200 to 500-word “articles” about each of their keyword phrases.

5. Selected search engines* include:

• AOL
• Alta Vista
• About
• Google
• All The Web
• Excite
• Hot Bot
• Looksmart
• MSN
• Lycos
• Yahoo [web pages only]
• Netscape

* Top Major SE and SE names may change without notice

6. Client acknowledges the following with respect to services:

• “Company” has no control over the policies of search engines with respect to the type of sites and/or content that they accept now or in the future. Client site may be excluded from any directory at any time at the sole discretion of the search engine or directory. “Company” will resubmit those pages that have been dropped from the index.)

• Due to the competitiveness of some keywords/phrases, ongoing changes in search engine ranking algorithms and other competitive factors, “Company” does not guarantee #1 positions or consistent top 10 positions for any particular keyword, phrase or search term. However, if “Company” fails to achieve 3 top 30 positions in the major search engines, “Company” will start over “SEO” services with no cost to Client.

• Some search engines and directories may take as long as 2 to 4 months, and in some cases longer, after submission to list your site.

• Occasionally, search engines will stop accepting submissions for an indefinite period of time.

• Occasionally, search engines will drop listings for no apparent or predictable reason. Often listing will “reappear” without any additional submissions. Should the listing not reappear, “Company” will re-submit the site based on the current policies of the search engine in question.

• Some search directories offer expedited listing services for a fee. “Company” encourages clients to take advantage of these expedited services. Client is responsible for expedited service fees, example Yahoo, unless otherwise noted in the package Client purchases.

7. The “Company” is not responsible for changes made to the Web site by other parties that adversely affect the search engine rankings of the Client’s Web site.

8. Additional Services not listed herein or in Proposal will be provided for $40 per hour. For example, purchasing keywords beyond the scope provided in the SEO proposal, or creating more doorway pages than provided in original Proposal.

9. Client guarantees any elements of text, graphics, photos, designs, trademarks, or other artwork provided to “Company” for inclusion on the website above are owned by Client, or that Client has received permission from the rightful owner(s) to use each of the elements, and will hold harmless, protect, and defend “Company” and its subcontractors from any liability or suit arising from the use of such elements.

10. “Company” is not responsible for Client’s overwriting SEO work to Client’s site. IE / Client webmaster making changes and uploading over work already provided. Client will be charged an additional fee for re-constructing Metas, etc based on the hourly rate of $55/hour.

Client Signatory, _______________________________________ Date _________________



NAME, COMPANY                   Date: __________

---

Courtesy: http://www.onewayadv.com/contracts/

Google Adwords: Tips for Writing Targeted ads

Ensure your ads catch the eye of potential customers. Try testing out some tips to see what works for your business.

• Use your keywords in your ad. For the best results put your top performing keyword into the headline of your ad.
   
• Include prices, special offers and unique selling points. What makes your product or service offering different from your competitors?
   
• Use a strong call-to-action. Tell potential customers what action you want them to take when they get to your site e.g Buy now. Call today.
   
• Direct users to the page on your website which is most relevant to each ad. By using a very specific destination URL you can direct potential customers to the page on your website that is most relevant to the product or service described in your ad.

---

Source: Google Adwords