The 80/20 Rule for Google Search Engine
Optimization
Author: Mark
Nenadic
The techniques being used by internet experts for
search engine optimization are always changing and evolving. This is a
necessary due to the ever-shifting considerations and guidelines used
by the search engine spiders of the top search engines such as Google,
Yahoo!, and MSN. This is especially the case when it comes to Google,
which is not the most sophisticated and advanced search engine.
Especially with its latest algorithm purchase, which places them at the
head of the indexing game by leaps and bounds.
There are two primary types of search engine
optimization. These are on-page optimization, and off-page
optimization. It is clear that search engine optimizing a website today
has to do with a great deal more than using Meta tags, or sprinkling a
few keywords throughout your website. Though this is still a factor,
there is a great deal more to it if you actually want to see results.
Those techniques just mentioned, though, are what
is considered to be on-page optimization techniques. Today, on-page
optimization effort alone will only achieve the desired results about
20 percent of the time. However, when it comes to keywords that are
even mildly competitive, your odds shoot right down through the floor.
This leaves a whopping 80 percent that depends on
off-page optimizing for success. Off-page optimizing is all about:
the number of inbound links to your site. That is, the number of links
to your site that are not located on your own site. the actual linking
text the anchor text of these inbound links.
the quality of the pages where the inbound links are located.
It is clear, therefore, that though onpage
optimization is still important, the majority of webmasters are going
to need to place a great deal more emphasis on their offpage
optimization efforts if they ever intend to see any results.
This is what is called the 80/20 rule.
The reasoning behind the 80/20 rule is actually
quite logical. Though the onsite search engine optimization does help
search engines such as Google to index a site in detail, it is the
offpage optimization that allows the search engine to gauge the site's
actual relevancy and quality. It is what allows the search engine to
differentiate between spammers, and actual sites that are filled with
useful information, or extremely relevant content with regards to the
search word or phrase in question.
This works because onpage optimization is
controlled entirely by the webmaster. Therefore, it is subject to
abuse, manipulation of the indexing criteria of the search engines, and
other unscrupulous (according to search engines) activities. On the
other hand, offpage optimization is entirely controlled by other
webmasters; not the webmaster who owns and/or maintains the actual site
itself. This means that it is much harder for a given webmaster to
manipulate the analysis of the search engines. It is the attempt of
Google and the other large search engines to stop certain webmasters
from gaining an unfair advantage over the results shown by Google
searches.
True enough, a webmaster who truly wishes to make
the best effort to achieve those top ranks with the search engines can
do all that he or she is able to do to encourage other webmasters to
add a link to their site. However, this is entirely up to those other
discriminating webmasters. Therefore, the odds are that only the more
relevant websites will be able to achieve the best offpage optimization
results.
Because the search engines are considering not
only the number of links to the site, but also how many are only
inbound that is, where there is a link going to the site, but it is not
reciprocated the quality of the site holding the inbound link, and the
actual text used for the link, this also allows them to discourage an
unfair advantage from webmasters who attempt simply to crosslink among
their own many sites using keyword rich text. For one thing, a
webmaster will only have so many sites that can be cross linked, and
for another, this would have to be done very carefully so that the
links remain inbound, and not reciprocated. The search engines aren't
as much concerned with one or two inbound links as they are with
hundreds, or perhaps thousands when it comes to the number one ranking
spot in their searches.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/seo-articles/
the-8020-rule-for-google-search-engine-optimization-66255.html
About the Author
Mark is the director and face behind 15Degrees-North,
One of UK's most successfull Search
Engine Optimization Service companies. Where you will find
articles and resources to help with Search Engine Optimisation,
Marketing and Web design.