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There are two types of links that require optimisation.

  • Internal links
  • External Links

The internal links are completely within your control and include the site navigation and inter page links.

The external incoming links are partially in your control when they originate in directories but are outside your control when they are unsolicited links from other sites.

General Link details

A link consists of two parts -

  • URL i.e. web address and
  • anchor text- the text that is highlighted as a link and when clicked loads the new page.

Here is link to SEO training . Notice the link text is seo training this is the anchor text. The url itself is hidden but the browser displays it if you hover over it.

Here is the actual HTML of the link.

<a href=”SEO-Training.htm” mce_href=”SEO-Training.htm”>SEO training</a>

I have highlighted the anchor text in yellow.

It is the anchor text that is critical.

Internal Links and internal Navigation

Common mistakes with Internal navigation are:

  • Use of JavaScript
  • Use of Images
  • Not using Good Anchor Text in the links.
  • No Sitemap
  • Not having a link that includes main keywords.

Always were possible use Keywords in the link anchor text. Avoid the usual click here as  link text.

Generally use the page title as the link anchor text. Were this is too long (as in navigation links) use a shorthand version that includes the main keyword.

For example. I have a section on Pay per click training. This is too long for the side navigation as the left column would need to be very wide or the text very small. Therefore I use the anchor text
PPC training.

However the home page links are an exception. The anchor text should be home page as that is what visitors expect to see. Using keywords in the home page link could be seen as spam!

Incoming External Links and PR (Page Rank)

Common Mistakes

  • You have No PR
  • You Have very few links
  • You have poor quality links

See The importance of links for background

External links from sources like directories are under your control and should follow the guidelines for internal links i.e. use the keywords in the anchor text. Directory entries will only link to your home page.

Outgoing External Links

Don’t be afraid of linking out to other sites. Search engines expect to see external links and so include them. However make sure that the links add value to your reader.