Last week I posted a blog regarding how to format pictures on Active Rain for the Sensei/Grasshopper group and contest. I read a post by Diana Zaccaro asking for a few pointers on formating pictures, customizing the header, and adding links to her blog. I have not quite figured out the header thing yet (if any of you have done this, feel free to help me and her out at the same time by posting a new blog or a link to one on how to do this), but adding links is one of the most important things on Active Rain and blogging in general for SEO purposes, so I consider myself to be pretty efficient properly using links in Active Rain.
Properly Using Links In Active Rain: Anchor Text
The first thing that you have to understand about properly using links in Active Rain is that anchor text matters. What is anchor text? They are the words that you highlight to turn into a link. Goolge assumes that the anchor text describes the page you are talking about. This means that there is a huge SEO benefit by knowing this. Take the following examples:
Right Way: Make sure to check out my website to search for Highland Park real estate.
WRONG Way: To search for Highland Park real estate, click here.
Now that you know what anchor text is and how Google uses it, can you see why the first link is better? It tells the Goog that the page you are linking to is about "Highland Park real estate" and thus will rank it better for those key words. The second link says that the page I am linking to is about "click here." So do you think I want my website to rank for the terms "Click Here" or "Highland Park Real Estate"? What do you want YOUR website to rank for and what are you using in your anchor text?
Properly Using Links In Active Rain: Variety
One common mistake I see people making is that they ALWAYS use the exact same anchor text when linking. With the recent updates from Google called Panda and Penguine, it started looking at spammy linking practices. These normally come from people who buy mass links from people who will go and register on a forum or leave spam comments (you hate those, right?). They almost always use the same anchor text when doing this, and Google has cought on. So when you have 10k links that point back to you with the anchor text of Highland Park real estate and nothing else, it looks suspicious to Google and they will penalize you for it. Change up your anchor text regularly (on every post if possible). Use a variety of anchor texts that people search for. In my case, Highland Park real estate, Highland Park homes, Highland Park homes for sale, houses in Highland Park, Condos in Highland Park, Highland Park home search, etc, etc, etc.
Properly Using Links In Active Rain: Deep Links
Many agents I see here on Active Rain and all over the internet make the same mistake. They are constantly linking back to their website using good Anchor Text, but they ONLY link to their home page. Unless you have a good amount of content about every single subject you are using in your anchor text ON THAT PAGE, your page will never rank. For instance, the link above for Highland Park real estate, I would NOT use the term Highland Park Condos as an anchor text for that page because no where on that page do I talk about condos. Instead, I link them directly to the search link for Highland Park condos.
There are a couple of reasons for this. First is because Google will never rank that page for Highland Park condos because as I said there is no content on that specific page about condos which means the backlink will basically go to waste (technically it still helps you, but it is much less effective). The second thing is if someone finds my blog on Google and clicks on that link, you want them to have the information they are looking for immediately and not have to search again to find it. Remember, we are not just working on pleasing Google; we also need to please the people that will find out blog, website, and links themselves.
Properly Using Links In Active Rain: Target
When you create a link on Active Rain, you get an option to chose the target of the link. Your options are to open in a new window or open in the same window. These two things don't play any roll in SEO, but their value to you and your readers is important. Both options are good to be used at different times. Allow me to explain:
Open In Same Window: This does exactly what it says - it opens the link in the same window. This means that if they are reading a blog post you wrote, they will be taken away from that blog post and to that link. If you are linking back to your home search, I always open in same window. Why? Because I don't care if they leave my blog post to go search for homes because I want them to become a lead.
Open In New Window: This opens up a second window where the website being linked to will appear. If you are referencing another blog post or something that is just meant to be a reference, then this is the right option. If you are linking off of your website (to a city/event/business website that is relevant to your post, but not on your site), ALWAYS use the Open In New Window option. Once the reader is done looking at information about that website, they will close that window only to find YOUR blog post still open and hopefully they will continue to read - and click on your home search and register.
Properly Using Links In Active Rain: Title
This is the SEO option that allows you to put a title on your link (refer to the image above). If you hover over the link after it is inserted, the title will appear to give readers another idea of what the link is about. Hover over this text to see what I mean. If you followed the instructions, you see the title of that link is "DEAD LINK - DO NOT CLICK." The title plays a very minor role in SEO, but it only takes a few seconds and anything that helps you rank better is worth it, right?
Properly Using Links In Active Rain: Keywords
This is a HUGE mistake I see a lot of people here making. In fact this is a huge mistake that I too was doing and only learned about recently. You are targeting your blog post for certain keywords, right? For instance, I'm writing a post about Highland Park real estate. If those are the keywords I want to rank for, I should NEVER link off of that post using the anchor text "Highland Park real estate." Why would Google rank that post for Highland Park real estate when I'm linking to something else as a reference on that very subject? Google wants to link to authority sites, and if you are linking to something else using your keywords as anchor text to another page, then Google won't rank you. Instead, use an alternate anchor text such as Highland Park homes for sale or link to subpages such as Highland Park Condos, Highland Park lots, etc.
Properly Using Links In Active Rain: Contextual Backlinks
Backlinks will have much more weight with Google if they are contextual to the content that is being posted. For instance, my link here for Highland Park homes for sale will not give me much SEO advantage since this post is about properly using links in Active Rain, and not about Highland Park real estate. Because the content on THIS PAGE is not contextually related to Highland Park homes for sale, Google will not think that it is an authoritative link. Instead, I want to write a blog post that would be contextually related to Highland Park homes for sale - it could be an article on condos, a listing in Highland Park, an article on a local Highland Park event or business - but not a post on how to use links.
Those are the basics on properly using links in Active Rain. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to let me know. I will follow this thread and answer any questions you may have. You can also contact me offline if you prefer, but if it is not a question of a private nature, I would rather the question be posted here so that other readers can get the benefit of the answer as well.
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