I dont quite remember where I first started reading about text links, but I had always ignored them. Those ugly-looking highlighted words buried in the text of something interesting that I was reading online.
I ignored to use them that is, because looking back, I do remember that I always had a tendency to click on them a lot. Sometimes my click through would end up in total disappointment as I landed on some totally irrelevant web page that I had no interest for. But most times I would end up at a highly informative page that would greatly add to the information I was looking at.
When I started using text links for the first time, in my articles in my blogs and in high traffic article sites where I distributed them, I was absolutely overwhelmed by the response I received. It has gotten me really excited and I now have a number of clients that I have introduced this amazing concept to.
Why Are Ugly Text Links Within Articles So Effective
So why do we click so much at the hyperlink text we come across Why are they virtually irresistible The answer is simple. It is the same reason why search engine PPC (pay-per-click) ads have worked so well and are at the center of shifting advertising dollars online at a rate that has many offline advertising mediums very worried. It is the same reason why TV spots did not transfer too well online.
You see it was always assumed that the Internet was an advanced Television medium. Some people still think in these terms. If this were true then TV ads should have made a killing online, instead of causing a record number of bankruptcies. But if you take the Internet to be the most advanced telephone in the world, then suddenly everything makes sense.
Pop up and pop under ads are similar to a situation where you are having a telephone conversation and somebody rudely comes online, interrupting your conversation to ask if youd like to buy some baked beans. Banner ads are like some advertising jingle playing in the background as you are having your telephone conversation. Probably less annoying but still intrusive.
When you are having a telephone conversation, you tend to be interested only in what is relevant to the current conversation. So even if you are currently in the market for a new car, this is just not the time for somebody to give you that information. The key thing here is relevance.
Text links within articles are even more effective than PPC ads. My tests have clearly shown this. The traffic they attract to sites tends to stay much longer (always remember that relevance is very important here).
Text Links In The Middle Of Relevant Articles Are More Effective Than The Old Classified Ads
In those offline days, nothing helped to prop up more start-ups and small businesses than classified ads in local newspapers. Those tiny small fonts that were best read with a magnifying glass, were super effective in creating valuable sales leads for many small businesses.
The text link is the online answer to classified ads. But it is even more effective. Classified ads were usually stuck at the back of the newspaper. These online classified ads (text links) appear right in the middle of interesting related stories. Information is the main currency online and all you need to do is to ensure that your text links are placed in well written and informative online writers articles.
Text Links Create Valuable Links For Your Blogs/Sites
Search engines place a lot of weight on links to a site. In fact keywords used in text links to a site are so effective that they will work better than keywords actually used in the content at the site when it comes to ranking a site. So apart from creating immediate traffic, they will also have a huge impact on your search engine positioning. Relevant text links are too effective for you to ignore them any longer.
Christopher Kyalo is a successful online writer and entrepreneur. Find other valuable and effective online marketing tools at his blog; . He can be reached at strongwallafrica at yahoo.com
The title of your web page is an important element, not only to your human visitors but to the automated ones sent by search engines. Learn how to craft a title that will satisfy them both.
Titles are difficult. As Im writing this article I havent yet decided what its title will be. The challenge of picking a title varies according to what, exactly, one is attempting to bestow the title upon. The title of a non-fiction work should be clear and descriptive. Opinion pieces can be a little more flamboyant in order to catch the readers attention. Fiction has its own set of quirks as well. One thing remains constant, the title can be a key component in the success or failure of a piece. Nowhere is this more evident than when choosing a title for your web pages.
Titles are, as of this writing, a core on page component of how a search engine determines the content, classification, and rank of a page. It is a logical first step. The content of the title tag, to the search engine spider, is one of, if not the first piece of content it will ever see on a web page. To the human user, titles are just text at the top of a browser window that may or may not ever be noticed. Titles arent quite so important to humans. Humans generally start from the top of the actual browser display window and move down. Thus your title needs to be geared towards what spiders consider important. These days, most major search engine spiders are, ironically, looking for titles that are natural and human friendly, not obviously finessed specifically for their own consumption. So, though, spiders are your key consumer, you cannot completely forget the human factor.
Your title should consist of the sites core keywords in general order of importance. General because you still want a title to human friendly and not simply a list of 8 or 9 keywords strung together. Remember that your title will most likely be on display in the search engine result pages (SERPs) as the link people click to actually visit your site. You need the title to be friendly, and not simply a dense string of keywords. Attempt to order the keywords you use in your title in order of importance. Your most important keyword goes first and so on, and avoid repeating them, as that may cause start tripping a spam filter. Again, always remember to craft a phrase from your keywords that effectively describes your site.
Crafting this phrase is not without pitfalls. There are certain stop words that you need to avoid, such as definite and indefinite articles (a, and, the) and common prepositions (of, from, while, etc). Determining if a word is a stop word is mostly common sense. Search engines used to provide feedback if they considered a word too general to include in results, but most major engines no longer claim to make such exclusions. Completely excluding stop words from your title may make it more difficult to craft a human friendly phrase, but keep trying. If you have to use any, make it as small a number as possible. Keep turning the phrase in your head, considering different alternatives. Ask for someone elses opinion on how to get rid of the stop words, as a fresh perspective can always help.
Finally, keep the title phrase short. Though the exact number of words in the title a certain search engine likes at any particular time may change, a good rule of thumb is something around 9 to 12 words. Search engines, especially Google, are looking for natural content. Naturally, most people wont use a 30 word title stuffed with keywords. Reading such a title if it comes up in a search will seem quite unnatural to a human user. Remember, though your primary audience for the title tag is a spider, it is usually a spider thats looking for title tags humans will find appealing.
Hopefully by now this article has a title. Im sure its something great, just like the title on your home page. Remember, keep it short, keyword rich, and avoid stop words. Not the easiest thing to craft a natural-sounding phrase using these rules, but with a little perseverance, youll come up with a winner.
About the Author:
Mr. Lester has served for 4 years as the webmaster for ApolloHosting.com and previously worked in the IT industry an additional 5 years, acquiring knowledge of hosting, design, and search engine optimization. Apollo Hosting provides website hosting, , , and web design services to a wide range of customers.
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