Free Website Content
Optimizing Optimization, Part 2: Off-Page Optimization
Off-Page Optimization
By Sharon Housley
Webmasters have far less control over the "off-page"
optimization factors than they do the "on-page" optimization
factors. Off-page optimization does, however, influence
how a website ranks in search results, so it should
not be ignored.
Use the following off-page optimization
techniques to improve your website search engine ranking:
1. Keywords In Incoming Links
The anchor text used to link to the web
page should contain important keywords or keyword phrases.
The linking text is viewed as "contextual" by search
engines.
2. Quantity Of Incoming Links
Search Engines will often monitor the
quantity of incoming links to a website. A large quantity
of incoming links is an indicator of popularity or importance,
and the search engines will favor sites with a larger
number of backlinks. Search engines use the volume of
incoming links to give better ranking to more popular
websites.
3. Quality Of Incoming Links
While search engines value quantity, they
value the quality of the links even more. Backlinks
from trusted and related websites matter more than a
large volume of links in general. Whenever possible,
solicit backlinks from trusted authority websites.
4. Timing Of Incoming Links
The gradual acquisition of links appears
far more natural to search engines, and will not give
the appearance that a webmaster is attempting to manipulate
the ranking by gathering a large number of links in
a short time frame. Try to spread the number of links
obtained over time, rather than getting them all at
once.
5. Varied Linking Text
Vary the anchor text slightly when possible,
so that the linking appears natural to the search engines.
The text used to link to a webpage should be varied.
6. Blog Commenting
When commenting on blogs, use a keyword
phrase in the "name" box. That will often result in
a backlink for which you have control of the anchor
text.
7. Forum Posting
When posting in forums, include your
keywords or phrases as part of your forum signature,
as another way of encouraging backlinks.
8. Press Releases
Submit any press or media announcements
to increase exposure and backlinks.
Each and every link back to your website
can help the site rank better, so take the time to develop
quality backlinks and optimize the anchor text to increase
your search engine's ranking.
About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com
software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds
and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for
RecordForAll http://www.recordforall.com
audio recording and editing software.
**********************************************************
This article may be used freely in opt-in
publications and websites, provided that the resource
box is included and the links are active. A courtesy
copy of the issue or a link to any online posting would
be greatly appreciated send an email to sharon@notepage.net
.
Additional articles available for publication available
at http://www.small-business-software.net/free-website-content.htm
**********************************************************
|