Off Site Optimization consists primarily of creating "backlinks" to your site, sometimes also referred to as "inbound links". Links to your site are considered votes by Search Engines. Therefore, the more votes your site gets, the more likely it is to rank higher than other related sites within the SERPS. There are several important factors that must be considered when Link Building.
1) A text link can look like an URL or it can have text attached to it, this text is called anchor text. So for example http://whane-the-whip.wikidot.com/seo-guide is less effective than SEO Guide. They both link to the same page, but the link with Anchor Text communicates what the page is about.
2) The anchor text becomes the keywords used to associate the website linked to so that when you conduct a search, if your search includes those keywords or phrases, then the site is included with the SERPS. Obviously the goal for most is to get enough votes to rank on the 1st page of the SERPS, or even the first position. How many backlinks are required to attain that rank depends in part on the competitiveness of the keyword (see Keyword Research).
3) Google has a method of weighing votes. Some sites that link to yours may give you more credit than others. This is measured in PageRank (PR). PR ranges from 0 to 10. A site with high PR will transfer more credit than a site with lower PR.
4) Relevancy of a page linking to yours is important. If your page is about SEO and you have a backlink from a page about drag racing, then that link will count for less than a link from a page that deals with SEO. Combining PR and relevancy to get high quality backlinks is preferred over spamming your link all over the web.
5) Some sites use an HTML tag called "nofollow". This prevents Google from following the link and in turn prevents the transfer of PR and the association of the anchor text within the link. Ideally, you want links on pages that do not use the "nofollow" code.
Part 1: Introduction to SEO
Part 2: On Site Optimization
Part 3: Off Site Optimization
Part 4: Keyword Research
Part 5: 4 Essential Steps to SEO
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