Backlinks 101

by Glen, 5/20/2007

Backlinks have been the subject of every successful SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) to date, and that quite simply is a fact. With constantly changing algorithms from the likes of Google, Search Engine Optimisers have to keep up with what works and what doesn't. Currently, there's certainly a known important, on something that is commonly know as "backlinks" and also referred to as "inbound links" or IBL'S. This is not something new, by any stretch of the imagination, but when setting out on an SEO project, or hiring someone to do it for you, its crucial that you know what a backlink is, and what makes a good backlink.

What is a backlink?

In simple terms; a backlink is a link to YOUR website, from another website. The theory is that the more backlinks you have, or "inbound links", then the higher you will rank on search engines, of course there are many other things that apply to this, but in the simplest terms, this is what it means. However, not just any backlink is going to be good for your site. When search engines such as the mentioned Google, are working on their algorithm to make sure their SERP's (search engine results pages), are more accurate, its important to understand the benefits, and factors that make a good backlink.

So, What makes a good backlink?

A good backlink must be, relevant, have anchor text to suit your page, and have the text you are trying to optimise for, and come from a relevant page. As you may notice, their are many relevancy factors in the best backlinks. For example, a link with the anchor text (the text that links to your site and is hyperlinked with your domain) "search engine optimisation" and points to a site that's about baby lotion, is no good. You want anchor text that is relevant to your site, so if you are targetting the keyword "baby lotion", then you want anchor text from links that point to your site with the words "baby lotion" in them! Also, its no use having links from sites that have nothing to do with your site. If a site about dog food, is linking to your "baby lotion" website, the relevancy is very little, so their will not be much "weight" given to the text link for your site. This site has many sites that point to it with such terms as Search Engine Optimisation, as that is a term this website is aiming to rank highly for.

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How to Find the Best Keywords for a Niche Site

Now that you've decided to begin creating niche sites the next logical step in the process is to decide what kind of niche site you want to create. That is, you must pick a niche topic. Once you've done that, you can pick a set of niche site keywords to use in order to attract search engine spiders to your site, as well as actual human visitors. Read 'How to Find the Best Keywords for a Niche Site'.

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