How specific does keyword anchor text need to be?
-
I'm trying to get to the bottom of something. If you are trying to optimise for a phrase e.g.
"Keyword 1 Keyword 2"
And your anchor text is something like
"Keyword 1 keyword 2 Another word"
Does this still provide as much weight for "keyword 1 keyword 2" or does the additional word come into play and dilute the effect? If it does come into play does it have much of an effect?
-
Rodney,
Google spiders not only reads the anchor text on the link but also take into consideration ton of other factors including the text around the link, website url, domain name, domain authority, page authority, title tag and several on page elements to decide the worthiness of a link.
"Keyword 1 Keyword 2" anchor text definitely has more weight than "Keyword 1 Keyword 2 another word" or any other variation but that alone is not enough to rank for the keyword.
I have seen direct improvement in keyword rank due to exact anchor text vs anchor text with extra words but too many backlinks with exact anchor text will be considered a forced attempt to gain ranking and Google could disqualify the link juice completely.
Google is already beefing up their algorithm to disqualify paid and farm links. One of the most common themes in all paid links is the exact anchor text so it will be easier for Google to identify a set of exact anchor text links on a website with dofollow.
Always try to use anchor text variations in the link building campaign. There are far better chances of rank improvement with an organic link building strategy compared to a forced anchor text tactic.
Hope this helps.
Thanks
Sameer
-
Hi Rodney,
I don't think the additional word so much dilutes the value rather than it changes the context. Presuming you have done all your keyword research...
Play Sand Suppliers
Play Sand
Using the additional keyword Supplier would change the context to say purchasing rather than say landscaping. So Play Sand would be a broad term, and adding supplier would narrow that term as each additional keyword would.
I hope that helps
-
I have definitely heard advice from an SEOMoz video (purchased) that took the view that you can be penalised for anchor text repetition, I tend to vary everything when I link build including descriptions. If building for Directories I also like to see how the descriptions compare to those of the competitors just to make sure that they are all that they can be.
-
Thank you for your input,
I can be more specific, if you had a link e.g. <a href="">Play Sand Suppliers</a> or <a href="">Play Sand</a> Suppliers which of the two pushes the phrase Play Sand harder?
Thoughts?
-
I have payed around anchor text and found that all of the following work rather well:
phrase
word phrase
phrase word
word phrase word
phrase 1 phrase 2
Even these:
for more information on phrase visit: URL
phrase: URL
image link alt="phrase'
Without seeing specifics I can't say more but I woudl say if it makes sense to have the two phrases together then have it together by all means. In terms of dilution - I would not obsess over it to much if the link anchor looks natural.
-
This isn't really an answer to the question - in fact, it's something I've wondered about myself and I'd be happy to hear if people have anything to say on it that's backed up by research (probably wouldn't be too hard to design a test for anyone who's interested: take two new sites or new, identical pages on one site: promote one with KW1, KW2 only anchor text (gibberish words) and one with identical amounts of links (and from the same places) but some KW1, KW2 and some KW!, KW2, KW3 text, and see which one ranks first. Admittedly this isn't water-tight, especially considering one has to rank first, and even if the difference is reallt minute, with nothing else to go on Google might choose exact match.
On the other hand, we might see (and even if we don't see it in such a small test, it might be true) that Google would actually prefer to see variation - especially if you're talking about large numbers of links, it will make the link profile look more natural.
Maybe if I have the chance I'll run the test myself, but that might take a while to get around to it...
Good luck!
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Should I create new content or outreach for links for a specific KW?
A few keywords my company would like to go after are: Mobile homes for sale Manufactured homes Mobile Home Dealers. The question is should we create unique content around these keywords then market it heavily in hopes to rank that new individual page / post OR should we just be doing outreach for back links and anchored text to link to our primary domain that is already much stronger with a 38 DA? Thoughts?
Link Building | | Cfarcher0 -
Competing for a specific keyword beyond on-page factors
Hello, I am trying to rank better for 'keyword X', a critical query that I'm outside the top 50 for, though we grade out at an A via Moz's on-page grader. One of our main competitors ranks #1 for this keyword, despite not using 'keyword X' once in their meta title, body content, or image tags. My assumption is that the volume and quality of backlinks to the competitor's site is driving their high ranking. If this is the case, how can I identify backlinking opportunities to compete better? Are there other factors I'm overlooking here? Thanks
Link Building | | Sorgod0 -
How to find keywords in super-small niche?
hi I try to find good keywords to rank a “dog day care” site for and can't seem to find anything that makes sense. This is a company that sells franchises of their service – dog day care. So there is a “mother site” where they advertise service in general and try to sell franchises. If you go “pet franchise”; “pet franchises”; “dog day care franchise” etc – you get virtually zero traffic keywords. On the other hand if I use “doggy day care” it will bring mostly people who are looking for a place to leave their dog for a day. Doesn't make sense either way. Same goes for local sites. If you look at “doggy day care location” it brings next to nothing. Using “doggy day care” without specific location doesn't make sense either, as certain location applies only to people living in say 50 mile radius. I would really appreciate any ideas how to approach this. How to promote small “dog day care” franchising company? And how to promote particular locations? Thank you in advance, JJ
Link Building | | jjtech0 -
Internal Links - Anchor Text - Strategy
Good Morning... I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts or advice on an internal linking strategy for an e commerce website. I was thinking about adding a link to all of the subcategory pages that says: "View All : main keyword" and having my main keyword hyperlinked back to the home page. This would provide users who have gotten to a subcategory page that may not be exactly what they are looking for simply click that link and go back to the home page to select a different category.... Would having an internal link with the same anchor text on roughly 30 pages hurt my rankings? Wouldn't that help users navigate through my site? As always, any thoughts/advice or strategy tips are appreciated. Thanks
Link Building | | Prime850 -
Should I request backlinks to use anchor text that is page specific?
I work for a community college, with fairly high seo for the college in general. We have no budget for advertising specific programs, so we are trying to optimize individual pages on the website, e.g., physical therapy assistant, welding, etc. Does it make a difference if other websites use our main url, college name, or the college name plus specific program as the anchor text? Also, I'm seeing some posts here recommending to avoid lots of directory listings. I assume that doesn't apply to industry specific directories, like nursing school directories, right? I'm still a very new newbie and appreciate your advice.
Link Building | | LAJN0 -
Effectiveness of Forum Backlinks: specifically Paul's Backlinks
I know the general consensus is that these kinds of backlinks are of low value, however I'm curious as to anyones present day experience with them and if they are providing any value. More specifically, I am curious if they can do harm. I don't see how they could, as it would be a very easy tactic for an unscrupulous competitor to sabotage another by implementing them for their competitors. I can see possibly losing rank if they were discounted, however if this is the case, then it would only be rank that would not have been gained in the first place, minus those kinds of links. I ask because I have competing websites who have started to outrank me (they have been climbing and improving through each Google algorithm change in the past year), despite the fact that my mosrank and authority are better than every single one of them. But they have a sheer growing volume of backlinks that I can't match (seemingly low value when I look at their link profiles). Plus my domain is older (9 years as opposed to 3-4 years), and my site is clearly better (in terms of aesthetics, usability, content, etc), as well as my link profile being selectively cultivated from truly relevant sites. None the less, they are starting to kill me at this point -and I don't have the luxury of time. So....I was wondering about the wisdom of upping my volume of forum type links, as this is the only area of measurement where I can see my competitors are beating me. I am a believer in true, difficult, quality inbound marketing - however it is not getting the job done. Any thoughts on this?
Link Building | | csblev0 -
Ranking dropped by 7 positions for many keywords
Hey, Since yesterday my ranking dropped by in average 7 positions for most keywords. iIm not 100% sure whats the matter. I rank under the top3 for a quite comptetitive keyword since several months. During the last 4 weeks it wasn't that stady (between 2 - 4) because the competition is using an aggressiv link building method.
Link Building | | netminds
I'm adding constantly new content and the link building is also quite natural. Maybe I linked the same sites from some of my blogs too often... and Google may see it as a "link network". I experience the same for two of those sites. Maybe I should remove those links? Any suggestions? Thanks!0 -
Best tools to find topics (not keywords) to write about?
What are the best ways to find exact topics to write about? Tools? Forums? Any suggestions are welcome!
Link Building | | nicole.healthline0