SEO – are you using titles in your links?

SEO – are you using titles in your links?

Are you using titles in your links? Either internal site links or external links? If not, then you could be missing out on a golden SEO opportunity.

Titles should not be confused with the page title or with 'alt text' which accompanies an image – the visible text when you place your mouse over an image. The title goes after a URL link tag but within the overall bracket of the link.

E.G:
<a href=”http://purple13.blogspot.com”>Click here to visit the Purple 13 Blog</a>

Becomes:
<a href=”http://purple13.blogspot.com” title=”click here to visit the purple 13 blog”>Click here to visit the Purple 13 Blog</a>

You can use the same method if you're linking to images:
<a href="../images/jigsaw.gif" title="GIF image of personalised photo jigsaw">Personalised photo jigsaw.</a>

Remember this helpful tip: “Supplementary information makes it easier to determine the purpose of a link. Link text should be meaningful enough to make sense when read out of context — either on its own or as part of a sequence of links. Link text should also be short and concise.”
On the subject of same link, but different title text, I came across this nugget of advice:
“Do not use the same link phrase more than once when the links point to different URLs
If more than one link on a page shares the same link text, all those links should point to the same resource. Such consistency will help page design as well as accessibility.
If two or more links refer to different targets but share the same link text, distinguish the links by specifying a different value for the "title" attribute of each A element.
When the same link phrase re-occurs, there is an implication that the links point to the same place. If they do not, users may be surprised and disoriented.”

After you've added a title to a link, when you mouseover that link, the title will be displayed (much like alt image text). This is a great visual clue for visitors as to what lies at the end of the click and can be used to encourage that “the click is worthwhile”.

Title links provide search engines with an additional clue as to what lies at the end of that link too, so it's important to be relevant and concise.

Using title links will help ensure your website is visible and links to other pages within your website get found more easily. It also builds keyword density which in turn should give your website better page rank and help its overall position in search listings.

Hope that helps you all.

P.S My friend has just started his own blog and we wish him well. You can visit it at http://blog.earthshod.co.uk and yes! it is titled.

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