Step 14 : Backlinks and Anchor Text

The following few steps will be the most effective steps in getting your website to the top of Google for your local search terms.  There are two terms you will hear a lot and that you need to know…
 
Backlinks: Backlinks are the number one most important factor when you want your website to get to the top of Google searches. In the simplest terms, backlinks are links on the internet that point back to your site.
 
Anchor Text: Anchor text is the actual text of the link. For example, if you notice on a website you can click on certain words and be taken to another site, those words are the “anchor text”.  Commonly, you might see the words “Click Here” and when you click them you are taken to another site. The “Click Here” is the anchor text in that case. This is important and you will see why later.
 
Google loves backlinks, and it is widely believed that they are the single best way to get your site to the top of Google. If a site has a lot of other sites linking to it then that site is powerful in Google’s eyes, why else would there be so many other sites linking to it?
 
Developing backlinks should form the majority of your Google search engine optimization. The key is to use anchor text properly! You want your keywords to be the anchor text. If you want to get to the top of Google for “Toronto Landscaping” then you want as many links as possible with that as the anchor text.

Update: Due to changes in how Google ranks websites, it is now best to have a variety of anchor text links pointing back to your website. So instead of just using the above anchor text “Toronto Landscaping” try and mix it up a little with more variations that say the same thing. For example Landscaper in Toronto, Toronto Landscaper etc. This will result in the best results now.  
 
Future lessons will tell you how to build these links, but sometimes you may be required to use some HTML OR BBcode. The code is very simple though, and it is worth memorizing:
 
HTML
<a href=”http://www.yoursite.com”>ANCHOR TEXT aka KEYWORD</a>
 
BBcode
ANCHOR TEXT aka KEYWORD[/a]  
On a high level that is really it. Create backlinks with your keywords as the Anchor Text. That is the most effective way to climb to the top of Google. Future lessons will let you know where to get them!

Action Item:

• Begin the process of building backlinks to your website
• The tool I use for this is called SEOprofiler (Check it out)