Private Practice Success: Using Link Anchor Text to Increase Your Search Engine Rankings

Update:

Linking continues to be one of the most important aspects of achieving high rankings in most search engines, and in particular, Google. The more links leading to your site from other URLs that have content relevant to your site (and preferably a high ranking themselves), the higher your search engine rankings will be. Linking pages within your site are also valued by the search engines and help with rankings.

The words used in links leading to pages of your site are referred to as "link anchor text." Link anchor text can be used in both internal pages of your site and in links from other URLs leading to your site.

If you had a site on marriage counselling and you were also using those words as keywords you would include them in the link anchor text from other web sites pointing to pages of your site. For example, the anchor text should read something like, "For more information go to marriage counselling,â' with the link on the words â'œmarriage counselling,â' The search engines will value this type of link more than one that reads, "For more information on marriage counselling go to www.thissite.comâ' with the link being on â'œthissite.com.â'

You would do the same thing for linking internal pages of your web site as you direct visitors to specific pages. You can also use your keywords in the anchor text of your navigation map at the bottom of your pages.

Bio of Author

Juliet assists helping and healing professionals (coaches, therapists, counselors, massage therapists, chiropractors, etc.) who are struggling to market their practices. She helps her clients overcome resistances to marketing, learn and implement no or low-cost marketing strategies, create compelling promotional materials, and write effective website copy.

Sign up for Juliet's free ezine, "Enlightened Marketing" at: http://www.julietaustin.com

Visit her Marketing a Private Practice blog and her Website Design and Promotion blog for socially responsible businesses that she co-authors with Web Designer, Nathaniel Richman, of nrichmedia (nrichmedia.com).

The author grants reprint permisson as long as the article and by-line remain intact and the links are made live.

Author: Juliet Austin