Backlinks to your website are like gold in your pocket – google uses the number of backlinks, or links from another website to yours, to rate your website. The number of links determines the “authority” of your website–they’re like “votes” for your website. 20% of your ranking comes directly from your site, while 80%–a HUGE chunk of your rating, comes from backlinks, links to your site from somewhere else on the web.
For example, when you create a post and want to send your readers to another page off yours, you might be tempted to use the anchor text, click here. (An anchor text is simply the name or phrase you give to that link.) BIG BIG mistake. Because google does not recognize the phrase click here and associates it with only that page. It’s like slamming the door shut on google and the potential for google to interconnect your anchor text with the billions of other anchor texts out there. You loose the opportunity to network in a big way. Never, never, never use click here when you could be building a cache of words and phrases that lead back to you.
Word Press makes all of this really easy as all you have to do is type the name or phrase you’re linking to and click on the “chain” icon in the menu bar above the text, add the name and the actual link, and walla! You’ve created a backlink to your post.
There’s a great diagnostic tool called link diagnosis where you can go to examine your website or your competitors. (Do you see how I simply created the anchor text with the key words link diagnosis, instead of saying click here?) What you didn’t see behind the works is that I also clicked “open in another window” when I created that backlink to keep my site still open while you go check theirs out.
At link diagnosis you can see how google ranks your website by examining how many overall links you have, how many unique anchor text links you have, where they’re coming from, the most popular anchors connected to your site, and the specific anchor texts used. Google sees those links pointing to your website and associates those links with your site so that when someone does a google search it ranks your site according to the number of those links.
So, get backlinking and promote your unique brand ~ like I do with my angel books!
Hey dear! Awesome post, babe. I miss you!
Miss you too! <3
Many thanks for the advice Theresa. I’ve just started blogging in support of my book Watching Marilyn and I’ll certainly try out this tip (hey, have I just succeeded in avoiding ‘click here’)?
Well, I know how critical search rank can be (there at at least 75 other Jack Chapmans on Facebook for instance) and getting on that first page of search results is so important.
No Angel sounds great fun by the way, I’ll put it on my ‘to read’ list.
Totally great information, Theresa. I will never use “click here,” again. And I do want people to stay with my blog post while they go where I send them. I’m anxious to use this newfound knowledge.
Be a good friend, and come over to my new blog and “follow me,” would you? I’ll owe you. 9-11memorial-yuma-az.blogspot.com
Thanks Debra! You bet I’ll follow you! 🙂
I don’t normally use “click here” but I’ve done it this week! Gah!
I will repent.
You’re so funny Donna! I’m fairly new at this and have used “click here” in the past, but never again! 🙂