Link profiles

[franchiseshop]

So i'm thinking. Google does a lot of link analysis and knows about all the links pointing to your website. Let's say you have 1000 links with the anchor text "Blue widget" 500 links with the AT "UK blue widgets" 250 links with the AT "UK based blue widget company" and 100 links with the AT "Blue widget company UK"

And you rank number 1 in Google for "Blue Widget", the anchor text which has the most links to your site.

What if you then build 1500 links for "Blue UK"

Would it be conceivable that your #1 ranking for "Blue Widget" could drop down because your link count dramatically alters, giving favour for a link and anchor text density to a differing key phrase?

To put it differently:

Could rankings be affected by link density where link building for alternative keyphrases on the same page could be detrimental to existing rankings?

[terryuk]

Personally I don't think that's the way to go... you need a much more diverse range of anchor texts... 1500 links with 3 anchors raise alarm bells, and it's not a 'natural' way to look at it.

I would use the ones you say "Blue widget", "UK based blue widget company", "UK blue widgets" and then easy 20-50+ variations of those.

[OldWelshGuy]

you are looking at things from the wrong angle. the way you are looking at it is like saying will the scales notice the difference between a pound of apples and a pound of oranges?

When you build links for 'blue widget uk' you are building for a phrase and also for words. the anchor phrases are added together individually and also as phrases within phrases, plus (as importantly) on a semantic level. So coloured widgets would help ALL colours of widgets to rank, as it is an all encompassing term.

The algorithm does work on the micro level, but it also works on a wider level. for example if someone searches for 'cheap coloured widgets' and your site has a couple of links using 'cheap coloured widgets' but not enough to rank you at #1 BUT it does have lots of links for red, blue, grean, orange cheap widgets, then it is not inconceivable that you appear at #1 as Google decides you are the most relevant as you have a full range.

[franchiseshop]

OK kinda the answer I was looking for. Although the question was not about my own websites or others but more a general question as I ponder link densities.

It is obvious that if you place 1000 links in a short period of time to a site using "one keyphrase" that this is not natural, but let's say you did it over a number of years and in that time your link / anchor text density changed from your "Widget site" to one of a differing topic. Despite your site still having a link topic of "blue widgets" do you think it is possible that if the number of links pointing to your site using a different topic could alter your rankings from the sites original topic due to link densities for other keyphrases increasing?

Hell if you understand that you will be a genius, having a hard time conveying my thoughts!

[OldWelshGuy]

What you are talking about is grey hat/black hat . (I think) you are talking about watering down or damaging the topic relevance of a site by anchor text. So if someone has a site about white cats, and you build links about black dogs, then you can harm the original theming of the site so that it is seen as being less relevant for white cats.

My analogy falls on its backside though as dogs and cats are animals, so you get a fair chunk of thematic boosting for animals.

[franchiseshop]

Hmmmm not not going into coloured hat / grey hat / tall black hat areas. Just considering what level link densities have to play, or "themes" as you call them.

If your link density changes as you said (but not onsite content) from white cat to black dog, I am simply wondering if Google could perhaps see the relevance to your white cat site decreasing and rank you lower despite you still being the highest link bearer of white cats, the white-cat.com page which was always at number 2 could be deemed more relevant due to the link profile / density. And if this was true could you not damage you existing rankings by link building for different phrases.

[OldWelshGuy]

Simple answer is yes. BUT it would take a lot of off topic stuff, to drag you off theme, mainly because the algo would mostly rank you for both.

[franchiseshop]

It's interesting because IF google was to use this as one of their "many ranking points" then it adds weight to the old SEO adage of concentrating on only a select few keyphrases per page and not directing all links to the homepage.

[OldWelshGuy]

It's interesting because IF google was to use this as one of their "many ranking points" then it adds weight to the old SEO adage of concentrating on only a select few keyphrases per page and not directing all links to the homepage.


HELLS TEETH on absolutely NO account should you build all your links to your homepage :(

Pick the pages, on page optimise them, and build links to the homepage AND the optimised target page at the same time. You shou8ld also get nice indented double listings then as well :)

[MASSEY]

nice indented double listings then as well :)


Im the master at that ;)

[paretowasright]

I think the additional point here would be the relevance of the links to the anchor text so if all the new links built were from sites about 'blue uk' that would be recognised by God...sorry I mean google ;)