Best Ratio of Links To Home Page versus Internal Page

[Planet13]

Hi there, Everyone:

I would like to know if I am trying to get an internal page to rank high for a particularly keyword phrase, what ratio of new inbound links should I get directly to that page versus how many I should get to the home page?

The Scenario:

I want internal page /keyword1-keyword2.html to rank well for "keyword1 keyword 2"

My home page URL is www . the-keyword1-keyword3.com/

(the domain name doesn't have keyword 2 in it - it has keyword 3 instead)

The home page has only about 25 inbound links. The internal page has 0.

should I build links directly to the internal page? Or should I build them to the home page (which then links to the internal page which I want to rank?)

If I build links to the home page, should I use Keyword 1 Keyword 2 in the anchor text (which is what I want the internal page to rank for)? Or should I use keyword 1 keyword 3 as the anchor text? (It is not exactly what I want to rank for, but it would be consistent with the domain name.)

Thanks in advance.

[aristotle]

You should try to build links to both pages. The optimum "ratio" is hard to determine, but the home page should probably have more. Use different combinations of the keywords, but mix them with other words and phrases such as "Click Here"

[Planet13]

Thank you, Aristotle.

Out of curiosity, if I am lucky enough to get a "trophy link" (like from a PR7, or 8 or 9 page), where would you point it? To the internal page? Or the home page? and for a real high PR link, would you go for keywords in the anchor text? Or a more generic anchor text?

Thanks in advance.

[aristotle]

It depends on several factors. Such as how the Pagerank from the homepage is distributed. Is it divided among a large number of internal pages, or does most of it go to the targeted page? Also, does the trophy link come from a page with related content? Also, how many other backlinks to each page are already in place?

It's tempting to point the trophy link to the targeted internal page. But I probably wouldn't do it unless the content is related, and you already have some other backlinks to the page.

As for the anchor text, I would probably include one keyword plus some generic words. An example would be: "Find more information about keyword1 here"

[goodroi]

IMHO there really isn't a ratio. There is more of a minimum level. If you want any page to rank (home page or deep page), that page basically needs more link juice than the other websites ranking for that keyword. Link juice can come from internal pages and external pages.

If both your homepage and deep page have a million backlinks they are both likely to rank.

Home pages generally have more backlinks because its easier to link to that page instead of taking the extra effort to find and type out the deep url. Also links to deep urls break more often so webmasters tend to link more to the homepage.

One site that runs counter to this trend is Adobe. Many people link to Adobe homepage but many, many more webmasters link to the free Adobe Acrobat Reader download page.

[wheel]

I follow what goodroi is saying. Get enough top quality links pointing to your website, mostly the homepage, then you can rank pretty well for terms just by publishing a page of related content on your site and using normal internal linking.

Start there first. Then if you need a boost of a couple of spots consider trying to find one or two links to the inner pages.

[Planet13]

Thank You very much, Aristotle, goodroi, and wheel. I really appreciate your help.

I am going to assume then that how the page that I am asking to link TO my site might make a difference?

For example , if the site that I want to link to me normally links out to just the homepage of other sites, then I should ask them to link t my home page?

Conversely, if the page I am asking to link to my site normally links to "deep" pages, then I should ask them to link to my internal pages?

This is as much a "psychology" question as it is an SEO question, because I am assuming that if the webmaster of that site normally links to other people's home pages, that is what they would prefer to do, and they are more likely to link to my site if I ask them to do the same. And vice versa for internal pages.

Or am I just thinking too much?

[Forbin001]

I had some difficulty ranking my internal page for certain keywords, so I did a 301 redirect to my home page, then put a link on the home page right to the content of what they were searching for in google. Presto, it worked fine.

[Planet13]

Hi there, Forbin:

...then put a link on the home page right to the content of what they were searching for in google. Presto, it worked fine.

Could you clarify this?

You 301 redirected Page A (the page you were trying to rank) to the home page.
Then you created a new page (Page B).
Then you linked from the home page to a Page B?

Or am I missing something?

[Forbin001]

I had links pointing to the home page and internal page. And were talking a LOT of links. After a while I was ranking strongly for the home page for certain keywords but the internal page wasnt doing so well.


So I did the 301 redirect on the home page, all the links that once pointed to the internal page now pointed to the home page. It took google about 4 to 5 weeks to figure out the new alchemy of the site but once they did I was ranking extremely high for the home page for great keywords.


And since users scan a webpage in the blink of an eye, I also put a link on the home page that matches the search term they were searching for in google so they can get to it in one click. All is well.