In this post I want to talk about using anchor text in blogs and articles.  I find that many novice internet marketers are still new to this concept so here’s my take on what it is and how to utilize it.

What is Anchor Text Optimization?

First let’s start with anchor text, which is the readable section of a text link.  It is the clickable, blue, and typically underlined word or phrase that is contained within the html tags of a link.  The two major types of anchor text are internal, which redirects readers to additional pages within a domain, and external, which forwards readers to entirely new websites.

More specifically, anchor text optimization is the process by which internet marketers create anchor text with just the right location, relevancy and keyword structure so as to maximize SEO of the target site.  The target site is the subsequent webpage that clicking on the anchor text produces. 

External anchor text optimization is accomplished through link exchanges, blogs & forums, and article directories, among others.  Link exchanges are conducted between two or more related websites.  The mutual relationship obvious aids each party, however, achieving 100% and consistent compliance is often a challenge.  I prefer using article directories, blogs and forums which allow anchor text in their resource boxes or signature files.  This strategy gives the marketer the majority of the control in link building.

How To Create and Use Anchor Text?

I use two variations of html code for my anchor texts.

1)      Redirecting current page:

<a href=http://www.domainname.com>anchor text here</a>

2)      Opening brand new tab (retains former page):

<a target=”_new” href=http://www.domainname.com>anchor text here</a>

Store these templates in a word or excel file that you regularly access.  This will save a lot of time as you begin to use these html tags more frequently.

Try integrating two separate anchor texts in each article resource box, either varying the text and/or the target website.  Seek out high pagerank, dofollow article directories that support anchor text like ArticlesBase, EzineArticles and GoArticles.  For blog posts create a template containing one to three related links following each post (like you see concluding this one).  You’ll have to amend this to achieve relevancy but the general structure remains the same.  Just be sure not to overdo the inter-liking.  Some marketers have encountered a Google-slap from excessive internal anchor text.

Another practical measure is to vary the target webpage by linking a specific page to a given article.  In other words, don not solely use your root domain as the target site.  For instance use anchor text from an Ezine article or other non-video directory to route readers to the specific video-containing post (e.g. at domain.com/video-about-article) that accompanies the text.  Your readers will surely recognize the extra care given to your linking.

And lastly mix up your anchor text itself.  If your site is all about green widgets, try varying the anchor text as opposed to just using “green widgets.”  Over-optimizing like that can create an unnatural pattern and keeps you from ranking for other modifying keywords (e.g. “green widget discounts”).  Now you should have a clearly understanding of what anchor text is it and how to produce it for your specific websites.  Check out my second half of this blog post about why using it is vital to any marketers sales copy and SEO campaigns.

Related posts:

Why Using Anchor Text Is So Important.

How to Use .Edu Blogs for Backlinks.

How to use Ping.fm for Social Networking Auto-posting.

n a previous post I discussed what anchor text is and how to use it.  Now let’s review why using it is so important both to search engines and to human readers.

I.The Search Engine Aspect

In the most basic analysis, anchor text ‘tells’ a search engine what the page is about in an efficient manner.  Major search engines like Googe, MSN and Yahoo give significant weight (hence the name) toward anchor text as opposed to the same text that is not hyperlinked.  This point underscores the reason why including relevant keywords is so vital, especially when placed on authority sites with high pagerank.

Begin with the end in mind by brainstorming the top three to five keyword phrases that web users interested in your business would initially query.  Those should be your keywords used to create your anchor text(s).

For example, it’s futile to use “click here” as your clickable anchor text when your site is about “dog grooming”.  While a human reader may still click through, the search engines think your target page is about “click here”.  Obviously, you’re not trying to rank for that keyword and yet many websites still make this careless mistake.

An addition variable when using anchor text that bears mentioning is the nofollow status of the website.  More and more blog owners are implementing this hindrance to backlink-seeking commentators by placing a “nofollow” tag by default for anyone placing anchor text on their site.  You can check for this by clicking “highlight nofollow links” in the SearchStatus firefox add-on or clicking ‘control U’ and viewing the pages code.  Google essentially dismisses the anchor text completely when accompanied by the nofollow tag, so steer clear of those sites.  Stick to ‘dofollow’ blogs, forums and directories that do not contain the nofollow tag.

So to sum up, each time your link appears on another website, the search engines will note the sites pagerank, the nofollow status, and the keywords used in the anchor text.  Consistently using keyword-rich anchor text on high pagerank, dofollow sites should be your primary goal!  This game plan is what top marketers use to rank for those specific keywords.

II. The Human Aspect

Remember that real humans will read your links as well as search engines, so the words in your anchor text need to make sense.  Generally speaking readers are more likely to click on anchor text as opposed to a long drawn out url, perhaps in part due to curiosity but also because its appears cleaner and more professional.  Internet newcomers reveal their inexperience by copy and pasting excessively long urls that ideally should be converted to anchor text. 

Anchor text can also play a role in posting status updates in various social networks which limit the number of characters a message contains.  Although most people have resorted to shortened urls, using anchor text is preferred whenever allowable.

Internal anchor text increases the likelihood of your readers staying on your domain longer.  Google actively tracks this parameter and in fact preferentially ranks websites with higher viewing lengths.  So the goal is to capture your readers’ eyes through multiple web pages and for as long as possible.

Now you have a better understanding of how proper anchor text usage plays a valuable role in onsite and offsite search engine optimization.  Its high-tech and high-touch implications to both search engines and human readers cannot be overlooked.

Related posts:

Beginner’s Guide to Anchor Text.

How to Use .Edu Blogs for Backlinks.

How to use Ping.fm for Social Networking Auto-posting.

The general consensus among professional internet marketers contends that .edu and .gov links carry addition weight compared to ordinary .com links.  It’s easy to see why search engines trust these types of sites given their increased authority.  The goal here is to participate in blogs and forums to increase your backlinks and thus your ranking.  In this post I’ll be covering the relevant challenges, tips and benefits to .gov blog commenting.

The general consensus among professional internet marketers contends that .edu and .gov links carry addition weight compared to ordinary .com links.  It’s easy to see why search engines trust these types of sites given their increased authority.  The goal here is to participate in blogs and forums to increase your backlinks and thus your ranking.  In this post I’ll be covering the relevant challenges, tips and benefits to .gov blog commenting.

You can easily find a slew of government blogs by typing into the Google search bar: “site: .gov blog” or more specifically “site: .gov business blog”.  This command tells Google to search for all the blog websites and end in .gov and that relate to business.  This simple tip would be great if you just wanted to read government blogs for leisure.  Trust me, that is not me.  As  marketers we want to participate in blog or forum commenting primarily for backlinks which in turn will boost our search engine ranking.

The main challenge and time-consuming task is finding .gov sites that are dofollow in nature.  Dofollow is just internet slang for a site not containing the “nofollow” tag in its source code.  You can find this out a couple ways.  I like using the SearchStatus Firefox add-on which can automatically highlight in red a page’s nofollow links.  The manual way is to review the source code by pressing control-U and then control-F to search for the term “nofollow”.  Finding  a nofollow tag inside the <a href=”website name”…> anchor text essentially means that your .gov site passes on no pagerank or “link juice” to your site and thus no value in Google’s eyes.

html showing no "nofollow" tag

You can individually sort through the thousands of .gov sites looking for the dofollow ones.  Or you can review the short list I included on my blog.  These are some of the one’s that I’ve used lately and that work.  However, I must caution you.  Spammers and comment generating computer programs should stay away.  Many of these sites still have comment moderators that can easily delete your comment.  While the topic may not identically match your given niche, be sure to demonstrate a personal, genuine touch.  Giving your honest opinion on a topic instead of leading with your affiliate link is the general rule of thumb.

Sample Forum Comment with Signature File

http://townhall.virginia.gov

http://community2.business.gov

http://ibis.wi.gov/CSForums

http://forums.info.usaid.gov/

http://web.aging.sc.gov/forums

Most of these sites require registration first.  Create a profile and a signature file (for comments) containing your web address.   Include your link in comments by using anchor text or your signature file.

You can confirm your dofollow backlinks by referencing the source codes which omit the nofollow tags.

Please comment below with other good ideas increase backlinks or other dofollow .gov blogs.

Related posts:

Social Bookmarking with Onlywire.

How to Use .Edu Blogs for Backlinks.

Why Long Tail Keywords Improve SEO.

Understanding the basics behind keyword research and types of keywords is necessary before attempting to optimize search engine ranking.  Keywords are commonly split into two broad categories, short-tail keywords and long-tail keywords.  Originally coined by Chris Anderson in his best seller “The Long Tail”, this new phenomenon in the internet marketing world is garnering wide attention and interest.  The book’s premise suggests that a given product’s collective sales in low demand can in fact exceed that of popular bestsellers.

Check out some of my own long tail keyword results in the video here:

This same thesis is highly applicable to internet marketing where website owners are continually manipulating site content and keyword structure to increase traffic and sales.

Knowing how to consistently attract more site viewers demands an appreciation of the Long Tail theory.  This post will serve to define and summary the importance of long tail keywords.

You can easily remember the difference between short and long tail keywords by their length in a search engine box.  Short tail keywords such as “domain names,” “IP addresses”, “web 2.0” or “bookmarking” are either one or two words in length and result in millions of search results.

Long tail keywords are generally three to five word search queries visitors use to arrive at a site.

Their longer form reflects a more targeted and refined search and thus a greater need for specified information.  Ideally, long tail keywords more accurately define what the webpage will teach, review, sell, etc.  As a marketer the objective is to create content with various long tail search queries in mind.  Using the last example in the above paragraph, long tail keywords include:

“social bookmarking websites”

“automated social bookmarking sites”

“social bookmarking for backlinks”

“social bookmarking with onlywire” (used in the video)

According to the graph, the theory implies that the internet economy is moving away from the head and toward the tail of the demand curve, thus emphasizing the need for niche products and services.  So what are the main benefits to online marketers?

Benefits of Long Tail Keywords

Rank viability. It’s far easier to rank for long tail keyword phrases because of decreased competition.  The difference in search results between short and long could be three million compared to 300,000, for example.  Ranking for the latter can be done in a matter of days.

Website traffic. Targeted traffic to your website will also increase since your individual pages containing long tail keyword titles will go up over time.  The aggregate result is more visibility and thus more traffic..

Conversion rate. Simply put, multi-phrase search queries lead to more direct purchases, more affiliate purchases and more Google ad clicks.  These viewers know precisely what they want; it’s your job to fill that need and offer your product or service.

Readership. When done effectively your individual posts will meet your viewers need.  This enhances the likelihood of them remaining on your site longer and eventually subscribing to your RSS feed.  It’s only logical for initial readers to extrapolate their liking to all of your content, assuming you have related posts.  Over time this expands your audience and allows for greater monetization potential.

This is by no means the complete list.  Please propose additional advantages below in the comment section.

Related posts:

Social Bookmarking with Onlywire.

How to Use .Edu Blogs for Backlinks.

How to use Ping.fm for Social Networking Auto-posting.