link title how long?

how is it weighted

[soapystar]

im wondering how the title of a link is weighted. If i have incoming links that say "very nice widget"..is this covering..."very nice" "nice widget" AND "very nice widget" in one hit? or would "very nice" get more weight without the "widget" on the end?

[fathom]

An exact match of a search query would provide the most weight (relevancy). It is therefore best to make the anchor text pointing to a specific page -- the exact same as the most relevant (or highest) used keyphrase targeted for that page.

[soapystar]

yep..i got that but thats not really what im asking...if im targetting two phrases:

nice widgets
very nice widgets

would a link saying "very nice widgets" carry the same or less weight for nice widgets than if the link actually just said "nice widgets"

[fathom]

Apples and oranges.

"nice widgets" as the anchor would have more weight to the query "nice widgets" than "very nice widgets" as the query and "very nice widgets" would have more weight to the query "very nice widgets" than "nice widgets". (remembering that returned results "therefore weight" is based on the query) the less of a match the anchor is to the query the less weight it carries.

[Marcia]

So then the value of the two word phrase is diluted with more words, is that what you're saying fathom?

[soapystar]

"So then the value of the two word phrase is diluted with more words, is that what you're saying fathom?"

darn..i wish I'D said it like that!

[fathom]

Somewhat.

A good example of the opposite is >>> science fair projects <<< was typed in at google.

4 pages equal in all other respects but each had a different "inbound" anchor.

1. science fair

2. science fair project

3. science fair projects

4. science-fair-projects.tnt (or any other extension)

Weight would likely be scored (most to least) 3, 4, 2, 1 (note it could be also 1, then 2 since google doesn't parse partials - 2 could have the least weight)

In this case the less "exact" words diluted weight.

<added> this can become quite apparent when noting a page at #1 for a specific phrase -- you would think that the same page would be #1 if quotes were added.

But not normally the case.</added>

[fathom]

Another observation - the domain hyphens and any other non-alpha-numeric characters have no bearing, but use of domain extensions do (e.g. - com net org etc.)

[annej]

>>use of domain extensions do (e.g. - com net org etc.)<<

fathom, could you tell more about this. Do you mean we should put .com or .org in the title?

Anne

[fathom]

I have 2 domains crosslinked 1 domain black-widgets.us the other widgetery.com.

I want to effective link these sites together so that each link produces the maximum potential for the other site.

I'm targeting black widgets and widget.

In general (remembering if you already have a link to your mainpages you really don't need another one applies)

Copyright statement of widgetery.com

Widgetery.com is a commercial widget [widgetery.com] resource and brand web site of Widgetery incorporated.

Widgetery incorporated owns and operates Black-Widgets [black-widgets.us].us as an e-commerce portal site for purchasing widgets.

Copyright © 2002 Widgetery incorporated. All rights reserved.

Rather than using widgetery.com and Black-Widgets.us as full anchors.

A similar style can be made for for Black-Widgets.us.

Most search engine ignore or do not weigh/apply the hyphen in a domain & one reason why keyword domains are very effective.

However, the extention is another matter, dot.anything can add or dilute weight depending on if the query uses it, so if link anchors text use .us (or anything else) the anchor can be diluted from its maximum potential weight for the keyphrase "black widgets".

In addition, it also may be helpful (for appearance) if the .us had format properties similar to a link (e.g. - underlined and blue) but not part of the anchor text itself.

As far as titles - plain understanding is best so the use of the extension should be avoided unless branding supports its use.

[annej]

Thanks for clarifying.

Anne