In our previous article, we covered the basic theory of SEO and talked about ‘On Page’ factors. Off-Page is much more critical though. Think of it as appointing votes. If another site places a link to your site then that site has given you a vote of confidence. It’s as if they’re promoting the value of the site.

The link to your site has two main parts. The full web address of the actual page being pointed to. And second, the ‘anchor text’ or ‘keyword phrase’ that is highlighted on the web-page for you to click. That page can then be seen as receiving one ‘vote’. So, a tick to move the site higher up the listings for that phrase.

It always works in this way. The page being targeted and the Anchor Text are permanently linked to each other. You can’t create a vote for a page without some highlighted anchor text. The anchor text notifies the Search Engine about the page’s content - and thus what search term it should come under. To re-iterate: Your website’s search terms are totally controlled by its anchor texts.

Thus you’ll understand why highlighting ‘Click Here…’ creates no value in SEO terms. The phrase ‘CLICK Here’ is what we’ve voted for! Who thinks of typing in ‘CLICK HERE’ when they’re doing a search? There isn’t anybody.

That’s the reason the anchor text must be right. Since it stands for all the terms you want to be searched for. Interestingly, you’ll see the Adobe Reader download site in pole position for ‘click here’. Do Adobe think ‘CLICK HERE’ is an important term? Heck No! But they’re up at the top because the phrase “CLICK HERE to Download Adobe reader” features on so many websites.

To summarise, Search Engines cast a vote for a page via the anchor text phrase. It is the logical thing to do. The process attempts to use human logic for looking and searching. In fact, the actual subject matter of your page could be quite different. As long as the anchor texts that are directed at you say ‘red cars’ - that is what you will rank for. It’s undeniable!

Inevitably there are other things to consider… The Search Engines also take into account a pages’ title and its wording. And many more factors too. They’ll look, for example at how appropriate the relevancy is of the websites linking to yours.

The crux of it all is though that a mass of back links solves all the problems! And these need to be from as many different sites as possible - with the correct phrases used as anchor text. The ‘authority’ of a site also plays a major part: Receiving a link from a top site like Microsoft is much more valuable than one from a start-up site.

There’s quite an art to choosing the right keyword phrases. Make sure you do sufficient research - it’s not a case of guesswork! The key really though is - Which words do potential clients ‘Google’ when they’re searching for the things you supply? Because that’s exactly what your keywords and anchor text should be.

Interesting answers often come up when you do your researches and tests. As a matter of fact, the phrases are very often not at all what you’d expect. Human beings are odd creatures and we all have our own ideas of how to find what we want. You may think to Google “quality mattresses” if you’re hoping to sleep better. While someone else might automatically think to say ‘I need more sleep’.

Successful on-line marketing is about more than trusting vague hunches. It can’t be over-estimated how important it is to investigate, measure and test all the phrases to be used. They are absolutely key to the volume of enquiries and sales you can make via the web. Think of a listing you may have in a regional telephone directory. You’re not going to get any enquiries for Car Repairs if you’re indexed as a Hairdresser! Successful SEO is the result of meticulous analysis of keyword research.