Keeping the promise that the next 5 posts will be regarding the 5 key factors that determine website appearances on search engine results, I will discuss today keyword prominence and link popularity. The last post was more of a formality that needed to be put in place right away!  Please take it as the idaconcpts blog readers’ bill of rights.

When preparing a website for SEO, keyword prominence and link popularity require more work on the developer’s site because the outcome of these tasks will physically alter the layout of that website.

Keyword prominence takes a look at various factors, but the two most important are 1) the physical location of the keyword(s) and 2) the keyword(s) within page link text.  Physical location simply means that keywords placed at the top of the page are more relevant than at the bottom of the page.  Typically, you will find pay-per-click pages that are trying to maximize their click-rate by using hundreds of keywords at the bottom of the page (either in fine print or mixed with the color of the background).  You don’t want to be one of them!  In the other hand, keywords within page link text is an art by itself.   Check out this free keyword density and prominence tool and use your favorite website.  Keyword prominence checks that the keywords that you select for your website should be within page link text. If your site is about web analytics tools.  Don’t just say, click here.  Better say, for example, click here for better web analytics tools.

Link popularity was invented by Sergy Bin and Larry Page (yup, those Google guys) and it is the foundation of their Search Engine Google.  In simple words, link popularity deals with the quantity and quality of the links leading towards your website.  It is not just a matter of every possible website linking back to your website, but rather the ones that are relevant to your keywords.

Conclusions:

1. Mark your keywords clearly at the top of every page of your website.
2. Network! Talk with experts in your field and create partnerships with them so that you can cross-reference each other.

As I work my way in the web of online marketing and web analytics, I often bump into new theoretical and technical lingo that I never heard of.  It is particularly challenging to keep up with both the English and Spanish literature on these fields.  (Oh, if you are self-claimed web marketer and are not checking what’s going in Spain, then you are missing out!)

By far, one my best partners during my web metrics literature reviews are the Kaiser Chiefs.  Named after the South African football team, they are best known for their 2004 hit “I Predict a Riot” and the jumping shenanigans of their lead vocalist, Ricky Wilson.

Ricky Wilson from Kaiser Chiefs @ Brixton Academy. Photo credit: Guy Eppel

Here is what you can learn from them about getting started in web marketing and web analytics.

1. And oh my God, I can’t believe it, I’ve never been this far away from home.

(Oh My God from Employment, 2005)

SEO, SEM, conversion, blog marketing, the list goes.  Not your everyday marketing class, not even in MBA school.  Trust me, I’ve been there and there is very few going on the academic preparation of both undergraduate and graduate students in these fields.  Forget the 4Ps, everything is about conversion.  The first piece of advice that the Kaiser Chiefs drop to you is that you need to realize that you have a lot to learn and, that more importantly, you are to open to learn.  Read, read, read.  A good starting point, you ask?  Here is one:  Avinash Kaushik‘s blog and book, Web Analytics: An Hour a Day.

2.  I predict a riot.

(I Predict A Riot from I Predict A Riot, 2004)