• Why Keyword Focused Internal HTML Links In Your Website Are So Important •
• You Might See Your Rankings Bump Up A Notch Or Two! •

You may be aware of the need to have links pointing to your site from other niche-related sites. These types of links are called in-pointing links. They are of value not only in helping you gain new visitors to your site, but also to show the search engines that other sites find your site worthy of linking to.

The more quality in-pointing links you have from related sites, NOT spammy sites, the better. In-pointing links are taken into consideration and affect your organic ranking positions.

However, are you aware of the importance and ranking value internal links (also referred to as contextual internal links) can provide?

What Is Anchor Text and What’s It Got To Do With Internal Links?

Anchor text is the text you use for the internal hyperlinks that link one page within your site to another. It is also very important to use the keyword phrase in the anchor text that is used in the page you are linking to.  (Please don’t use the words “click here”.)  ALWAYS try to use your keyword phrase in the internal link.  Maybe you only need to use the phrase, or maybe you need to add a few more words to make more sense in what you are saying … no matter.  Just utilize the keyword phrase found in the page you LINK TO.  

Keep in mind that you ONLY want to link one page to another page or pages, if it makes sense to do so!  Put your visitor’s experience first and foremost. Inserting internal links haphazardly all over your site not only will do nothing for your organic search engine ranking positions, it will greatly irritate your visitors as well!

OK … here’s an example of a great use of an internal link, and it makes sense for me to use it in this post. I previously wrote about HTML Linking: How To Hyperlink Pages Within Your Website. I gave a great overview of how-tos of internal linking. I am adding a few more thoughts about that post in this post.

So that you know, the keyword phrase I targeted for that post was ”HTML linking”.  Thusly, I’ve made the decision to provide the post’s Title for the internal hyperlink. (I could have made a hyperlink using just a few words.)  Not only does it contain the keyword phrase, but it also gives you, the reader, an idea of what you will be reading in the hyperlinked post.

So, what do you think of this real time internal linking example I’ve just provided? It is 100% relevant to this post, and it makes a lot of sense for me to provide a hyperlink to that post. It’s good for my search engine rankings and it is very helpful for my visitors.

I encourage you to take a good look at how you might be able to improve the internal linking structure of your website or blog. I’ll bet you’ll find more than a few opportunities to add some new keyword focused internal links. (I am assuming you have a content rich site that makes it very easy for you to link amongst your many pages of content.)

It’s not unusual for those well needed tweaks you’ll be doing to help bump up the organic rankings for the pages involved. I like doing whatever I can to help myself fare better in organic rankings. And something like improving the internal linking structure is easy and not difficult to do!

Also, another added benefit to improving your internal linking structure can be that you just might see an improvement in your visitor traffic and even sales. Whether you do want to try and improve your search engines rankings and/or you’re tweaking your site for a better user experience, attention to improving contextual internal links will never be time wasted.

• Take Advantage of Google’s ‘Local Business Results’ Map Listings •
• Proper Attention To Keywords Can Get You On Top •

Are you taking advantage of the FREE opportunity to have yet another place for your website to show up in Google’s organic rankings? Have you taken the 5-minutes to sign up and fill in the information for the Google ‘Local Business Results’ Maps? If not, I highly encourage you to do so.

Google’s Local Maps Listing Is A Way To Showcase Your Business Via An Eyecatching Map

Nothing like having great organic search rankings for the local search results that Google returns for my SEO consulting business. I have (of course!) made sure to optimize a number of pages on my www.SEO-Innovation.com website for the city, county and state in which my business resides. These pages normally rank up in the top-ten results for the keyword phrases that I’ve targeted.

To learn how to search engine optimize your site’s content for top ranking local results, please read my post: How To Effectively SEO Your Website To Be Local Search-Friendly

But how would you like to see your business listed above the top-ten local results on page one? You can, if you utilize the small business maps feature. Even if you are not in a top-ten, or even a top 40 organic listing for the targeted keywords being queried, you still might very well get a #1, #2 or even #3 placement on the map which then puts your small business name up at the top of the first results page!

Real Time Examples

I am pleased to show you two examples of my #1 ranking positions (screenshots taken June 13, 2008). I have held these map-listings top positions for quite some time, so obviously I have done a good job of providing targeted, keyword focused information for the local listings.

And this one …

It’s great to get listed in this way, as not only is there value in being shown in the map’s lisitng, but the map is interactive just like regular Google maps, so people can click on the map to find driving directions; or they can click on the “more info” link that takes them to the information about the services I offer that I provided when I set up my maps listing.

Note that you are able to edit and/or add more information to your business profile after it has been approved for listing, so you are not “stuck” with the original information provided.

Case in point: I recently added another keyword phrase to the description for a service that I do truly offer to clients. That extra keyword phrase also helps me come up for other local search terms a potential client might be typing in.

Do not discount the value of getting your online business listed in Google’s local search map. It is free and quick to do.

Also, when I updated my information the other day, I was pleased to find that now they have an instant validation method, whereby Google calls you within seconds of hitting the submit button, and immediately authenticates you as being legitimate and your listing is immediately approved! How great is that?

Previously, the only option was to wait to receive a post card at the address you listed for your business, and it contained a pin number that you keyed in online to activate your listing. This option is still available, but I was pleased to see they’ve tried to make the whole process easier and quicker for those of us who don’t like waiting.

Your Organic Listing Does Not Affect The Position Of The Map Listing

As I mentioned previously, Google determines how to rank the local map listings, just like they determine how the organic results are returned. So, don’t fret if your organic listing isn’t yet a top-ten position. It will not affect your chance at possibly achieving the #1 slot for the local map.

Make sure to use your targeted keyword phrases that best describe your business when you fill in the listing description! Google is going to take your entire listing description into consideration then it comes to what position they give you. You will have to deal with the same ranking issues, more or less, like you do in the regular rankings. Google has their criteria as to who is #1 and so on! So write a great description and keep your fingers crossed (just in case ).

You could be #1 or all the way down to #10 in the map listings. Again, Google has their secret way of figuring out who ranks where. In addition, your position is affected by the number of other businesses that have taken the time to submit their information … ranking competition exists in local maps, too!

For Some Of You, The Coupon Feature Might Really Help Stimulate A Few More Sales!

Depending on the nature and niche of your business, offering a coupon of some sort might really be a winner with the people who are searching for your product or services online. Well, guess what? Google has integrated the ability for you to create free printable coupons that will be included with your local business listing.

As Google states, “A new way to attract customers. Adding coupons to your listing in Google Maps will bring new customers to your business. The better savings you offer, the more customers you’ll gain.”

Maybe you sell auto parts; maybe you are a barber or hairdresser; maybe you own a local restaurant; maybe you are the local florist; whatever your business may be … a Google small business map listing isn’t just for those of us who have internet based businesses. Brick and mortar businesses can benefit greatly, too!

All-in-all, you can’t go wrong by taking the time to include your small business listing in the local maps feature. To learn all about it, or to start right now and fill out the information needed, please refer to Google’s Local Business Center. (You need to have a free Google account set up in order to take advantage of the free listing.)

• Yahoo! Looks For Certain Criteria When Ranking Website Content •
• SEO For Yahoo! Sticks To Ethical Proven Guidelines •

I am always asked by clients how they can rank highly in organic results both in Google and in Yahoo!. I’ve even had a couple of clients ask if they are going to have to write two sets of content geared to each search engine, and will I have to provide meta tags that are uniquely optimized for each search engine, too.

Fortunately, none of that is necessary (except in extreme cases, which I won’t bother to explain, as it rarely is an issue most of us would have to address). I assure clients SEO for Yahoo! and their small business website or blog isn’t going to cause us problems, not at all!

As I tell everyone, Google brings almost every website at least 60-65% of its traffic, thusly it is important to keep Google “happy” as far as how we go about ethically optimizing the site for top search rankings results.

That being said, Yahoo! most likely will bring in the 2nd highest amount of visitor traffic.

There are algorithmic differences between how the two engines determine ranking positions. Though neither search engine publishes their well guarded secrets as to EXACTLY how they determine who gets to be #1 versus #2 or #3 (or #1,352 ) … there are assumptions that SEO analytical experts have said most probably do hold true.

How Does Yahoo! Differ From Google’s Ranking Factors?

As I just stated, it is really a very well guarded secret as to how the search engines come up with the final ranking results. However, it is generally agreed that the following are things that make Yahoo! rank pages differently. These are not all of the differences that have been uncovered, but in my opinion some of the most interesting to note for the average website owner:

• Yahoo! offers a paid inclusion program, so that skews the ranking results in favor of those paid inclusion sites;
• Yahoo!’s results seem to be biased more toward commerce than informational sites;
• They have an incredible amount of their own content, so let’s face it – they are probably biased to ranking their own content pages highly;
• They seem to not put as much relevance on a site’s age;
• Their returned search results are based more on the actual search words used in the query, whereas Google analyzes the query on a conceptual basis and determines what you are really searching for; and
• Yahoo! is not as good at filtering poor quality or non-relevant to the site’s theme in-pointing links as Google is.

Can I say unequivocally that these are 100% true? No, I can’t. Like I told you, the SEO analysts have to make educated guesses. But I believe the above assumptions are safe to make note of. But please don’t obsess over them

So … Back To the Topic Of This Post:  How To SEO For Top Yahoo! Small Business Rankings

If we realize that Google is going to bring us the lion’s share of our visitor traffic, and we realize that there are algorithmic factors Yahoo! uses that we have no control over, then how to best optimize your content and Titles, Descriptions and Keyword tags?

The answer is really quite simple and straightforward: use the tried and true search engine optimization guidelines that work well for all the engines. We’re not going to fret over the nuances between algorithms! We’re going to roll up our sleeves and just do a darn good job of ethically optimizing our sites!

In a nutshell, utilize your keyword phrase properly in the Title tag and meta tags; use it in the title of the page of content; use it within the content, without becoming spammy; and use it in a hyperlink if possible.

Have you download a copy of my free guide yet?  THE SEO EDGE: Get Ahead Of Your Competition Every Time!

Learn effective optimization techniques. Plus, you’ll automatically receive my no-hype informative bi-weekly SEO newsletter too!

In a broader sense, make sure all your content is original, well written and relevant to the keyword phrase you are targeting. Over-deliver the content. Keep your visitor’s experience first and foremost before what you think will make the search engines happy. Write for humans, not spiders!

Have a well designed site, with easy to follow navigation. This enhances your visitor’s experience; helps keep them on your site for a longer period of time; and helps the spiders be able to crawl and index your site.

Fill your site with lots of great, well optimized content. Yes … get other sites to link to you. Yes of course take advantage of social marketing. I could go on with other things to do to help you rank better in Yahoo!, but not right now.

The message here is that we cannot drive ourselves nuts over algorithmic differences! If our SEO efforts are sincere and carefully tended to, then Yahoo! will hopefully rank us well, as will Google, MSN and all the rest, too.

If you want to see what criteria Google uses in order to rank pages, read Google Webmaster guidelines.

To read up on Yahoo! search content quality guidelines and other ranking criteria, refer to their informative page SEO For Yahoo! Small Business Guidelines.