The Importance and Value of Hyperlinks in Search Engine Optimization
One of the biggest questions in online sales and advertising for any product or business is “How do we get more people to check out our products or services without breaking the bank or resorting to extreme measures?” There’s a simple and direct answer for this question: Hyperlinking.
Hyperlinks are single words or lines of text which, when clicked, will send website viewers to new pages or even other websites. Hyperlinks are a great way to get visitors to inspect more of the content on your website without shoving information or pleas for viewership down their throats. Hyperlinks are also well suited for highlighting important aspects of your text and gently coercing website viewers into exploring other pages on your website.
Use Important Keywords or Locations in Every Link, Every Time
Utilizing commonly searched keywords in your website copywriting is, of course, one of the most important parts of successful and result-producing copywriting. If you’re working on a website for a company which manufactures and sells skateboards, you’re going to research commonly searched keywords associated with skateboards and use the terms with the highest search volume in your content as much as you can. Search terms with high volume = more traffic for your website. But how can you increase the value of these terms without resorting to evil, website destroying black hat search engine optimization techniques?
Adding value to your vital search terms doesn’t require voodoo or ancient arcane knowledge. Website copywriters simply need to turn their keywords in to links to pages containing vital information related to the keyword. For example, if your most valuable skateboard term is “Custom Skateboard Designs”, then you’ll link that term to a page on your website containing information about custom skateboard design services. So now search engine users will find websites pertaining to their searches and are more likely to click on linked terms, taking them deeper and deeper in to your website. Now you have double the value of your keyword while inviting customers to check out more and more pages of your website. This is what we like to call a “Win Win”.
Another important aspect of keyword linking involves the use of locations. If someone is searching for a particular service or product within a specific area they will often include that city or state in their search. For example, if a customer is looking for custom skateboards in Tampa, the might type in Tampa custom skateboards or custom skateboards Tampa. Copywriters and SEO specialists can add a lot of value to their important keywords by adding specific locations. This narrows down the results of a search and provides searchers with the information they’re after.
Don’t Use “Click Here” In Your Call to Action
Many, many websites on the internet today are guilty of one of the greatest sins in website copywriting: using the words “Click Here” to attempt to solicit interest or a click.
Don’t do this on your website and, if your website is currently covered in “Click Here” anchor text, get rid of them right now. These are worthless links that generate absolutely no value for your website and will often deter website visitors from clicking the link simply because they don’t know where it’s going or what value it has.
For example, writing “Contact our skateboard sales managers today at 555-555-5555 or click here” doesn’t really say anything. Where will that click take you? Is it a trustworthy place? Am I going to get a virus or watch my computer burst in to flames? Simply put, no one searches the term “click here”, so you aren’t doing anything beneficial for your website.
Now, let’s look at a different way to solicit that click from your website’s visitors. If you say “Contact our professional skateboard sales managers or call us at 555-555-5555”, your website visitors will realize that the clickable link will take them to a page where they can possibly speak with a sales representative. Now your customer knows where the link will go and what will be on the page they’re headed to.
Inform Your Visitors about Where They’re Going with Descriptive Keyworded Anchor Text
So, after you’ve decided which terms you’ll link within your content, you’ll have to decide how to make these links even more valuable to search engines. This is where anchor text comes in to play. Anchor text, also known as link titles or link tags, are the words which appear when website visitors roll their cursor over your hyperlink. For example, if your link is “custom designed skateboards”, your anchor text might read “Custom designed skateboard services from expert skateboard fabricators”. Not only does this tell your customers what the link is about, but it also provides even more keyword value for the search engines. Two birds, one stone.
In the end, providing your customers with correctly utilized and valuable keyword links and anchor text will make navigating your website easier and more informative while delivering maximum value from search engines. Correct search engine optimization and the use of white hat techniques will drive your website higher and higher in search engine rankings, which will increase your website viewership and traffic. More viewers and more traffic mean more profit, more business, and more name recognition.
For expert Milwaukee search engine optimization and professional website design and development services, come to iNET Web. Our professional Waukesha website copywriters and search engine optimization specialists will create valuable, highly informative content specifically targeted at pushing your business to the top of search engines and dominating the competition. Contact the best Milwaukee web designers today.
