irishsolar - 7:36 am on Apr 8, 2012 (gmt 0)

Guys Google's algorithm is based mostly on backlinks. We should be looking there for the answers.

I am seeing a pattern that might indicate an over-optimization penalty is at work.

The "new" top ranking sites seem to have a huge diversity in anchor text from their backlinks and most have NOT gone out of their way to rank for the keywords they are hitting top spots for.

For those that have clearly targeted those specific keywords they have ensured a good balance with their URL (as anchor text) or brand name and other keywords.

Typically I am seeing about 20% - 25% keyword targeting with about 17% - 20% brand targeting.

Those sites that had about 40% - 50% keyword targeting that held the top spots have mostly gone. The only exception I can find is 1 site that has 50% keyword targeting with only 17% brand targeting.....however on closer inspection I found that this site has a 301 redirect pointing to it from a site with a huge backlink profile that IS following the same pattern.

These are the results I am seeing in my niches. Can anyone confirm or refute these findings with their own data?