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Ana is the founder of Traffic Generation Cafe and wants you to know that her free 7 Steps to Complete Search Engine Domination report = SEO Made Simple. Don't forget to pick up your own copy!
Ana has written 189 great posts for Traffic Generation Cafe.
Priorities...
When it comes down to improving Google search engine ranking, I bet we all will do what it takes to get on that coveted first page or better yet, #1 spot.
What we’ll be talking about here today doesn’t require much effort (although might require some technical expertise), but can have a great impact on your search engine placement.
FIRST LINK PRIORITY.
Defining First Link Priority
The first link that a search engine spider sees in your web page’s code is the link that it gives the MOST WEIGHT TO.
That means that if your pages have a link in their top set of navigation (like a set of tabs that lead to your home page, or “contact us” page, or “about us” page, etc.) and those links are the FIRST LINKS that the search engine spider sees…
…those links, and their ANCHOR TEXT (the words that give the pages they point to their “Reputation”) will have the MOST POWER.
Take a look at this infographic (Source: Market Samurai blog):
As you can see from the image, both Link 1 and Link 2 are one and the same link going to Page B.
The first link is an image though that doesn’t / can’t contain any anchor text.
So according to first link priority theory, Link A will count and WILL pass the link juice, BUT without any anchor text. However, the second anchor-text-rich link won’t count at all.
What does that mean to you?
- What if the tabs at the top of your page says “Home“? Is that what you’d like to see your Home Page ranked for?
- What if your right-handed navigation has short phrases or single words that lead to your sub-pages? Are those single words what you want your sub-pages to rank for?
- If you’re using Footer links on your site to help funnel Link Reputation, those footer links are playing second fiddle to the links at the top of the page.
How to Put Theory into Practice
The best explanation on how to make sure your first link is the most important one with your chosen anchor text I found on, once again, Market Samurai blog, NobleSamurai.com.
In the video, Ben Strickland goes through the two step process of addressing First Link Priority issue:
1. How to identify which pages have the problem.
2. How to fix it.
First Link Priority Fix
And here’s the pieces of code you’ll need to correct the problem:
http://www.noblesamurai.com/first-link-priority-templates
Will it improve your Google rankings?
This section of the post is for those avid SEO bloggers who are already starting to bombard me with “But, Ana…” Make sure you tell me what you think in comments!
Let’s start with Matt Cutts’ video where he simply states (paraphrased) - “Forget about it.” (Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6uRKvnrsnE)
As usual, when Matt Cutts says something, especially on a contradictory topic, I take it with a grain of salt. This is one of those cases.
Then there was a conversation on Debra Mastaler’s blog when she called Matt Cutts to the “batphone” over multiple links on the same page.
Her question was: Does Google only pass link popularity through the first anchor text link (on a page) it comes across?
Matt replied twice, the first time saying:
Dudibob, no, I confirmed the converse: if the anchortext is the same, we’ll typically drop the second link.
This is the sort of thing where people can run experiments to see whether different anchortexts flow in various ways.
Trust me, there are many blogs that support First Link Priority theory (just Google the topic, if in doubt), conducted test to prove it works (for instance, this one), and I am convinced this is something I need and will do for Traffic Generation Cafe.
By the way, this is what my home page looks like with CSS disabled:
As you can see, my home page does need help!
Marketing Takeaway
As for me, I am fixing it.
As for you, you tell me - below in the comments.
Image source: http://randomthoughtsbychris.blogspot.com/
More Great Posts on the Topic:
- Top Google Rankings: Straight From the Horse’s Mouth
- Matt Cutts on All Things SEO: Speed, Link Buildling, Domain Names and More
- Improve Your Google Ranking: From Lame To Fame in 4 Easy Steps
- Link Building Mixology: Your “How To Do It The Right Way” Guide
- Your Ultimate Anchor Text Tutorial - from Basic to Advanced
I am a wife to a great husband of 13 years (here ya go, now I have to make changes to this sentence once a year), a mother to a beautiful and, no doubt, genius little girl, and a successful internet entrepreneur. I also devoted my life to Jesus Christ many years ago, and He remains my true priority, focus, and hope.
{ 41 comments… read them below or add one }
Very interesting! I am just starting to get serious with the whole webmaster and SEO thing. At first I thought it was quite simple but the more I read on the subject I learn that SEO is quite complicated and that I know very little on the subject.
I think there are many opinions on how to do SEO best, but in its own, I don’t think it’s that complicated. I learned the ropes in a couple of months and now I’m simply building on the foundation.
This is really interesting, Ana. Just added it to my ever-growing to-do-list!
All the best,
Mavis
Mavis Nong invites you to read: Tribe Marketing – My Zero to Hero Blogging Journey Exposed!
Thanks for the kind words.
That’s the thing with to-do-lists, they never seem to get shorter!
Ana | Traffic Generation invites you to read: Friday Tips for Keeps- How I Made Post Publishing Mistake and Why You Never Will
Hi Ana,
Glad to visit your blog!! The stuff is as usual amazing in your blog , and especially glad to know abt the imp of first link priority..
Cheers
Navya.
Navya invites you to read: Glamorous Teal Belted Halter neck Pencil Dress
Glad to be of help, Navya and you’re always welcome!
Ana | Traffic Generation invites you to read: Keyword Winner- Keyword Research is Back with a Vengeance
This is a really interesting blog post. Does the second link not count at all? or is it just given significantly less weight by Google?
Zero Passive Income invites you to read: President Obama’s 2010 Tax Return REAL – 5 Lessons You Can Learn From It
It’s just not as powerful as the first one, but of course it counts.
Ana
I wonder if this is something that Thesis takes care of for us? My first link is the text link for my site’s name. It is not something I would have knowingly done myself.
The more of these type of posts I read, the more I think I should just forget about anything past the basic SEO techniques. That’s not to say this isn’t a valuable post, but I wonder if chasing down every little bit of SEO advantage is worth the focus you lose on your blog’s content and community. Still, my inner geek loves this kind of stuff.
Thanks for sharing this info with us, Ana.
Brad Harmon invites you to read: Why Your Small Business Needs a Blog
Incorporating all the small elements helps to get your website to the top of Google. With practice, it becomes natural to incorporate it all. I don’t feel that my website loses any of its community aspect by incorporating SEO techniques.
Ana | Traffic Generation invites you to read: Keyword Winner- Keyword Research is Back with a Vengeance
I agree with you. But most of the blogs these days use image as their logo, mainly for branding but I guess that can dilute the weight of their main keyword that may be used somewhere else on the page.
Bidhan Adhikary invites you to read: Cinemagraphs–Cool animated GIFs
Well, you can still use the image as the first link, Bidhan, just coded differently according to the directions.
Ana - Nice to see that you both your advice and execution are good. Traffic Generation Cafe rank #1 on Google for the phrase “first priority link”. Well done.
Randy Pickard invites you to read: Adding Content To A Website Provides SEO Benefits
I try, Randy
.
For me it’s important to walk the talk, else I can hardly set an example.
Thanks for this article, which just proves to me the that the more I read, the more I realise I know NOTHING!!
Cat invites you to read: The Difference between PR and Advertising- A Simple Guide
Hey Cat - I’m glad that you find the posts helpful.
Ana | Traffic Generation invites you to read: SEO Content Writing- How to Write a Title Pleaser That Ranks Well Too
This is pretty interesting. I’ve been working on my homepage to be a stronger page that launches people into various areas of my site. I feel as if it’s working but I want to tweak things more.
From what I can see, the navigation is important but it can look really weird if keywords are there [especially if they require a lot of space].
I’ll have to look at this more. I am not sure if it’s been noted but this is when a top nav and then a “main nav” could come in handy. The top Nav could navigate using a few keywords and the main nav still look and feel acceptable. I’m actually going to test so many things as I start a new site up for my photography. See how quick it can climb search engine ranks.
I better keep track so that I can use it as a case study when it rocks! [right? eek]
Scott Webb | Photography Incubator invites you to read: Instagram Etiquette- Time for a Discussion
Thanks for your comment, Scott. Your idea with the Navs is spot on. Let us know how it goes. All the best!
Ana | Traffic Generation invites you to read: Traffic Generation Blogging Contest – How I Got Over 400 Comments on My Entry
Hi Ana,
This is why I keep coming back to TGC. I never would have thought of this on my own. Awesome post Ana!
I will have to read this again, watch the video a couple of times and oh yeah get the code.
Thanks Ana for sharing and have a great day!
Ian
Ian Belanger invites you to read: How To Get Subscribers Using Ad Swaps
Code? No! I thought I did it in non-techie?
You have a good day too, Ian and you are always welcome.
Ana | Traffic Generation invites you to read: Income Blogging Guide- Do You REALLY Know How to Blog
Hey Ana,
You did explain it well enough for the non-techies, but I am kind of a techie, so I don’t mind playing around with a little code.
I should’ve said thanks for the link to the code
Thanks Ana
Ian Belanger invites you to read: Overcoming Procrastination With A March Madness Bracket And Newton’s Law Of Motion Really
Oh my!! Japanese speaking again Ana! Now, I have to read this post a couple of times
I have no doubt that many people have no idea about this issue, bloggers especially. SEO is so geared towards “sites” and not blogs….sometimes it’s difficult to find legit information on SEO for bloggers. However, I always know where to visit to get my accurate info. **cough**…you silly
Talk soon,
Lisa
Lisa@blog seo invites you to read: Is Your Blog Going Up In Flames Blog Burnout Tips
Oh, poor excuse, my friend.
Not for blogs, but static sites? 
I know this is a bit out there, but I thought it was interesting and might give an edge to those who can implement it.
Ana | Traffic Generation invites you to read: Keyword Winner- Keyword Research is Back with a Vengeance
I guess I could have clarified a bit better.
An important part of SEO is building links. A lot of people will explain how to get links to your static site to improve on page SEO, but many of those tactics don;t work for bloggers.
So, finding tried and true practical tips for bloggers to go in search of links is sparse. Unless of course you visit here!
Lisa@ blog seo invites you to read: Google PageRank- How To Go From PR1 To PR3
Very informative post Ana!
However, it just added more to my to do list…
Sean Mathena from Find Your Peak invites you to read: 7 Easy Ways to Save Money Today
I know, I did the same for my own to-do list.
Ana | Traffic Generation invites you to read: Why does my blog make money and yours doesn’t
Depending on how your blog is coded — i.e., no link in your header image — you could theoretically switch around your navigation, moving the Home tab to the last nav spot. So, if your navigation is
Home | Book Reviews | Comic Reviews | etc
you could change it to
Book Reviews | Comic Reviews | etc | Home
If you don’t have the technical skills to implement the CSS, you could easily do it using the WordPress menus in your WP dashboard. (Go to Appearance > Menus in the left hand toolbar in your dashboard.)
Thanks for sharing this, Ana! I can’t wait to play around with my links’ order to see what gets me the most traffic.
It makes sense, Elizabeth, if you can find a navigation tab that you actually want to rank for and it doesn’t look strange being the first tab your readers see.
I’ve never tried to play with WP menus, but sounds like something I should try. And write a post about it. Or do you think you’d like to as a guest post?
Ana
Ana | Traffic Generation invites you to read: Income Blogging Guide- Do You REALLY Know How to Blog
Oh yea baby, this is going straight to my SEO! Thanks.
Dennis Edell@ Direct Sales Marketing invites you to read: Your RSS Email List is NOT Yours for Email Marketing!
Thumbs up, Dennis!
Ana | Traffic Generation Cafe invites you to read: Improve Google Rankings- First Priority Link
Sent immediately as promised…now tweeting since I just reinstated my twitter account.
Dennis Edell@ Direct Sales Marketing invites you to read: Your RSS Email List is NOT Yours for Email Marketing!
Never know about it. But it’s a very crucial info and I too need to work out on this. I think I better see how you manage your blog first so that I can apply same..
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I’ll let you know how it goes!
Ana | Traffic Generation Cafe invites you to read: Improve Google Rankings- First Priority Link
Great article once again and thanks for the code, I didn’t even know there was such a thing as first link priority.
Goran | Black Hat Source invites you to read: Interview with Jason Acidre
Neither did I until I read up on it, Goran. And now we know…
Ana | Traffic Generation invites you to read: Traffic Generation Blogging Contest – How I Got Over 400 Comments on My Entry
Read about this on th MS blog, too. Will be letting my clients know about it. Important info!
Alison Moore Smith invites you to read: What is WordPress Jetpack
It is indeed. Thanks Alison.
Ana | Traffic Generation Cafe invites you to read: Improve Google Rankings- First Priority Link
I do thing they pass on that link juice for the first link. I see no other reason why they wouldn’t.
“Black Seo Guy “Signing Off”
TrafficColeman invites you to read: 5 Reasons FaceBook Fan Pages Are Not Websites People
Perhaps you are right…
Ana | Traffic Generation Cafe invites you to read: Improve Google Rankings- First Priority Link
Firstly, I don’t believe this without more credible supporting evidence, and if it was then shown to be true I wouldn’t spend time on it.
I have however found this article useful in refining my understanding of SEO and how I think of it. It has refined my understanding and my strategy.
This approach to SEO could be called “prospecting”, like the gold-rush panners. The obvious metaphor to put forward in place of it would then be “selling picks and shovels”, but while that is valid, it isn’t the point I’m learning here.
I’ll blog about this in more detail at some point, but my approach to SEO is not to go for get rich quick prospecting claims: discovering the SEO nugget that will rocket me to no. 1… for how long?
My approach to SEO is to build something that people will want to visit, and then spend just enough (and no more) effort tweaking the nuts and bolts of my pages to make sure Google and other search engines will recognise the fact. Any other tweaking is wasted. And if the product / website are not worth the SERP, it will be a short lived SERP no matter how good the tweaking is.
So my advice is to ignore this kind of supposed tip, even if you believe it. Focus instead on creating nuggets of gold in your product and website. Then ensure you do just enough SEO tweaking to help others find those nuggets via Google and other engines. Otherwise you are creating ongoing work just to keep your unjustified SERP afloat, thrashing like a drowning man with a millstone rather than a lifebelt.
Mark (in London)
Mark invites you to read: Marketing Tips- How To Get ‘Likes’ For Your Facebook Page
I don’t think there’s such a thing as get rich quick SEO as you called it, Mark.
All these tips are more like building blocks of a ladder that will eventually lead you to the top.
Patience and work are in order though.
Ana | Traffic Generation invites you to read: SEO Content Writing- How to Write a Title Pleaser That Ranks Well Too