Link text, or the html term for it éanchor textÆ, has been a factor that has had a weighting in Google, and other search engines, for quite some time now. This boost in ranking, through links containing keyword rich link text, has been written about in forums and articles before.

IÆm going to go a little deeper on the subject in this article, as one thing I, and other SEOs, have noticed within the last couple of weeks, is that the weighting given for link text appears to have risen sharply. It is feasible now with absolutely no on-page optimization (pure flash or frame site) to rank top on competitive terms, solely based on a high number of incoming links that all use the ideal link (anchor) text to the site.

I want in this article to address how a webmaster can optimize their current internal linking, provide a few tips on how to make sure for example that those linking to you are not just using your URL but are using your keywords as anchor text, and ideas how to increase the number of internal keyword filled links on your own site.

LetÆs start off with inbound links (external websites linking to your own):

Clearly, the optimal link to your site will contain your main keyword phrase. Often a webmasters ego will get in the way of optimization (this applies to title tags as well all too often), and just the company name will be used as link text ôXYZ Ltd.ö.

Let me give you an example.

Lets say you have a website that sells car insurance online. When you solicit links, and do not give guidance as to the what the link should like, you will commonly get something like

ô John Smiths Insurance Ltd.ö as the link text. This is great if you want to be found with your company name and can help for the extremely broad term æinsuranceÆ. It is however far from ideal.

Ideal is ôCheap Car insurance - John Smiths Insurance Ltdô. Whereby ONLY äCheap Car insuranceö contains the link. If this whole sentence is too long, simply ôCheap car insuranceö or just ôCar insuranceö is preferable.

There is also some evidence, although not conclusive, that the title attribute can add a slight ranking boost. So letÆs take the example above and show you the html code for it.

<a href="http://www.johnsmithsinsurance.com" title="car insurance">
Car insurance</a>

Or for the very first exampleà

<a href=ôhttp://www.johnsmithsinsurance.comô title="Cheap Car insurance">
Cheap Car insurance</a>, - John Smiths Insurance Ltd.

If you do not specify the html code to be used upon successfully soliciting a link, you will very likely just end up with:
< a href="http://www.johnsmithsinsurance.com"> John Smiths Insurance Ltd </a>

or worse

<a href="http://www.johnsmithsinsurance.com">http://www.johnsmithsinsurance.com</a>
(Note: This is why all those domains with keywords in their domain tend to do well.)

Clearly not specifying the exact link text and code can lead to a waste of a good link text opportunity.

Therefore, the solution is to provide a webmaster who has agreed to link to you with the exact html code. This has two main advantages, the webmaster will be grateful, as all he/she has to do is copy and paste the code in his/her site, you also get the text link that does your site the most good.
Although by far the most common way to get links is through mutual link exchange by email solicitation, there are several other ways.

1. If you have a unique feature such as a tool or valuable article. Mention on your webpage something like ôWebmasters are most welcome and encouraged to link to this [article/tool/xyz]. Simply copy and paste the code below.ö With a box underneath supplying your code as above.
An example of this can be seen at the end of my SEO tutorial here.
http://www.abakus-internet-marketing.de/en/seo-tutorial/seo-summary.htm .

2. Most online services / shops etc. can be affiliated. A lot of sites with very high Google *PageRank, have such high Pagerank because in their terms and conditions, a link to their homepage is necessary. WeÆve all IÆm sure seen the ôpowered byàö links and suchlike before. If you offer an affilate program, think SEO and insist partners provide a link to your homepage with the exact code. If you donÆt have an affiliate program, then consider one. It should be noted that a written condition to have a back link on a customers site, is vastly different than a partner program back link. For a list of good affiliate management resources check out the Google directory http://directory.google.com/Top/Computers/Internet/Web_Design_and_Development/
Authoring/Webmaster_Resources/Affiliate_Programs/Resources/

* Pagerank Ö: A measurement visible with the Google toolbar that shows in a scale of 0-10 what Google evaluates as the ævalueÆ of a site based on link popularity and quality of incoming links.

3. If you can offer something valuable for free, consider something like a ôLink and Win!ö feature on your site. All those that link to your site will receive a free ebook (or whatever). This may well tip the balance if someone is considering linking to your site anyway. If you have something particularly valuable then make it a ôLink and enter our draw foràö kind of thing.

4. Where you can post your own link, you should of course use optimized link text rather than just your company name. For example submission to theme related directories, or more commonly, contributing in theme related forums where signatures are allowed. This is NOT to say you spam forums, but you contribute normally and spend more time answering questions than asking them (you gain much more respect and the click rate on your signature links will also be far higher).

A little tip is to put yourself in a different webmasters shoes who has just arrived at your site. Ask yourself the question ôWhy would I link to this site?ö
Does it have something un

ique? Is it informative? Is the website well designed and user friendly? Does it have any useful Tools/FAQ? Would I feel comfortable recommending the site to others? Does it consolidate lots of theme related information in an easy to read format.

The most important question is really ôWhat does this site offer that the thousands of other websites on this theme doesnÆt?ö
With a site full of marketing blurb and sales copy, itÆs going to be hard work getting links. A site full of valuable content and unique features, will in time, be recognised as an ôexpertö site or at the very least a good resource worthy of linking to. ItÆs a clichT, but content is king.
You may be thinking that your site has more than one main keyword phrase. Do you only use link text for one of them or do you split your incoming/internal links 50/50 for say two main terms? The answer is it depends on the competitiveness of your search terms. If they have say less than 150,000 competing pages in Google, then split your inbound links 50/50.

For example in the insurance example above, 50% of incoming links with æCar insuranceÆ as the anchor text, and the other half for say 'Health Insurance' (assuming you DO offer it) or whatever. For competitive terms (+150,000) stick to the top one keyword phrase for incoming links. When you rank well with this term, then change your link text for new incoming links to your second most important keyword phrase.

Internal Linkage and Link Text:

Link text should not only be considered for incoming links, but also internal linkage as well.
It is no coincidence that websites with many pages, tend to rank above those with just a handful. The main reason isnÆt directly due to the number of pages, but the number of optimized links that contain keywords in the link text pointing to the homepage.

There is however a balance between keywords in link text and user friendliness. If I was to have ôInternet Marketingö instead of ôHomeö on my left hand navigation, it would not be clear at all that the link is for my home page. Many understandably would think itÆs a deep link to some æinternet marketingÆ article. Common sense is required, and you shouldnÆt just add keywords to link text to everything automatically. There are however many examples where you can take the knowledge that link text is powerful and use it to your advantage. Eg. ôCar Insurance FAQö instead of just ôFAQö.
Let me give you a working online example. I have linked my online tools page throughout my site with the link text ôOnline Toolsö. Combined with on page optimization my online tools page is currently ranked for a German search at 9th from a total of 1,040,000 competing pages.
http://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&c2coff=1&q=
online+tools&btnG=Google+Suche&meta=lr%3Dlang_de

For æKostenlose Online ToolsÆ (free online tools) my page ranks top worldwide. Sure, the page has been optimized for æonline toolsÆ, however the main ranking boost for this page is due to the literally thousands of internal links with æonline toolsÆ in the link text. The thousands of links come from my forum which in the footer of every page links to my tools page with the link text ôonline toolsö.

Clearly the more pages you have, the more links with optimized link text can point to your main pages. Here a few ideas for creating more content.

1. Many sites fail to provide a sitemap. It is not only a good web design practice, but it is also a page that can be indexed and therefore a page where link text could most definitely be used to boost your internal pages.
2. Create a FAQ (frequently asked questions) page for your theme. It is work, but its worth it. It also gives your website more standing and stature.
3. Create additional pages for products. Perhaps detailed technical info. A main product summary page with a link to a æspecific detailÆ page is a known and legitimate SEO tactic to create more highly optimized pages and also of course adds pages for the inclusion of more link text.
4. Articles & Newsletters. If you feel you could write an article on your theme ("Car insurance claim DoÆs and DonÆts") or you have a newsletter, then you have an opportunity there to add content on a regular basis. I archive on the web all my newsletters. ItÆs not just for those that havenÆt subscribed, but for the good of my own ranking as well!
5. æAbout usÆé æTerms and conditionsÆ æContactÆ sub pages, are all pages that will be indexed and the links on them will be followed and carry weight. You donÆt have an æabout usÆ page? Create one!

Of course a forum is ideal for adding content pages which can contain text links. I firmly recommend you donÆt go down the doorway page spam route. If the pages are visible, donÆt have an automatic redirect, contain readable text and are not just designed for search engines, then thatÆs fine, and you can sleep at night knowing that a competitor filling in a google spam report will not get them anywhere. Product/Service detailed description pages are a good example of how to create many additional pages. ItÆs more work than hitting a doorway page generator button, but definitely worth it.

Be consistent in your internal linking. DonÆt change keywords throughout the site in order to try and get a boost for many keywords. Also use the same internal link text as you solicit from external sites linking to you. Particularly for competitive terms.

Here are some æToDosÆ you might consider:

Take the time to review your internal links with a view to consistency and link text..
Can you add additional pages, such as add a ôdetailsö page to your products thereby doubling the number of your product pages.
Can you add keywords in your navigation text links without the navigation looking odd or nonsensical.
Can you change graphic links to text links (CSS text formatting can be very attractive you know).
Review your backlinks (links from external websites), could you perhaps ask for a change in link text if the links you currently have only contain say your company name.
Do you have a ælink to usÆ page where those wishing to link can copy and paste the ideal link code.
Could you install a SE friendly forum.

I hope this article has at least given you some food for thought. If you underestimate the value of link text, you are missing out on potentially a huge ranking boost.