How to Optimize Links For Improved SEO

I know there are a lot of different strategies that go into optimizing websites and I love all the little details and opportunities to optimize the content we work so hard to produce.

So far, I’ve shared how to optimize content and how to optimize your images, and today I am going to share with you how to optimize your links.

Optimizing website links is probably one of the simplest strategies you can implement because, there aren’t a lot of options!

I’ll bet you didn’t realize that when it comes to optimizing links on your website for search engines, you’re actually doing your website visitors a favor too. You see, people and search engine bots move through the internet in the same way, through links. So, by optimizing links, you are creating links that are more descriptive and helpful to your visitors, and more descriptive and helpful for the search engines.

Just think of web links like roads connecting pages (destinations) all over the internet — and when you optimize the road, it’s like adding signage that tells people and search bots about the destinations and where to click to reach them.

Similarly, when you add internal links — links to other pages on your own website — you are helping search engines and people discover more of the content on your own website that you have worked hard to create.

How Link Optimization Works

Here’s an Example of a Basic Unoptimized Link:

Here’s an Example of an Optimized Link:

Search Engines’ Perspective On Links

• In the first example, the only thing the search engines will read/scan is the website URL www.bourncreative.com. This doesn’t tell the search engines anything about what the website is about or what subject category or keywords the website should be placed in. All the search engines know is that it is a link to another website.
• In the second example, the search engines will not only read/scan the website URL, but they will also read/scan the anchor text (the text “Bourn Creative Design” in place of the URL). Adding keyword rich anchor text (the text of a link) to your link creates an additional opportunity to optimize your page, and adding a title provides further description of the link.

NOTE: Google says they don’t count the link title toward any type of ranking. I’ve read articles saying the link titles do help and articles saying they don’t. I personally think it can’t hurt to have it there as long as it is useful.

Peoples’ Perspective On Links

• In the first example, the only thing visitors will see is the website URL www.bourncreative.com. This doesn’t tell visitors anything about what the website is about. All visitors know is that it is a link to another website.
• In the second example, visitors will see the text “Bourn Creative Design” as the actual link, instead of www.bourncreative.com. This link is much more descriptive, telling the visitor that the link will take them to a site about design. Also, when a visitor hovers over the link, a “tool tip” box will appear with the link title in it, providing even more descriptive information.

What you need to know about optimizing your links:

The thing to remember about optimizing links is that it’s all about providing more value in terms of helping people and search engines understand what they will find if they click a link — what content will be on the destination page.

For example, by linking to a page on this link with the words “web design” in the link, I am telling search engines and visitors that there is a page on my website about web design. Likewise, if a different website links to the same page on my site with the words “web design” they are also telling people and search engines that the page, and my site, is about web design. Their inbound link, acts as a vote for my page to be included in search results for the key phrase “web design”.

Link HTML Title Tips:

• Should be as descriptive as possible, but it needs to be focused
• Should include the main keyword or key phrase for the page it is linking to
• Will be more effective if it matches or is similar to the HTML title of the destination page
• Should not be an exact duplicate of the anchor text
• Is not the place to stuff with keywords — that’s spammy

Link Anchor Text Tips:

• Should describe the web page or the core topic of the page it is linking to
• Should include the main/focus keyword or key phrase for the page it is linking to
• Similar keywords, variations of the keyword, or the keyword used in different contexts are also helpful in anchor text
• Too many links with the exact same anchor text can be detrimental and appear spammy

What About You?

Do you already optimize all of your links? Did you know you could add a title to your links for added on page website optimization? Do you have any other tips I may be missing? I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments below!

The post How to Optimize Links For Improved SEO appeared first on Bourn Creative.