Dear all, i'm new to this forum but not to SEO etc, however taking into account googles recent changed i need to confirmation i'm not about to waste several weeks of my life with my new challenge. I own run a mail order site that deals in various design lead products, I have recently invested heavily in a product that could do very nicely for me if i can place it top 3 for a themed variation of the keyword ie (brand name) (type), (Brand name) (type) (Colour), etc... So for arguments sake assume we are going to target the main key word (Brand) (Type) this currently lies 62 out of 82,000, pages are optimized appropriately, Site is 3 years old homepage pr 4. Now before any one thinks link bait! this is a dull product that even if i wrote a Pulitzer winning novel no one would link to it so.... I am thinking articles pr posts and blog comments. Now after bunch of work and good success a few of my previous key words have slipped after the update. They were linked with very precise anchor text ie bla bla bla (red widget) ------> www.Page.co.uk/red-widget.html .Reading the forums until my eyes bleed the only conclusion is that google now is more aware of these precise anchor links so my new stratergy is to mash it up a bit and have more subtle anchor text framed around a sentence ie bla bla bla, (bla bla bla RED WIdget bla) -----> and variations of. Then to further expand the article to around 400-600 words and include one or more links for Red widget and or Blue widget but never duplicated. Unique articles would be distributed amongst 15 or so article sites with no more than 2 articles per site and each article would be social book marked to 6 sites Just to keep it real i would also publish much shorter press releases with 1 link in a similar format again social bookmarked to keep the bots flowing. Now I appreciate this is totally artificial but its cheaper than adwords and better than buying links so your comments please, is this going to work? do you have any better suggestions? because i'm fresh out of ideas after pumping 10 keywords on my other site for 2 months only to be cooked (more lightly boiled) in the recent google update. All the best Russco
Just be natural! Linking is a natural process, some strategies are artificial but can be done as they were natural. For example, blog commenting is full of spam, however if you are regular commenter, and you really comment about the post, and the topic is relevant to your site then you will get a valid link. Most people mistake is posting spam everywhere. For example, I've got a business blog, many people comments on it leaving their very unrelated links. So I delete the link or put the rel=nofollow tag. However, there are cases where a good commenter really read the post and put a link related to the post. Then I visit the website and found out the link left there is related to my post, so I approve the comment and follow the link. Google new changes are focused on ignoring some links, for example this forum links.
Thanks Nikomaster, Blog comments was going to be a top up to the core which is based arround articles BUT whats your opinion on article sites surely google has figured these out too? google cannot discount every link from every public source its just painting its self into a corner. So in articles what is more natural an anchor specific link or a fatter link encapsulating more of the sentence. Personally on my site I like a big link but which is more natural? Small boob job, Big boob job in the eye of the beholder both look natural but to the outside viewer one will look false according to taste, so whats googles taste or is its mood influenced by its environment ie the current page its on. So what i want to do is create a method that gets goog in the mood!!! then feed it the correct sauce! do you get my point?
As I said before, do it natural use attractive links that may lead visitors to your site, of course, use your main keywords there. For example, if I want to rank high on the keyword "make money online", I would put an anchor like this at the end of the article: "learn more of how to make money online" or any catchy phrase.
Thanks Nikomaster So to expand what determins the relivance of the article ie keyword count Vs title Vs word count to which the link is contained. I'm trying to get a handle on the optimum set up of an article without having written too much or too little, i mean why write a 1000 word article when a 200 word would do and what if I linked those smaller articles togeather as a series does this make it more relivant?
great post. Really informative. Thanks will start to try and deploy the aforementioned tactics from now on. I am also a big newbie to SEO - I know you said you wern't - but I was doing it all wrong until now. Thanks a lot
Very good discussions here. I second nikomaster that all links must be natural. Don't ever intend to spam for a backlink. Rubbish links or no links are attracted to you if you do spam.
Let me throw this in the mix! the importance of no follow links? for producing a natural link patern, A site that uses no follow is concerned about spam therefor google could see this as a good link partner. A site with just do follow links is surely artificial and open to abuse. Call me paranoid but do you think google genuinely doesnt log no follow links? I'm of the opinion a bit of salt and pepper makes the sauce!!!!
I am forming a theory now that google wants caos to which IT picks out the order, if order "anchor text" etc is given on plate it doesnt like it ie too much salt!! so varied articles and mixture of link sources containing a range of related subjects but with a common complex flavour (key word mix) will in the right combination produce a significantly better result. The final part is, what is the proportions of the recipe without hiding the overall flavour. (flavour being the keywords being promoted) Oh and yes i like to cook if you havent guessed!
And one final thing how tolerant is the recipe should a bad ingredient be added (a site on googles black list) does it ruin the whole dish or can it be fixed with a bit of Ketchup? Hungry now off for some scran!!
Okay, I'll see what I can do. Bear in mind I am NOT most people here, and so my answers may seem like head-scratchers at time. All I ask is that you keep an open mind if you want me to really help you. Okay. Sounds decent - most pages aren't optimized to begin with. Which is why I constantly say that the number of indexed pages is never an indication of competitiveness. Never say never. Ever. (Unless it violates the search engines' terms of use.) Varying the anchor text is always a good idea. What I like to do is find a core set of keywords that can be mixed together and even spliced to form new seach terms, and then use those as my anchor text. For example, how many keywords can you get from "Affordable Authentic Women's Designer Handbags and Purses" ? Why submit articles to the article directories? Either keep them on your own site or find the authority resource sites in your niche/market and ask to become a guest writer (or have them review the product on their site). You'll not only get exposure as an authority/expert/leading seller (or whatever - in your case, reputable merchant), but the traffic and sales that come with it. Go where your customers are - and as much as I hate to say it (okay, who am I kidding - I LOVE SAYING THIS) the article directories are not where your customers are at. So you want to also spam the social networking scene? That won't get you a good reputation - it'll get you a reputation in short order, but it won't be the kind you want. IF you're going to use the social networking scene for business purposes, do what Comcast did with their @comcastcares Twitter account and provide customer service, updates, and news to those who have problems, want questions answered, and are interested in receiving those updates from you. If you want some better (FREE) suggestions, PM me with the products you're selling. I have no problem signing an NDA and non-compete beforehand if it makes you feel more comfortable. All the best Russco[/QUOTE] Hopefully I was able to help.