Static text links issue

[member22]

I have static text links on my website but compare to a site like wikipedia i don't feel like they are static, when I click on those I don't have the bar under it ( saying that I am on it ) can it be an issue for ranking...

I am using a cms system...

[tedster]

I think you're describing the absence of any hover behavior for a link - or maybe not even any visual styling cue that it IS a link. The only indicator is a cursor change on hovering.

I've never tested whether Google devalues this (awful) practice and I've never seen anything in the real world that makes me suspect they currently do. It would take some very tricky parsing, given how complex many CSS files can be.

[member22]

ok I agree but out of their 200 factors this could be one :) because in their guidelines they talk a lot of anchor text links ... ( inside the site ) and after having tried everything almost possible on the face of the earth to go from ranking 8 th to 1 st on a a specific keyword I am thinking internal linking with anchor text might be the missing factor...

[tedster]

Internal link anchor text is definitely a ranking factor - both for the page where it occurs and for the page the link points to. Sorry I didn't realize that was what you were asking.

[Robert Charlton]

member22 - Trying to clarify your question... have you been trying to boost your rankings by pointing a lot of contextual links with desired anchor text at the pages you want to boost?

My guess is, if you did, that it isn't working, and you're wondering why. Perhaps you're thinking that lack of hover behavior is one of the reasons. Is that roughly the situation?

[member22]

Tedster : what do you mean by internal link anchor text is a ranking factor for the page where it occurs.

How can a link saying blue widget on a page www.website.com/bluewidget.html help this page for blue widget ? I though only a link saying " blue widget" on www.website.com/greenwidget.html would help blue widget.

By the way when I create internal links how should I create them, from homepage to subpages ? or from subpages to homepage ? with the exact anchor text / keyword I am going for or synonyms or words related ?

Robert : yes I was thinking the lack of hover behavior could be a reason... do you think it can be ?

[tedster]

I say it because I have observed it, over and over - not because it's a theory. I am especially talking about anchor text within content.

[Robert Charlton]

Robert : yes I was thinking the lack of hover behavior could be a reason... do you think it can be ?

I'm thinking you're probably over-linking... ie, using too many of these contextual links. I was guessing that that's why you're hiding the links... because you're using so many links on a page that the page would look crappy if you could see them all.

You want your links to be helpful to the user... so I'd make them visible. When you can start seeing them, you start realizing that too many of them can be distracting.

Also, keep in mind that Wikipedia and the New York Times can use this kind of link because they have a lot of inbound links coming into their articles. Without those inbound links coming in to the linking pages, I don't believe the technique is very useful. I'm sure that Google doesn't like contextual linking when it's overdone.

And really, the most simple explanation I can give to guide you regarding contextual linking is to use it only to help the user.

Check out this discussion on the topic....

Introducing heavy internal linking to well ranking site
http://www.webmasterworld.com/google/4119868.htm [webmasterworld.com]

[member22]

ok and would you use anchor text with the exact keyword you are targeting or related words / synonyms ?

and what internal architecture would you recommend ?

Home page - section 1 - section 2 - section 3

Then

Section 1 to subsection 1, subsection 2 - subsection 3 etc...
Section 2 to subsection 1, subsection 2 - subsection 3 etc..
Section 3 to subsection 1, subsection 2 - subsection 3 etc..

or

Homepage to subsection 1, subsection 2 - subsection 3 etc..

[Robert Charlton]

and what internal architecture would you recommend ?

That depends on what the existing architecture is for your site... ie, what other navigation structure you have in place... what type of site it is, and what the particular individual links are.

Again, I am suggesting that you think of these links in terms of helping the user... and you are immediately switching to how can I systematically use contextual links without regard to the user? IMO, you're never going to get it right with that approach.

The algorithm is user-oriented, and contextual links are something that I would not automate.