Off-Page’ Search Engine Optimisation Clarified

On-Page SEO factors have been dealt with in a previous editorial. But the crux of SEO is off page. Imagine it as a ‘voting’ system. Site A gives a link (vote) to site B. They’re suggesting the site is worth looking at.

This link consists of two major parts. Firstly it contains the specific URL of the page. Then secondly the keyword phrase. This will be highlighted on the web page. This equates to a vote being generated for that exact page. In other words one ‘vote’ to push the website up the natural listings.

It is always so. The keyword phrase and targeted page are completely tied to each other. Or the process can’t happen. The SE’s know what search term to use for that page based on the anchor text. This is vital to understand: The search terms you will be listed for are completely determined by your anchor texts.

Hence, a link saying “click here for…” isn’t a good idea. We’ve simply voted for the words Click Here. Whoever is going to type that phrase into the Search Engine? Obviously no-one.

That’s why it’s so necessary to use the right anchor text. For it represents all the phrases your site will be listed for. And by the way, if you DO Google “Click Here” you will always find the Adobe Reader download site at the top. Is that because it describes their site? Of course not! It’s simply that ‘click here’ features on so many sites to download Adobe Reader.

So to count a ‘vote’ for a web page, the Search Engines always go to the anchor text. And doesn’t that make sense? Google wants to emulate what a real human being is looking for and would like to find. To some extent it’s irrelevant what your page is actually about. The only relevant phrases are the anchor text phrases that point to you. That’s how it works.

Of course, it’s not quite as simple as that… The wording on a page being pointed at and its title are taken into account by the Search Engines. And a wealth of other details also. Just as an example – they’ll look at the spread and relevancy of the ‘voting’ sites.

But the essence of this shows that the single most important factor in SEO is lots of back-links. And they must come from a great diversity of sites, and have properly phrased anchor texts. How much authority a site has is also relevant… It’s less valuable getting a back link from the local pizza takeaway than from Cisco.com!

Selecting the right keywords to build ratings for is quite technical. Always perform keyword research, and check out what the competition are using. But this is the crux of the thing… When someone is looking for your product, what words do they use for their search? Find the answer to that, and you’ve got your keywords.

Getting it right though takes a lot of measuring, testing and research. It’s so often the case that the phrase people expect is NOT what produces the most results. People have such diverse thoughts about how to express what they want. One person looking for a good night’s sleep might type in “Orthopaedic beds” or “New Mattress”. Yet ‘more sleep please’ could be someone else’s first thought.

Would you really want to trust your marketing to vague ideas and feelings about what might be typed in? DO NOT under-estimate the value that well-phrased keywords can carry. The amount of traffic you’ll receive is intrinsically linked to this. A comparison could be made with a Business Yellow Pages entry. If you’ve been entered as a Florist, but you’re actually an electrician, you’re not going to get anywhere. Similarly, for effective and profitable optimisation on-line, you must perform thorough keyword research and analysis.