Natural Backlinking v. Keyword Anchor Text

[Supafly]

I would like your opinion:

I have been building backlinks with the same anchor text for my site. The anchor text I use is my keyword phrase and is in the domain, which I know is good for SEO; however, is it good to change the anchor text on backlinks from time to time in order to appear more natural to the search engines? Even if the new anchor text is not a keyword phrase that I am currently using in my website? What is your opinion?

If I have hundreds of backlinks, all with the same anchor text, will Google slap me for appearing too unnatural?

Thanks for your input,
Dino

[Groovystar]

Yes you should change it up now and then, keep it relevant but it should vary a bit. That will also help google get a better overall idea of all the things your site is really about rather than just 1 keyword.

[Underground SEO]

definately vary the anchor text in the backlink - if you don't then you will probably be de-indexed for a period of time at least if not banned altogether. I wouldn't vary it so far as something that is completely unrelated to the keywords you are targeting, just put 1 or 2 keywords in and some other words either side of them and do small variations like that.

[kmckillop]

Varying anchor text makes it look natural, if you have the same anchor text for every link, that doesn't look natural at all, and likely Google won't think so either.

If it were a natural accumulation of links, people would link with all sorts of varying anchor text. Keep it relevant for the most part, but do not use the same anchor text for every link. Sure sign of automation and likely get yourself in trouble.

[SimonHarrison]

Here's what you should be aiming for approximately.

70% your primary keyphrase/word.

20% variations of your keyword

The the best way to get your 20%, is to to plumb your
keyword into Google and either look at the Wonder Wheel
or the related searches, use those variations in 2 out of 10
of your backlinks.

By using the wonder wheel you're generating back links to
your site that Google thinks makes total sense as they
are related and themed.

10% random collection.

Just your URL (no anchor text), throw in a few "click here',
get funky with it, go LSI and then some. I even bung
in some no follow - ya just never know how sly the old
"G" really is.

Stick to that, you'll be safe and see vastly better results
than hammering the same text constantly.

Forget quantity, the adage the more the better is a fallacy
in any kind of competitive phrase. Quality is imperative.

If anybody thinks nowadays that 1000 links for $20 is going
to do much of anything , they are deluded.

[Darren Hodgson]

Varying your anchor text is a must just like using different types of sites to link from. I use the wonder wheel to find relevent anchor text keywords. Don't just use 1 source of website like forum profiles or article marketing to place your links. Here's a list of free places to put backlinks.

Web 2.0 - squidoo, hubpages etc,
article marketing
video marketing
forum signature and profile
blog commenting
social bookmarking
press releases.

Try to get a really good mix of sources to make it look more natural.

[Shaunman]

Yes I say linking to your site from 10+ different anchor texts is a good idea for a couple of reasons. First of all, you don't get a Google slap and second you start getting found by all sorts of keywords that you weren't even trying to get found by originally.

[oneims]

All the said comments are right. Link diversity is important is a link building campaign. Varying your techniques, anchor text, domain, domain type. Those are important so that your linking will look natural.

[paulgl]

Not only should you mix it up, but you should mix up the target
sites as well. Just my experience. Build links to all parts of
your website. I'm sure google could care less if you use the
same text over and over. Heck, if that was a penalty, and you
are an active member of forums, you'd be changing your sig daily.

It's just a better technique to mix it up. Has nothing to do
with penalties or looking natural. It's called diversification.

If you want a good technique, start typing in the search box
a phrase you think a normal person would use that you are
aiming for. Look at the first 3 or 4 suggestions from google.
That's what to start mixing stuff up with. No suggestions? I'd
try again with something else.

Paul

[SimonHarrison]

Originally Posted by paulgl

I'm sure google could care less if you use the
same text over and over. Heck, if that was a penalty, and you
are an active member of forums, you'd be changing your sig daily.

l

Your forum sig comes from the same site, no issue.

If you constantly build identical anchor text
from hundreds of inbound links with no variation
it looks utterly unnatural.

That is not the way the natural linking is formed
and it shows up a like a sore thumb.

Penalties are not relevant, however positions are,
you won't suffer as a result, you won't however
improve, seen this to many times to count, variation
wins over indentical anchor text every time.

[paulgl]

Originally Posted by SimonHarrison

Penalties are not relevant, however positions are,
you won't suffer as a result, you won't however
improve, seen this to many times to count, variation
wins over identical anchor text every time.

Pretty spot on to what I wanted to say.
Variation is a very good practice.

But I can't agree that if you have 1,000 links from
the same site, with the same anchor, that somehow
that gets ignored, but 100 links from 100 places
with the same anchor looks bad. People give way
to much credence to some man behind the curtain
at google.

People worry about certain things way too much.

Good practices are good practices all the way around.
That is always what google tells people to do.

I'm with you at least 90%.

Paul

[alenyuli]

remember to not varying your keyword too much..

__________________________________________________ ______
Fast Acne Cure

[shaktimaan]

Originally Posted by Supafly

is it good to change the anchor text on backlinks from time to time in order to appear more natural to the search engines? Even if the new anchor text is not a keyword phrase that I am currently using in my website? What is your opinion?

Do not change your anchor text just because to look natural. Doing so is waste of resources.

Originally Posted by Supafly

If I have hundreds of backlinks, all with the same anchor text, will Google slap me for appearing too unnatural?

No.

When you build links you get variations automatically. Some sites do not allow anchor text links but they allow Home Page so you are getting variations.

[SimonHarrison]

[QUOTE=paulgl;2114238

But I can't agree that if you have 1,000 links from
the same site, with the same anchor, that somehow
that gets ignored,

Paul[/QUOTE]

We can agree to disagree, in this biz 90% agreement
is no bad thing.

Personally I happen to be of the opinion that
multiple outbound links from the same site have
limited value to the site they link to.

[Abhinandangarg]

target multiple keywords for keywords rich anchor text for defrent pages of your site and make sure you have variety of links.

[SEO Training Alliance]

I've used 100x the same anchor text before, a few times actually. Literally.

No slaps, great rankings.

My personal experience, don't take it as gospel.

[Marketing Ignite]

You need variations or you will be red flagged..also you need deeplinks as well in order to establish more strength on the individual pages...the key is not how many links you really get but what kinds..it makes a huge difference..i have tried it and I know that its all about the quality of link...

[Jacob Martus]

Originally Posted by daedalus1

I've used 100x the same anchor text before, a few times actually. Literally.

No slaps, great rankings.

My personal experience, don't take it as gospel.

That's my experience also. Target one keyword phrase per page and keep the anchor text the same. If you're talking about backlinking across your entire site then of course you'll be varying your anchor text...unless every page of your site is targeting the same keyword. And if that's the case, it's time to start adding new content and targeting some related keywords and long tails.

[theperfectstrategy]

Of course Yes. Search engines, specially Google.. they have become quite strict regarding this back links thing. You must make sure you keep changing your anchor text else sooner or later they will stamp you as spammer and that is something you would not even want on a cold day in hell as well

[Supafly]

That's pretty cool stuff and very helpful. I'll have to do a little research on the Wonder Wheel. Not sure what you mean by that. Thanks for taking the time.

[Myheavens]

Yes, You should change the keywords as well as url;s, You should give links to inner pages as well 2 get best results.