An easy step to boost indexing and add "weight" to older postings is cross-linking. In a new post/page, reference an older related post or page on your own website. Add new pages to the Sitemap.xml ( http://www.work-at-home-forum.com/threads/site-map.5461/ ) When the crawlers read your new page they will read the link to the old page also. The higher the cross-link in your post the more likely it will get crawled too. Which is why I put the link to another post on this forum in line 3 above. This is recommended by Google, see link in the above referenced post. You can also reference other authoritative websites and appear related. Don't use the same page link twice in a single post, only one counts. A page full of links to other pages on the same subject can help. Many crawlers will not look past the first paragraph though. Add "link juice" to your old pages from your new pages. (or update old pages with links to your other content)
A few afterthoughts on cross-linking... Notice how I used the full URL in the post above instead of a hypertext (keyword) link? The keyword is a natural part of the sentence referencing the URL you want indexed. Either way works but a visible URL builds trust better than a hypertexted keyword. It also makes the referenced URL visible in a synopsis on search results. You can also boost other websites you own (or friends) by cross linking to them. It helps to not make every link about your own content, share the juice! Like, I have links to this forum from my websites and Facebook, duh.
Nice advice Jimmy! I would however insist on using texts to link to internal pages as you can vary the keywords and also for aesthetic reasons. If there are external links then you can also use images (check attachment) to denote them as external links (using CSS). Not only do they improve aesthetics, but I believe they also build trust.
I agree somewhat Vishal but both methods have their pros and cons, worth debating. Using anchor text looks cleaner but leaves some folks afraid to click or even hover. I provide tech support for a lot of elderly who only recognize a link by "http:" In fact if the anchor text has a pop up description they will freak out at it. But the point of the URL link above was for search engines to crawl it. Not the same as a backlink from a forum or advertising link text. It those cases, the anchor text should be a call to action. Keyword anchor text can look like link spamming. Showing the URL looks like a reference link. Both have their places and purposes. Debate welcome.
Cross linking can get you the much coveted inbound links from a related site. But if you own multiple domains, then make sure that you do things in the right way to gain the maximum advantage.
I won't argue.. LOL.. These days, raw links are more recommended rather than having an anchor text as it looks more organic. We can also use raw links to refer an old post or page in our new post/page in such way we are also deep linking to our inner pages.
Jimmy your views are superb, I know the cross linking before but use URL instead of anchor text is the great thought..
Another use is to send people to a re-direct or landing page on your site. Instead of a link to an affiliate offer, use a re-direct page on your URL. Or to a clean landing page on your site with a clear call to action. That will add weight to those pages and your domain in SEO. When using re-direct pages always include content in case they have re-directs blocked. Content helps to boost SEO for that page even though it contains a re-direct. An added benefit is the tracking you get in your own web stats.
Just made came across this interesting post about internal linking and thought would supplement this thread.
