Unique Original Articles » Link factor Series- Off Page Ranking Factor

What do we mean when we talk about off page ranking factor? When search engines use information other than the words on a page to rank sites that is called "off the page ranking." What are some of the other things search engines look for other than the words on the page? Surfer behavior, link popularity, engagement time, RSS feed counts and click through rates are all examples of criteria used to rank a site on criteria other than keywords and content. That does not mean that keyword density and placement is no longer important with these search engines, but it is not critical.

It is the job of a search engine to figure out which websites deserve to rank high and which should rank low. Search engines have become very advanced and have the capacity to observe and identify web spam. Algorithms change. With all of these new changes linking, although still very important in the world of website rankings, is not the only thing one must focus on.

In the past the search engines have relied heavily on a site’s link profile to make that ranking determination. Search engines developed off the page ranking criteria as a response to the increasing ability of website masters to obtain high page rankings by manipulating the words on the page. Off the page criteria are very difficult to manipulate. Off the page criteria is friendly to those with sites that have real content and continuity. Search engines want to return relevant results to the surfer. Off page ranking is a chance for your website to rank above all the spammers.

During the last year or so, links and link metrics have become the prime target for increased scrutiny. Links are no longer looked at as the fundamental signature of a website. Now it is more about consistency, quality, site/link age and topical relevance. As mentioned earlier newer metrics the search engines now look at more closely include engagement time, click through rates, click paths, surfing behavior, conversions and RSS feed counts among others.

Let’s take a closer look at some of these metrics:

Click Popularity



This measures the appeal of a site title and the site description to a surfer. Search engines are programmed to know the probability of someone clicking on your site based on its rank. If your site is clicked more often than expected, your rank improves. If the site is clicked less often than expected your site rank drops.



Time



This is a measure of the actual time a surfer spends on your site after clicking on your link or ad. Again, search engines know the probability of approximately how long a surfer will stay on a site before they will leave it. If surfers back out less often than the search engine predicts or if they stay longer than predicted then the site rank will increase. Site rank will also increase if a surfer never returns to the search engine because the search engine assumption is that the surfer has found exactly what they were looking for. If, on the other hand, the percentage of leaving the site is higher than expected, or if it a surfer leaves faster than expected the website will most certainly drop in the rankings.



Link Popularity



Link Popularity is what search engines have traditionally used as a major factor in ranking a website based. It is based on an analysis of the links between sites. In the early days it used to be a simple straightforward count of all links into a website. Now, link popularity is a sophisticated analysis that gives more weight to some types of links and less to others. Link Popularity analysis looks at inbound links, outbound links, sites which link to you and the content of linked text.



It is wise to stick to the practice of linking to yourself to promote relevance. For external links you should investigate sites wanting to link to your thoroughly. If it is an authoritative site that can help your site relevance then go ahead and allow the link. When you are looking for other sites to link to you should ensure it is a well ranked site with high authority. Make sure the theme of sites you link to is relevant to your site. Remember to deep link both internal and external links to heighten authority and relevance.



For the new age of search engine ranking it is no longer one factor over others but having the best mix of metrics that will carry the most weight in the search engine algorithms.


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