• About
    • History of Dallas SEO
  • Contact
  • Topics
    • Bing
    • Blogging
    • Branding
    • Domain Names
    • Google
    • Internet Marketing
    • Link Building
    • Local Search
    • Marketing
    • Public Relations
    • Reputation Management
    • Search Engine Marketing
    • Search Engine Optimization
    • Search Engines
    • Social Media
    • Tech
  • Advertise
  • Services
    • Search Engine Optimization
    • Ongoing SEO Services
    • SEO Expert Witness
    • Google Penalty Recovery
    • Mini SEO Audit
    • Link Audit
    • Keyword Research
    • Combine Websites SEO Services
    • PPC Management
    • Online Reputation Management
    • Domain Name Consultant
    • Domain Names & Expired Domains
    • Domain Name Appraisal

Bill Hartzer

GoDaddy Airo: Register your .com domain name today!
Home » Search Engine Optimization Tip: Links Surrounded by Text

Search Engine Optimization Tip: Links Surrounded by Text

Links are a big part of the success of your Search Engine Optimization efforts and the overall traffic from organic search to your site. However, there are several issues related to links to your site, including anchor text that you need to pay attention to. One of them that you may not know about is the text that surrounds your links. This is just as important as your internal links with anchor text.

You may have a link in the footer or the sidebar of someone else’s web site. Yet you need to find out what the surrounding text is around those locations. You don’t want to appear to be nothing more than on a list of paid links located on another site. Instead, you want those links to be promoting you as a trustworthy site that has something of value to offer them. You want the links to your web site surrounded by text, as if the other site is “talking about” and thus pointing to your web site.

Let’s take a look at an example list of links:

– Search Engine Watch
– Search Engine Land
– Search Engine Roundtable

That above is a list of links. Although it is a list of some of my favorite search engine related web sites, those links are not really the “ideal” type of links. Sure, they all include keywords related to “search engines”. Let’s take a look at the next paragraph of text:

The search engine news web site that has been around the longest is Search Engine Watch. SEW was run by Danny Sullivan, who now operates Search Engine Land. Barry is in charge of Search Engine Roundtable, which updates their site several times each day–and tends to have information that you won’t find on those other search engine sites.

The text that is around the links in the paragraph above provide context and are relevant to the paragraph. So, the search engines (mainly Google) tend to “like” those links better than if the links might appear as a list (as shown above). While there are other factors involved, such as whether or not those links appear on a sidebar, in a footer, or somewhere lower on the site (perhaps you have to scroll down a bit to see them), it is always preferred to have your link surrounded by text.

If you already have links to your web site, or are analyzing your current links, you may want to see the the text that surrounds your links. If you aren’t happy with it, or if the text that surrounds your link is not on-topic, take the time to talk to the web site owner that’s linking to you–you may be able to get it changed.

Read more of my search engine optimization tips for more info about link building and overall SEO.

Bill Hartzer on Search, Marketing, Tech, and Domains.

Recent Posts

  • Internet Marketing Ninjas Acquired by Previsible.IO July 9, 2025
  • Metricool Brings Real Analytics to Personal LinkedIn Profiles July 8, 2025
  • This Cleveland Agency Found a Smarter Way to Rank in Every Suburb—Without Opening More Offices July 8, 2025
  • Survey: Gen Z Reuses Passwords but Demands Bank-Level Security From Small Businesses July 8, 2025
  • Liftoff Reveals What’s Actually Working in Mobile Ads July 7, 2025
  • EasySend’s Big Move: AI Tools That Make Static Forms Obsolete July 7, 2025
  • Is Social Media Failing Small Businesses? New Survey Reveals a Hidden Blind Spot July 7, 2025
  • Why Cloudflare’s Pay Per Crawl Is a Trap for 99% of Websites July 2, 2025
  • The Hidden Risk of Double Letters in Brand and Domain Names July 2, 2025
  • GEO Verified™ Launches to Help Brands Survive the AI Search Shakeup July 1, 2025
  • RetailOnline.com Hits the Market After 25 Years—And It’s Built for the Future of E-Commerce July 1, 2025
  • AI-Powered Task Planning: The Future of Business Efficiency and Personal Productivity June 30, 2025
  • New Yoast Add-On Turns Google Docs Into an SEO Power Tool June 26, 2025
  • Simon Data Flips the Script on Marketing with AI Agents June 26, 2025
  • IAB Lays Down the Law for Gaming Ads—Here’s What Brands Need to Know June 26, 2025
  • Google Review Extortion Text Message – Scam Warning for Business Owners June 25, 2025
  • Google Names SearchKings Top AI Innovator for Transforming Lead Quality June 24, 2025
  • Marketing Exec Buys Social Media Firm in Deal That Signals Big Plans June 24, 2025
  • Amsive Takes on ChatGPT and Gemini with Next-Gen SEO for the AI Search Era June 23, 2025
  • Reddit Sued After Google’s AI Overviews Allegedly Gutted Traffic June 19, 2025

Hartzer Domains

Bare-Metal Servers by HostDime

DFWSEM logo

Bill Hartzer is a Brand Ambassador for:

Industry Friends

I Love SEO
WTFSEO
SEO By the Sea
Brian Harnish
Jeff Lenney
Jeff Gabriel
Scott Hendison
Dixon Jones
Brian Hartzer
Navah Hopkins
DNAccess
SEO Dallas
Confirmed Stolen

Connect With Bill Hartzer

Bill Hartzer on Twitter
Bill Hartzer on BlueSky
Bill Hartzer on Instagram
Hartzer Consulting on Facebook
Bill Hartzer on Facebook
Bill Hartzer on YouTube

Categories

  • Advertising (109)
  • AI (201)
  • Bing Search Engine (8)
  • Blogging (43)
  • Branding (19)
  • Domain Names (315)
  • Google (260)
  • Internet Marketing (51)
  • Internet Usage (95)
  • Link Building (53)
  • Local Search (63)
  • Marketing (232)
  • Marketing Foo (34)
  • Pay Per Click (9)
  • Podcast (19)
  • Public Relations (9)
  • Reputation Management (14)
  • Search Engine Marketing (46)
  • Search Engine Marketing Events (60)
  • Search Engine Marketing Firms (94)
  • Search Engine Marketing Jobs (33)
  • Search Engine Optimization (189)
  • Search Engines (223)
  • Social Media (302)
  • Social Media Marketing (58)
  • Tech (16)
  • Web Analytics (21)
  • Webinars (1)

Note: All product names, logos, and brands are property of their respective owners. All company, product and service names used in this website are for identification purposes only, and are mentioned only to help my readers. All other trademarks cited herein are the property of their respective owners. Use of these names, logos, and brands does not imply endorsement.

 

Hartzer Consulting

Website, Content, and Marketing by Hartzer Consulting, LLC.

Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Terms of Use

Copyright © 2025 ·