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Types of Links for SEO - Link Terminology

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with The Marketing Shop.com

The more links you have coming into your website, the higher your search engine rankings will be, it's that simple. Google sees it this way, if a site is linking to yours, then it must think your site is valuable, therefore you must be valuable. The higher the quality of the site linking to you, the more impact the incoming link will have for your search rankings. Links are paramount for any search engine marketing campaign.

Internal Links: Links on your website within your website, also called "On-Site Links."

Inbound Links: Links from other websites to your website.

Outbound Links: Links from your website to another website.

Reciprocal Links:Reciprocal links are arranged when two web sites agree to link to each other. Reciprocal links are also known as "link swaps", "link exchanges" and "link partners". Reciprocal links are no longer popular because Google has devalued links that are part of an exchange.

One-Way Links: A link coming from a website that does not require a reciprocal link in exchange. One-way links are obtained naturally or through directory submission. 

Natural Links:Links that built to your site naturally because your site has excellent, useful content that other people want to link to. Natural links are the pantheon of SEO and viral marketing. Natural Links can also be considered "Organic Links."

Text Links: Links that are built on anchor text words. Statistics show that web users click more heavily on text links than they do image links, so text links are a good idea for usability and lead generation. Text links are also what the search engine crawlers follow from web page to web page.

Anchor Text Links:Anchor text links are the same as text-links, but the definition is more specific. Anchor text is the word(s) used to "anchor" the hyperlink. Search engine crawlers take into account the text on the links they follow, as the anchor text helps determine the topic of the linked-to page.

Navigation Links: Links within your website's navigation. If the links of your site's navigation are not text-links, they will not help your bid for top search engine rankings because of the lack of anchor text which defines the linked-to page topic. Search engines figure out what a page is about by what the anchor text is of the links coming into the page. (Bonus! You can get the effect of images in your navigation by using CSS menus such as the ones listed here: Listamatic.)

Deep Links:Links to pages, such as the interior pages of a web site. Deep links are garnered naturally when you have an exceptionally good page on your site that gets alot of web traffic and links occur naturally. Deep links can also be created artificially via directory submissions and other means of linking to interior pages of a web site.

Authority Links:These are links from authority sites (high-ranking sites relevant to your website's niche-topic) that confirm your site as a valuable website and thus increase its "Trust Ranking."

Edu and .Gov links:These types of links help with your site's rankings more than usual because Google considers government and educational sites to be trustworthy. One example of an easy-to-get edu link is  http://recenter.tamu.edu/. (Thank me later)

Ad Links: These can be obtained through advertising on news or classified ad sites. Some of the listing-submission sites out there have "no follow" commands in their links, rendering the inbound link useless, so do some research before spending too much.

Press-Release Links: Links that come from press releases that you send out, such as those you send on PRWeb. These are expensive, but Valuable with a capital "V."

Social Networking Links: Links pointing to your site from your social networking endeavors, such as the profiles, blogs and blog comments on Active Rain. These links can boost your site because the social networking site is likely an authority site. This is why so many people's rankings increase when they use Active Rain, because of the links from their profile to their web site (in addition to the fact that the content in Active Rain shows up in rankings).

Presell Pages: You can also buy links from pages of targeted content, so long as the pages are not nutty with too many links. I haven't tried this, but it looks very interesting. Check out this link: Presell Page Man

The above list gives you a lot of information about links. Later, I'll give some tips and pointers for link development strategies.

 

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Jenna Ryan is an established SEO for the Real Estate Professional. Her company, The Marketing Shop.com, Inc., was established in 2004 to help get agents leads online. Today Jenna manages an international staff in building and maintaining custom real estate websites that integrate search engine optimization and lead generation techniques for Realtors, Brokers and Agents nationwide.

 

Bob & Carolin Benjamin
Benjamin Realty LLC - Gold Canyon, AZ
East Phoenix Arizona Homes
All great information. It's hard to keep on top of all the linking and what needs to be done... a constant job. Thanks for sharing.
Dec 16, 2007 02:26 PM
Armando Rodriguez
QUEST REALTY SERVICES - Orlando, FL
Orlando Homes 4 Sale, Real Estate Broker-GRI

Great info.

Thanks for sharing it with us.

good luck to you!

Dec 16, 2007 02:33 PM
Lisa Ryan
Callaway Henderson Sotheby's International Realty - Montgomery, NJ
Selling Princeton,West Windsor and Montgomery Town
Thanks Jenna for such a thorough explanation on links, I've bookmarked this!
Dec 16, 2007 02:48 PM
Courtney Cooper
Cooper Jacobs - Seattle, WA
206-850-8841
This is a really great way of sharing...
Dec 16, 2007 02:52 PM
Natalie Langford
Realty Negotiations - Winchester, VA
Winchester, VA Real Estate
This is wonderful information and I'm looking forward to reading some of your past blogs...Not sure I understand all the workings behind the press releases...I'm intrigued.  Might be a great topic to blog on if you haven't already. 
Dec 16, 2007 03:07 PM
Ginger S
Wilkinson & Associates, Wilmington NC - Wilmington, NC
Wilmington NC Real Estate & Relocation~

hi Jenna, Thanks for translating link language for us. Bookmarked to study further.

Ginger

Dec 16, 2007 03:07 PM
Deborah Burns ~ Seattle Real Estate Agent
Realty Executives -BRIO - Seattle, WA
Nice explanation of links Jenna, thank you!  The information on the text, and anchor text links are still a little unclear because I am not sure how text can be a link or what an anchor text link is, but I subscribed to you recently so I'll find out!  :  )
Dec 16, 2007 03:25 PM
Nancy Brenner
Referral Associates of Georgia, Inc. - Roswell, GA
Roswell Georgia Real Estate Agent
Holy Cow....   all these links......   makes me want to make a necklace.  haha   Just kidding.  Thanks for the valuable info, Jenna.  Bookmarking for future reference.
Dec 16, 2007 05:13 PM
Mary Ellen Elmore
Nunnelly, TN

Thank you for the wonderful information.

I will put it to use in mymarketing of myself as a Mobile Notary Public and for my up and coming retail business.

Thank you also for sharing this information.

Dec 16, 2007 05:35 PM
Jill Wente
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate | Gary Greene - Spring, TX
Realtor, CRS, MCNE, CHMS
Thanks for the breakdown on links. I am ready for your next post on strategies to obtain inbound links
Dec 17, 2007 12:07 AM
Mesa, Arizona Real Estate Mesa Arizona Realtor
Homes Arizona Real Estate LLC - Mesa, AZ
AzLadyInRed

Jenna, great information on different linking strategies. I know it definitely makes a difference. Thanks for sharing your wealth of knowledge.

Dec 17, 2007 02:54 PM
Elaine Hanson
Coldwell Banker Realty - Malibu | Topanga - Malibu, CA
REALTOR - Topanga, CA Real Estate Agent
All this info in one place -- many thanks.  You've got another bookmark.  I have graphis links for my webpages, from one to the other, on the sidebar.  I've been thinking that text links would be easier.  I do have the text links on the bottom.  Are you saying that the spiders are not following the graphic links at all?  I'm trying to learn and appreciate your helpful post.
Dec 17, 2007 03:22 PM
dotjenna Social Media Sales Coach for Real Estate
The Marketing Shop.com - Frisco, TX

Elaine, search engine crawlers can follow the links, but those links offer little in terms of telling the spiders what the linked-to page is about, therefore the linked-to pages do not get the link credit. On-site navigation links with keyword rich anchor text are the most basic form of optimization there is. If you don't have them, chances are you won't have the some 100 other factors per page needed for SEO.

You can get the effect of images in your navigation by using CSS menus such as the ones listed here: Listamatic.

Dec 18, 2007 02:30 AM
Rey Gallegos
Supreme Lending (NMLS ID #2129) - Las Vegas, NV
FHA, VA, Home Loans Las Vegas, NV
Wow, great detail and very informative.
Dec 18, 2007 02:41 AM
Bill Gassett
RE/MAX Executive Realty - Hopkinton, MA
Metrowest Massachusetts Real Estate
Jenna - Great information. It amazes me how few agents actually put SEO techniques to work. This would be a must read for anyone joining AR, Thanks for the tip on the EDU submission :)
Dec 18, 2007 10:42 AM
Josh Ross
RE/MAX PROS - Germantown, MD

Jenna,

 Thanks for the GREAT INFO!! Anything to help me get better rankings on search engines in always appreciated! I have managed to get myself to 2nd page on google on a few terms and working on breaking through to that first page so your insight is greatly appreciated! If you have some time and care to provide me with more feedback, you can find my site here

Dec 21, 2007 02:41 AM
Matthew Zgonc
Aksland Real Estate - Modesto, CA
Realtor, CFS, CVS
Thanks for sharing this wonderful information. It is helpful to distinguish between the different types of links.
Dec 26, 2007 10:37 AM
Latonia Parks
Top Bragg Realty, Fayetteville NC, Home of the 82d ABN DIV - Fayetteville, NC
Certified Military Relocation Expert
Thank you....as if I wasn't confused enough. :)
Dec 26, 2007 10:59 AM
Sandy Pitchford
Distinct Estates - Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Palm Beach, Jupiter, Tequesta Real Estate

Thanks for keeping us up to date on terminology.

Dec 26, 2007 11:09 AM