And now we come to the fourth element of the SEO process which is building the SEO back links. As with the other components of this process that we have described there is a proper method to get the best results.
At the start of the process we described how we will select the best keywords that fit the traffic model and competition that we are comfortable to target. Then we explained how we would begin creating content at various places across the internet. And the last step is sort of like the secret sauce that makes it all work together.
The task of the search engines are to provide web users with keyword relevant results. One method that the search engines use to determine the keyword relevance of their returned search results, is through an abundance of high quality back links pointing back to your site. The search engines use this in their algorithms and give your website credit for all the back links to your website for that particular keyword phrase.
So the question most people ask is that if multiple websites are targeting the same keyword phrase, how do the search engines give preference on some over the others. While there are a number of factors that play into this, the quantity and quality of the back links are considered like a ‘vote of confidence’ or a popularity for your website. Build enough back links, in essence getting enough votes, and move towards the top of the search engines for that keyword phrase. So with that in mind, let’s a look at how the back links are created using the keyword phrase.
Here is an example of anchor text with a link pointing to my page on SEO keyword research. As you can see this text has the keyword phrase that I am targeting with a link to the specific page on my website that is keyword relevant to that phrase. Anchor text can be used to build keyword relevant links either internally on your on website or externally from other websites. The search engines recognizes both, although the external back links are given much more importance in how they rank your website.
So this in essence is the definition of a back link. You can build these in many places and you can back link to any page on your website. For example, you might have a specific product page on your website that you want to improve the search engine ranking when someone searches on a particular keyword phrase. The back link is then to the product page.
Another example is where you may want to create a ‘sales page’ where you have a specific call to action. This action might be to purchase the product, join a mailing list or other action you want them to take. By optimizing this page with the keywords you want, and then developing as many back links as possible to that page with the keyword, you can start to take over top positions in the search engines for a keyword.
In many cases, you will be want to target numerous keyword phrases as your anchor text so that you have multiple back links to your website using multiple keywords. This strategy will help grow your website’s authority level by the search engine and will improve your overall search engine ranking. This process must be done correctly or you will hurt your search engine rankings!
We know how important building proper back links are to the search engine optimization process, and better yet, we understand how to implement them. We will research your niche market thoroughly in order to discover which keyword phrases to target and where we can place place content with anchor text back links in your ‘online neighborhood’. These are typically places like trade associations, professional user groups, and other places where the search engines will place great value on the back links.
A word of caution. There is no silver bullet with the back link building strategy. Proper execution of this strategy takes consistent content submission of keyword relevant content using anchor text back links to your website, across a wide variety of internet properties. It is not a one-time deal but rather a persistent process that yields improved results over the course of time.