Google Backward Links
by Sean Burns
Google's PageRank (PR) and the actual value of links is often misunderstood.
Google themselves are very much responsible for this confusion due to
what they show when you search for the Backward Links that a site has.
If you are unfamiliar with Backward Links, it just refers to the links
that Google shows when you ask who links to a site. The way to see them
is to use the Google Toolbar and click on Page Info followed by Backward
Links. You can also see them by entering link:domain.com in the search
box at Google.
The reason for the confusion is this: Google only shows Backward Links
from pages with a PR of 4 or above. Sometimes they do include pages with
a PR of 3 but usually, it's 4. This has caused many people to think that
only links from pages with a PR of 4 or above are useful. This is not
the case.
Google may only show links from pages that have a PR of 4 or above but
they still count all of the other links. A direct link from any page listed
in Google is useful. The higher their PR the better, but even low PR links
can help.
In fact, because PR is passed based on the PR of a page divided by the
number of links on it, a link from a PR 3 page can be worth more than
a link from a PR 4 page. If a PR 3 page has only two links on it and one
of them points to you, this is worth more than a link from a PR4 page
with 100 links on it.
Another issue with Backward Links is that Google's algorithm is, as I've
said before, page based. This means that each page is basically treated
as an individual entity.
So, when you search for Backward Links, only pages that link to that
specific page are listed. Here is an example. This page - http://www.webmastersreference.com/reviews/advancelogger.shtml
- has a link pointing to it from the creators of the software. This link
doesn't show up as a Backward Link for my home page - it only shows as
a Backward Link for the page it links to.
If you get links pointing to internal pages, they then send PR to your
other pages when you link to them.
If you visit the home page of a site and look at it's Backward Links,
you won't see them all - you'll only see pages that link directly to that
page and only those with a PR of 4 or above.
Now, I'm telling you this for two reasons:
1. Don't worry about whether or not a link shows as a Backward Link for
your site. If a page is listed in Google and it links to you directly
then it will help your rankings. Even if Google doesn't show it as a Backward
Link, it still counts.
2. Don't spend all of your time thinking that you need to get links just
to your home page. Backward Links to all of your pages help. This is very
important because links to internal pages on your site are often the best
way to help your rankings. For example, there are over 80 ezine/newsletter
directories online. You should submit your newsletter page to all of these
directories.
There are hundreds of freebie directories. If you give something away
for free, submit that page to those directories. If you have a messageboard,
find messageboard directories. Submit your articles to article directories
- most will get you to put your article on their site but not all do.
If you have an affiliate program, submit the page with all the details
to affiliate program directories - there are over 50 of them.
To sum it up, the Backward Links that Google shows are really only there
for searchers - they aren't there to help you optimize your site. So,
forget about what Google shows and just worry about where you are ranked.
Get links from pages that are listed in Google and work on deep links
to your pages and your rankings will improve - even if the number of Backward
Links that are shown don't.
---------------------------------
Sean Burns
WebmastersReference.com
Go
Back to the Link Popularity Articles Directory |
