With apologies for the cheap trick of mentioning Paris Hilton to get your attention, understanding the idea you are about to uncover is vitally important to your search engine success!
Because while it is true that there are many factors that determine how well a page is ranked in Google, did you know that one stands out above the others? It is the text of the link. (Also known as anchor text?)
So much so, the link text can be the deciding factor when looking for the best rankings for extremely competitive keywords.
And it sure can’t hurt for lesser search terms.
You will see that the link text creates what is known as “link reputation”. If you have enough links with the same phrase as the link text, Google can’t help but conclude that’s what the linked page is about.
Yes, but … how powerful is the link text of the inbound links, really?
Well guess what? It’s so powerful that you can get the best listings for a given keyword phrase without the keyword phrase appearing anywhere on the page.
As I can feel your skepticism from here, let me test it with 6 examples that I was able to unearth in about 15 minutes. Beginning with
===> The mystery of “website traffic”
I first did a search for “website traffic” on Google.
When I did the search (and we both know things can change) this site, [http://buytraffic.1st-casinoaffiliateprograms.com], I was about in position # 3.
Casino affiliates?
Not necessarily what would come to mind as a site that deals with website traffic now, right?
However, as hard as I tried, when I searched on that page for the term “website traffic” I couldn’t find it. Not even once. But when I went looking for the links to that page, however, this is what I found:
“Buy website traffic – casino traffic –
You can choose to buy website traffic or if you own a
online casino you can buy complete packages that include
subscriptions, banners and unique visitors. This can
boost your website traffic and subscriptions dramatically. “
Hey? Check it out? That list has “website traffic” in the link text. And a couple more times in the description.
I guess the only possible explanation for the # 3 ranking for “website traffic” is the link text. That is what it is
making that page rank number 3 for that term.
===> Cell phone
For example, two I looked in “cell phone”. This time, Sprint PCS was ranked # 5 out of 5,100,000 listings on Google.
Again, the term “cell phone” did NOT appear anywhere on your page.
===> Laptop / notebook examples
Then I tried “laptop”. The Apple Powerbook list came in at number 4. However, and you guessed it, the word “laptop” was nowhere to be found on that page.
Since I was in the neighborhood, for the fourth example I gave the “laptops” a shot. The site http://www.discountlaptops.com> was ranked number 4 out of 5,910,000 competing pages when I did that search. Again, the word “laptops” does not appear on that page, either.
Of course, a backlink check yielded this from the Yahoo directory:
“Discounted Laptops: Retail of
refurbished laptops. “
Oh, and I found the exact same listing on DMOZ. Since it included “Discounted Laptops” as the link text, it’s natural for Google to conclude that the page is about what else. Laptops!
===> Jobs
Monster.com is currently ranked # 1 for the search term “jobs.” Again, (are you starting to see a trend here?) The word “jobs” doesn’t even appear on that page.
===> Money
I finally looked for “money”. Perched at No. 16 was the MasterCard website. http://www.mastercard.com> The word “money” was not used once in the visible text either.
===> Summarizing this link text
Based on the evidence when it comes to ranking high on Google, saying that link text trumps all is surely not too strong a claim.
In fact, it is absolutely true. Focusing on the link text is a safe Google seo tactic. Yes, the content counts, but the link text counts more …
Make the link text as close to something secure as you can get.
Simply put, link text, which is used to build your site’s link reputation, is one of the most powerful SEO techniques out there. It gives you a ranking boost like no other. Use well focused link text with high PR page links and you get an unstoppable combination.
So are you harnessing the power of link text?
Are you constantly getting links with the appropriate link text in them?
If not, why not?
Because, as I’ve shown you, the link text really trumps all.