Chatmaster
05-24-2006, 09:18 PM
I quickly wrote a few ideas about linking. I would really like some opinions from you...:D
Why is linking important
Obtaining traffic is the one goal of online marketing that is undeniable. However the natural reluctance of webmasters to do linking to other sites are a reality. This is mostly due to a fear of loss of traffic. It is this fear that causes so many websites globally to fail at being successful. The irony of it all is that most visitors will most probably leave such a site and find similar sites in any case by means of search engines.
From an SEO perspective linking creates the mind map that assist the algorithm of the search engine to determine the importance of the website. The thinking behind this is that if a website is regarded as important it will be referenced from sites that are relevant to the theme of the site being referenced.
Are all backlinks equal?
The answer to this question is very logical. There are a variety of ways that links can be interpreted by search engines. These interpretations are mainly based on the intention why the link is on the page in the first place. So yes, links are different and can be categorized.
Factors influencing the value of a backlink
Backlinks has certain HTML and visual qualities that can differentiate them from one another. Therefore we need to think from a technical point of view. A search engine algorithm has a key function to simulate human behavior based on programmed rules and mathematical calculations. The rules that must be applied therefore are limited and are incapable of logical thought like a human. This needs to be kept in mind the entire time throughout this article.
Some backlink factors
· On-page themes of the page being linked to and the page being linked from.
· Link text being used to describe the link.
· On-page location of the link.
· The quality of the page being linked to.
· The quality of the page being linked from.
· PR of the page the link is from.
· The age of the site the link is from.
· Whether or not the link is reciprocal.
· The style of the link text used or visibility of the link text to the human visitor.
· The number of occurrences of the same link text in the linking network of the applicable page the link is to.
· The relevance of the theme of the different sites in the linking network to the link text
· Similarities between links in the same link network.
· Ownership of domains and IP location of domains.
· Size of the site.
Example of reciprocal links
Reciprocal link usually is a dead giveaway of a cooperation agreement between webmasters to exchange links with one another. The main reason it is a giveaway is the fact that these links can only be applied by the webmasters themselves. Reciprocal links can also be further classified in different types. The main factor that does impact on the importance of a reciprocal link is the location it has on the relevant page. I can go into further HTML detail but I promised to keep it less technical. Lets compare the following two examples.
Reciprocal linking example 1
Site A has a sitewide backlink to Site B from a link located in the footer of every page. The link text of the sitewide backlink is exactly the same on every page of the site. Site B returned the favor and the same rules applies to the link to Site A located on every page of Site B. Site A and Site B has a similar theme.
Reciprocal linking example 2
Site A has a contextual link referencing Site B from a lengthy document or article specifically describing a relevant theme. The article also references a couple of other pages that are relevant to the applicable theme. The same rule applies to Site B. The content are different but the same theme is being maintained.
When evaluating these 2 different types of reciprocal links it becomes clear that they are very much different and cannot have the same weight, based on the factors mentioned before. Example 1 is definitely a bad reciprocal link and will have a very weak weight.
Other examples of backlinks
Many types of backlinks can be obtained each having its own purpose and weight in a search engine algorithm. Guestbook links, forum signature links, blog links, article links and Directory links are but a few examples. Each of these backlinks have a different role to play and a definitely a different weight.
To further complicate the relevance and the impact the different factors play it has being evident through the years that the bigger search engines often tweak the importance or weight of each of these individual factors. This often cause drastic changes to the serps completely confusing the SEO specialist that has to keep many other factors in mind that could have influenced their rankings.
Why is linking important
Obtaining traffic is the one goal of online marketing that is undeniable. However the natural reluctance of webmasters to do linking to other sites are a reality. This is mostly due to a fear of loss of traffic. It is this fear that causes so many websites globally to fail at being successful. The irony of it all is that most visitors will most probably leave such a site and find similar sites in any case by means of search engines.
From an SEO perspective linking creates the mind map that assist the algorithm of the search engine to determine the importance of the website. The thinking behind this is that if a website is regarded as important it will be referenced from sites that are relevant to the theme of the site being referenced.
Are all backlinks equal?
The answer to this question is very logical. There are a variety of ways that links can be interpreted by search engines. These interpretations are mainly based on the intention why the link is on the page in the first place. So yes, links are different and can be categorized.
Factors influencing the value of a backlink
Backlinks has certain HTML and visual qualities that can differentiate them from one another. Therefore we need to think from a technical point of view. A search engine algorithm has a key function to simulate human behavior based on programmed rules and mathematical calculations. The rules that must be applied therefore are limited and are incapable of logical thought like a human. This needs to be kept in mind the entire time throughout this article.
Some backlink factors
· On-page themes of the page being linked to and the page being linked from.
· Link text being used to describe the link.
· On-page location of the link.
· The quality of the page being linked to.
· The quality of the page being linked from.
· PR of the page the link is from.
· The age of the site the link is from.
· Whether or not the link is reciprocal.
· The style of the link text used or visibility of the link text to the human visitor.
· The number of occurrences of the same link text in the linking network of the applicable page the link is to.
· The relevance of the theme of the different sites in the linking network to the link text
· Similarities between links in the same link network.
· Ownership of domains and IP location of domains.
· Size of the site.
Example of reciprocal links
Reciprocal link usually is a dead giveaway of a cooperation agreement between webmasters to exchange links with one another. The main reason it is a giveaway is the fact that these links can only be applied by the webmasters themselves. Reciprocal links can also be further classified in different types. The main factor that does impact on the importance of a reciprocal link is the location it has on the relevant page. I can go into further HTML detail but I promised to keep it less technical. Lets compare the following two examples.
Reciprocal linking example 1
Site A has a sitewide backlink to Site B from a link located in the footer of every page. The link text of the sitewide backlink is exactly the same on every page of the site. Site B returned the favor and the same rules applies to the link to Site A located on every page of Site B. Site A and Site B has a similar theme.
Reciprocal linking example 2
Site A has a contextual link referencing Site B from a lengthy document or article specifically describing a relevant theme. The article also references a couple of other pages that are relevant to the applicable theme. The same rule applies to Site B. The content are different but the same theme is being maintained.
When evaluating these 2 different types of reciprocal links it becomes clear that they are very much different and cannot have the same weight, based on the factors mentioned before. Example 1 is definitely a bad reciprocal link and will have a very weak weight.
Other examples of backlinks
Many types of backlinks can be obtained each having its own purpose and weight in a search engine algorithm. Guestbook links, forum signature links, blog links, article links and Directory links are but a few examples. Each of these backlinks have a different role to play and a definitely a different weight.
To further complicate the relevance and the impact the different factors play it has being evident through the years that the bigger search engines often tweak the importance or weight of each of these individual factors. This often cause drastic changes to the serps completely confusing the SEO specialist that has to keep many other factors in mind that could have influenced their rankings.