Link -
1. Noun - A hypertext link or hyperlink is any Web software command that a visitor can activate by clicking, that
will cause the display of another page. 2. Verb - the act of creating a link to a page or the condition whereby
a page is linked to another.
For purposes of SEO, a link is usually any link that can be followed and tabulated by a
search engine for purposes of
indexing the Web site or determining Google pagerank or authority. Advertising links from Google or other advertisers
are generally set up so that search engines ignore them in calculating the authority of a page.
Links are important in Search Engine Optimization in two different ways.
1. Any link from a high authority site to a page or site may increase the authority of the target page or site and
therefore its general visibility and position for any search words. It will be easier for the target site to get new
pages listed in search engines, and it will be easier for any page at that site to get a good position for a specific
keyword. 2. A link using particular anchor text
provides a deep link to a page at your site. The page may not get much authority if the originating page doesn't have
much authority, but the link could help in raising the position of the target page in search engine results for
that keyword. The two may have different effects depending on whether or not highly ranked (high authority) Web pages or
sites have Web pages for the keyword in question, and depending how search engines evaluate the different factors at any
given time.
For example, your firm is Acme Development. Your main page is linked to from several pages with high authority. You
go into the widget business, but nobody links to your pages that advertise widgets, whereas other Widget product pages
have numerous links and better on-page optimization. Thus your high authority main page doesn't help the positioning of
the widget pages. Alternatively, suppose you invent a new gadget called Insta-there, which provides teleportation. Your
pages describing Insta-there are the only ones on the Web. Overnight it becomes a success, and those pages get numerous
links from tiny Web sites. These sites have no "authority," but they all link to you using the keyword Insta-there in
the anchor text. Your pages are propelled to the top of search engine listings for a newly popular keyword. If you
think it is far fetched, think about Google or ICQ as search words when these products were first launched.
The distinction is not always understood.
See also: Links in SEO
Do Deep Links Hurt SEO?
Note - Definitions of Search Engine
Optimization terms are based on inferences from common usage and definitions given by other sources. Conclusions about
search engine behavior are based on understanding of the behavior of the most popular search engines. Both are subject
to error or may change. Search engine company management may define or use a term or set or change any policy in any way
they see fit, and may make these definitions and specifications public or not. These decisions and definitions are
beyond our control. Notice: Copyright
All materials are copyright 2008 by Ami Isseroff. All rights reserved. These pages may not be reproduced in any
form in electronic or printed media without express written permission from the author.
SEO Glossary
