| Factor | Positive OFF Page SEO Factors | Brief Note |
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| Incoming Links | |
| 1 | Page Rank | Based on the Number and Quality of links to your site google link reporting continues to display just a SMALL fraction of your actual backlinks, and they are NOT just greater than PR4 - they are |
| 2 | Total incoming links ("backlinks") | Use tools like (backlink watcher, backlink checker) to check your total incoming links from Google, Yahoo!, MSN and others. |
| 3 | Incoming links from PR4+ pages | What Google used to count (report). Now, what Google report seems almost random, frequently changing? |
| 4 | Acceleration of link popularity | Google patent Link acquisition speed boost - speculative Too fast = artificial? Sandbox penalty imposed if new site? |
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| For Each Incoming Link: | |
| 5 | Page rank of the referring page | Based on the quality of links to you |
| 6 | Anchor text of inbound link to you | Contains keyword, key phrase? #1 result in SERP does NOT EVEN need to have the keyword(s) on the page, ANYWHERE!!! What does that tell you? (Enables Google bomb - search for "miserable failure") |
| 7 | Age of link | Google patent - Old = Good |
| 8 | Frequency of change of anchor text | Google patent - Not good. Why would you do that so frequently? |
| 9 | Popularity of referring page | Popularity = desirability, respect |
| 10 | # of outgoing links on referrer page | Fewer is better - makes yours more important |
| 11 | Position of link on referrer page | Early in HTML is best |
| 12 | Keyword density on referring page | For search keyword(s) |
| 13 | HTML title of referrer page | Same subject/ theme? |
| 14 | Link from "Expert" site? | Google patent - Recently reported to give a big boost ! |
| 15 | Referrer page - Same theme | From the same or related theme? BETTER |
| 16 | Referrer page - Different theme | From different or unrelated theme? WORSE |
| 17 | Image map link? | Problematic? |
| 18 | Javascript link? | Problematic- attempt to hide link? |
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| Directory Submission: | |
| 19 | Site listed in DMOZ Directory? | HUGE boost - it is said that Google's directory comes STRAIGHT from the DMOZ directory. You MUST get into dmoz. Be careful who you approach with the old spondulix. Don't over repeat the submission in DMOZ. It is quite difficult to get into DMOZ. |
| 20 | DMOZ category? | Theme fit category? General or geographic category? Both are possible, and acceptable. |
| 21 | Site listed in Yahoo Directory? | Big boost - You can get in by paid inclusion. |
| 22 | Site listed in LookSmart Directory? | Boost? Another great vote for your site. |
| 23 | Site listed in inktomi? | Use Pure Search to check your inktomi position. |
| 24 | Site listed in other directories (About, etc.) | Directory listing boost (If other RESPECTED directories link to you, this must be positive.) |
| 25 | Expert site? (Hilltop or Condensed Hilltop) | Large-sized site, quality incoming links |
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| Page Metrics - Visitor Behavior (Implemented through the Google tool bar?) | |
| 26 | Page traffic | Google patent - Number of visitors and variation trend. |
| 27 | Page Selection Rate - CTR | Google patent - How often is a page clicked on? |
| 28 | Time spent on page | Google patent - Relatively long time = indicates relevance hit |
| 30 | Did user Bookmark page? | Google patent - Bookmark = Good |
| 31 | Bookmark add/ removal frequency | Google patent - Recent = Good? |
| 32 | How they left, where they went | Back button, link clicked, etc. |
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| Site Metrics - Visitor Behavior (Implemented through the Google tool bar?) | |
| 33 | Site Traffic | Google patent - Number of visitors, increasing trend is good. |
| 34 | Referrer | Authoritative referrer? |
| 35 | Keyword | Keyword searches used to find you. |
| 36 | Time spent on domain | Relatively long time = indicates relevance hit. Add brownie points. |
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| Domain Owner Behavior: | |
| 37 | Domain Registration Time | Google patent - Domain Expiration Date Register for 5 years, Google knows you are serious. Register for 1 year, is it a throw-away domain? |
| 38 | Are associated sites legitimate? | Google patent - No spam, ownership, etc. |
| 39 | Domain Ownership over time | Long time = same owner. Avoid frequent and substantial changes of your whois record. Or did you buy an old domain to avoid the sandbox and benefit from it's previous ranking? You might not go away with it. |
Keep reading for Negative On-page and Negative Off-page SEO Factor............
