After Penguin, Getting Anchor Text Right Is Key To Successful SEO

Thanks to multiple Google algorithm updates commonly referred to as “Penguin updates”, proper use of anchor text has never been more important. These updates have made it necessary to pay close attention to the frequency and position of anchor text to avoid over optimization penalties.

Let’s take a look at how things used to work in regards to the Google search algorithm. During the wild wild west days of search engine optimization, you could link to a specific page on your website using the same keyword as often as you wanted. Often pages were filled with dozens of hyperlinks consisting of repeated keywords all linking to the same page on a website. This unnatural linking process was quite effective at manipulating Google’s search results.

Over time as the algorithms became more sophisticated, we had to reduce the number of repeated anchor text on a page. This was quite different from how New York City SEO service provider specialists used to teach search engine optimization. While still using several links on a page, we became more diversified in regards to the anchor text used.

Even that practice is frowned upon today, so instead, we strive to only use strong links within a page’s copy. In some cases, we have pages with no anchor text whatsoever because adding it doesn’t make sense. We believe this is how Google wants website owners to build their pages. If you have related content, it makes sense to link to it, and doing so looks natural. However, if you have no related content, don’t create links just for the sake of creating links.

This practice, while once quite effective, is no longer an accepted practice in Google’s eyes and can result in a web page being penalized due to over optimization.

There are other challenges to consider as well when building backlinks to your site. When adding content to third-party websites for the purposes of linking to your site, you should avoid overdoing it with related keywords. For example, if you have created an article about motorcycle helmets, you should avoid stuffing the author box with related keywords like motorcycle tires, motorcycle gloves, and even motorcycle brakes. For best results, limit backlinks from these sources to generic anchor text like “click here” or “check out this site for more information”.

How does someone naturally link to a web page? Making your links appear natural is essential when choosing the anchor text that is included in articles today, so make sure you ask yourself that question every time you acquire a link.

The world of search engine optimization has changed drastically over the last five years. Instead of trying to trick Google with one link scheme or another, for best results you should try to work with Google instead.

By giving Google and your website visitors what they want, you are more likely to enjoy higher search engine rankings for the long-term versus any short-term success you may achieve by attempting to game the system.

Call or contact NYC SEO Authority today for more information regarding the benefits of SEO for your business!