Earlier this year, I was having trouble getting good search engine placement for one of our sites. I was trading links like crazy, spending many hours a week trying to optimize the site properly, checking my linking structures, keyword density, etc., but still I was not climbing the ranks in Google.
I tried everything, but nothing was working. Then I had an opportunity to fly to Atlanta, GA for an intensive SEO workshop with Search Engine Specialist Brad Fallon and Online Store Expert Andy Jenkins. When I mentioned my quandary to Brad, he began checking my backlinks for me.
The problem became very obvious the more in depth the investigation got. Yes, I had gotten a lot of backlinks. Yes, I had a strong, keyword related descriptive text. Yes, I had keyword related Anchor Text (The Title linked back to a web site with a hyperlink). But here-in was my problem.
What I had done in my overzealousness to get my links exchanged (with everybody this side of the Sunni Triangle), was Over-Optimized my Anchor Text. Now, we were optimizing for several keyword phrases, but decided to go for a biggie ? "Web Hosting Provider".
The problem I had created for myself, however, was that every Link I exchanged in my flurry of activity, had the same anchor text, linked to the same URL on my site. Brad told me I had over-optimized the anchor text which appears un-natural to the Search Engines.
Because we were going after such a huge term, I mistakenly thought it was necessary to flood the net with as many links having "Web Hosting Provider" as possible, just to try and compete with the big boys having hundreds of thousands of links. Unfortunately, this was NOT the case. In fact, I did more damage than help.
I was OOPed (over-optimization penalty) on by Google ? dropped like a rock out of the top 1000 from being in the top 30. Aaaargh! "What do I do now?" I wondered out loud. I was left with a quandary of sorts. All the intensive hours of laborious link exchanging with other like minded webmasters ? do I now retrace my steps, and ask half of them to change my link? Sure! And while I'm at it I think I'll cut the back lawn with a pair of mustache scissors just for fun.
I pondered my websites' future as the SEO Pro conference continued?
On the last day, Andy Jenkins went into an in depth explanation of the incredible importance of examining your competitions' backlinks. Using one of the finest tools available, SEO Elite, Andy ran a sample examination of some competing sites ? one that placed well, one that did not. Both had a good number of backlinks.
What was the difference? He pulled up the first site not doing so well and went on to explain:
"Look down this column here on the right!" Andy exclaimed. "See the Anchor Text? All the same-most of the way down." He showed us as he scrolled down the long list of backlinks. "Now let's look at the one that's ranking well." He said, as he threw the one screen down and pulled the other one up.
"Look closely here, at these anchors." My heart sank when I realized all my hard work may have been in vain. "Check out the anchors-all varied." He pointed out. "You can see the main keywords show up the most, the second and third tier keywords show up less often."
So, what was the bottom line? Was I able to salvage my linking strategy? It turns out I was left with two choices (actually 3 choices- I could just leave it alone). Either I go back and mix up some of my anchor texts with my linking partners, or I had to de-optimize the keyword density on my home page drastically. On this site, I chose to change the linking strategy and index page.
There in Atlanta, on a rainy day in February, was birthed the idea of a program that could automatically rotate anchor texts and the URL's they link to, within a website. I presented the idea to my business partner and programmer Jonathan, to see if it was a viable idea. He said yes, and went to work scripting.
Several months later Link-Blaster was finished and uploaded. We decided to automate as many features as possible to help time strapped web-masters and SEO's with their linking strategy. Now, any member who joins can also get automatically placed on every other member's web site, gaining instant backlinks in minutes.
All links get 3 different Anchor Texts, 3 different URL's, and the ability to weight them by percentage. Finally, we added relevant RSS Feeds to each category page to make sure they're crawled consistently by the search engines. We're excited about this brand new system and expect great results.
If you'd like more info check out our website which explains in more detail all the features of this powerful automated system.
Bob Volk
Co-Founder
http://Link-Blaster.com
Bob Volk, Founder of VolkNet Enterprises, is an Internet Entrepreneur and has started/co-founded many sites including http://volknet.com, http://seo-elite-services, and his newest venture, an automated link exchange program with a unique twist at http://Link-Blaster.com He specializes in Web Site Design, Marketing, and SEO Consultation for both small and medium size businesses doing $30 - $40 million a year.
Google's premier of desktop search proves that the desktop is... Read More
There are certain tricks and techniques in SEO industry, which... Read More
Think you know everything about searching with Google? Think again.... Read More
Search engine optimization (SEO) is very important to websites. If... Read More
So, you've just paid £300 - £10,000 for a new... Read More
Search engines constantly strive to advance their technology and algorithms... Read More
All the great efforts made for making your own site,... Read More
To get on Google's top pages can be accomplished by... Read More
Creating and building effective Search Engine marketing campaigns is like... Read More
Yesterday you should have read the second course out of... Read More
Ever felt intimidated at the convoluted, jargon-ridden information about Internet... Read More
The attraction of Pay Per Click (PPC) online advertising is... Read More
A higher search ranking is what many website owners dream... Read More
At the beginning of the web era, users would go... Read More
If you are a webmaster and you review your logs,... Read More
Getting Honest With The Search EnginesI spend a lot of... Read More
The sandbox effect or (site getting banned on google) has... Read More
Statistics show that 85% of pages visited on the Internet... Read More
The first question most people have is, "What the heck... Read More
As a member of several search engine optimization forums, I... Read More
Welcome to part two in this search engine optimization series.... Read More
The Budget Webmaster's 6 Step Guide to Improving Existing Rankings... Read More
You can rank number one (Or at least in the... Read More
In October 2002, the Yahoo! portal changed the way it... Read More
There are many websites that fail to target their required... Read More
There are those that get on the computer one night... Read More
In the age of fair competition you may find it... Read More
Many marketers know that search engine marketing is among one... Read More
If you have questions about whether or not the Over-Optimization... Read More
"This is a continuation of the pervious part, split into... Read More
SEO's Relationship With Website ArchitectureSearch engine optimization for today's search... Read More
Do you depend on free search engine traffic for your... Read More
1. What is PageRank? Here is what Google says:" PageRank... Read More
One thing is for sure, you don't want to spend... Read More
Google's sweeping changes confirm the search giant has launched a... Read More
OK. So you've created a nice website with lots of... Read More
Once again I seem to be writing about Google. The... Read More
Why get into Search engines and directories?Increase backlinks of your... Read More
So your company has a website ? an important step... Read More
Search engines constantly strive to advance their technology and algorithms... Read More
The new MSN Search is quickly gaining popularity among internet... Read More
The robots.txt file is an exclusion standard required by all... Read More
In a fluke, I was able to notice something about... Read More
Thousands of servers ...billions of web pages.... the possibility of... Read More
Your website is ready. Your content is in place, you... Read More
These days with millions of websites out there, you need... Read More
Unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect world. You may... Read More
Last Week I did a Search engine Experiment. I wanted... Read More
Search Engine traffic accounts for nearly 80% of the Internet... Read More
You have heard the phrase LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION. But wait,... Read More
So you have built a nice web site with good... Read More
Search Engine Optimization is a widely misunderstood industry. Many webmasters,... Read More
It is no secret that Google and Yahoo are on... Read More
To get your website listed well in the major search... Read More
The Dream: You wake up one morning and notice your... Read More
1) Title Tag ? When we're talking about SEO Technique,... Read More
Meta tags are an absolute must from a search engine... Read More
To see each and every page during 10 seconds would... Read More
The most difficult challenge most web designers face is getting... Read More
This article will cause many companies to stir, but it's... Read More
My Grandfather ran a small Grocery Store and when you... Read More
Don't share this with people of a nervous disposition because... Read More
If you're a non-American business with a .com web address,... Read More
There are certain tricks and techniques in SEO industry, which... Read More
Google does not accept payment for inclusion in their main... Read More
We all know that the most targeted traffic we can... Read More
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) |