I am working on a link building theory / formula called the LPP Ratio(the links per page ratio), if I can find enough substance in the results, than I will feel more comfortable touting it as a legitimate term (essentially, it’s just a component to the algorithm used by various search engines to determine website authority) but it’s relevance it monumental as a measuring stick when you consider your site to the leading companies from your niche. Keep in mind, I wrote this before having my morning coffee, so I hope it’s not too fuzzy.
Competitive Analysis
One of the first things an SEO company looks at to determining how entrenched a URL is during competitive research is how many links a website has and how many pages are indexed. Similar to if you are observing the KEI to assess the amount of effort required to optimize the keyword. For example, If the number of competing pages is under 50-100,000 results if you search for it in “quotes” in Google (the term is moderately competitive ) and it’s as good as yours, but for more competitive terms it could take months to appear in the the higher echelon of search results in Google, Yahoo and MSN. Companies like Bruce Clay, Patrick Gavin, and a few others I will mention in a moment are consistently in the top 10 search results and are essentially constants for thousands of keywords, due to deep linking and developing quality inbound links over time.
So, if we are researching the term “SEO Company” for example, I would use Google and perform a search in quotes to find the number of occurrences for that keyword. It just so happens to be 1,330,000 results which is extremely high for consideration from our site in it’s current stage, the other SEO companies I mentioned all have a piece of that keyword as well as many others that are equally as coveted, due to the foresight, planning and execution from observing search trends or creating them as a result of competition between SEO’s. At this point, it is safe to say that each search engine views and values backlinks a bit differently, although semantic indexing is still under way, the basis for achieving consistent high rankings for various keywords in still a correlation of inbound links from other websites and the authority they transfer to your URL.
What is the backlink LPP Ratio?
Simply put the LPP Ratio (links per page ratio) is a quantitative measurement of the number of links indexed for a url / the number of pages indexed. One of my favorites mentors that I don’t mind getting bumped by in the SERPS is We Build Pages. The company literally dominates the SEO industry for their innate ability to devise links from various sources to elevate keywords in relationship to your site.
In addition to having some of the coolest SEO tools on the block, the CEO Jim Boykin is an extremely intelligent, down to earth and humble guy. Nonetheless, they are blazing a path to glory for some of the hottest most highly trafficked search terms in the SEO industry such as internet marketing (company, services), Seo Services, and literally thousands of other coveted keywords. My theory is this…
While performing a search for “SEO Services”, We Build Pages and Beanstalk were neck and neck for the number 1 & 2 position. You have to understand that keyword wars are a friendly way for each SEO company to showcase their optimization techniques. A healthy competition if you will, a sparring match to see who can topple the algorithm and gain it’s favor to attain the pole position.
According to yahoo site explorer, (the mediator) We Build Pages has 395 pages indexed for their website and roughly 163,339 links directed at those pages the LPP ratio for them is 413. That is an average of 413 links PER PAGE wow!. Most websites are lucky to have 400 quality inbound links pointing at their home page or spread throughout the entire site, let alone an average of 413 for each page in their entire site. How they distribute the links through deep links, sub directories and / or blogs is really their secret, I just couldn’t help but notice this dynamo of external links just waiting to devour the next challenger in the SERPS like a predator ready to pounce on their prey.
With that kind of link juice and page rank, you could pretty much have a fleeting thought about keyword, mention it one time in your title, description or body copy and rank for that keyword with the proverbial (excuse me as I step over your site – wiping the do do from your shoe technique) in the ascension to the top 10. Beanstalk on the other hand, has another optimization method, but nonetheless equally as effective. I surmise that both websites employ a combination (a) quality content (b) trust rank and link authority from C Class IP addresses (c) hub pages (d) articles, blogs and forum posts and (e) world class directories to produce a necessary balance of links from various sources to augment trust rank. Just speculation from my side, I have high regard for both of these companies and hope they do not mind me using them as examples for this theory.
Beanstalk has a link per page (LPP ratio) of 35, based up 27,372 links distributed to their 772 indexed pages (according to yahoo). This is a classic example of quantity vs. quality as the neck to neck SEO battles for high volume keywords continues. Immediately a wide array of optimization methods come to mind on how each of them made their ascent to the top, but at this point they are mere speculation. It’s really about timing, keyword research and resources, all of which are free and at everyones disposal, you just have to be creative enough to think outside the box and apply yourself to find quality links.
The good news is, everything leaves a trail online so if you have nothing better to do, 10 pots of coffee and a penchant for research, you could follow each and every one of those links (or glean them if you will) for further insight. Personally, I would rather spend more time link building and playing catch up. But in closing I would like to share a little technique you can use for link building with relevant terms to each page.
Deep Linking using Keyword Density for Keyword Research
If you involved in SEO, you are familiar with keyword density, you also are aware that if you want your links to get the regard they deserve, you should provide them from unique IP addresses with varied anchor text and titles. Having 100 links pointing to a page using the same term “search engine optimization” for example with the same title “SEO” on each link would set off a red flag and could impose a penalty on your website. Varying your text, description and the contextual environment the link is surrounded by play a major role in this process. So, it occurred that what better place to look for the words you wish to augment than using a keyword density tool.
Using the top keywords with the highest keyword density are perfect as the title or anchor text for your next backlink. Also, you can use the 2 word combinations with the highest density on that page, strategically in the description of a directory submission or contextual advertisement. This way, you know which words already have a signal flare on page that would respond well to off page search engine augmentation. So instead of loading up your pages with only the top tier keywords, this way you can achieve balance and don’t have to resort to using click here for example for random link text.
So if I wanted to optimize a term like article marketing for example, I would:
1) write a page on article marketing making sure to achieve a fair keyword density 5-7% for keywords.
2) conduct research on the KEI or use the term “article marketing” in quotes in Google to see who the competition is.
3) check out their links in Yahoo Explorer to evaluate their “LPP Ratio“.
4) use a keyword density tool and create titles and descriptions using the top 2 word and 3 word combinations.
5) build links using variations from the keyword density results for that page starting from top to bottom until I reach the highest occurrence of one word terms.
6) let the page get indexed, observe the result and rinse and repeat starting with step 5.
If your page is still not getting the regard it deserves go back and beef up your on page SEO with a few optimized hyperlinks. Strategic use of alternative text for your keywords ( check in Google using the ~ before a keyword) and look for bold terms to see semantic matches, add some more copy and wait until it’s indexed again to summarize the effect.
So what are you waiting for, check you LPP Ratio and see if you should be reading blogs like this or developing a solid deep linking strategy to bring all of your pages into the long tail. Although this is one of many methods, it never hurts to share, so happy keyword hunting and see you all in the SERP’s.
Nice tips bro. Love to spread them.
Thanks for sharing an informative post.
thanks for sharing
I learn a lot about LLP ratio from this topic thanks for infos
Good infos . Help me alot thanks smith
Glad I could help, anytime…
LPP ratio is a good way of looking at it. But surely when looking at the inbound links to a site, the majority of the links are pointing to the home page? I enjoyed reading the post, its a kewl way of determining a sites ranking worth. (obviously along with many more factors)
great post, thanks for the info
Great information on LPP, i found myself lucky to have a nice read.
very nice info.. u can also MASS PING the deeplink page when the link is added it’ll immediately inform engines that page is updated and this may increase indexing asap
Dear webmaster,
I have visited your site today. After reviewing your website, I thought you would be a great candidate for exchanging links.
By using following details:
Title: Web design company
URL: http://www.creativityinsight.co.uk/
Description: Web design company in London.
If you have any questions or concerns, please don`t hesitate in contacting me by replying to this mail. I will then get back to you as soon as possible.
Thanks & Regards,
Juhi Parmar
SEO Expert
C’mon now, comment link spam, that is not your style? or is it??? I will approve this one as a “marker”, i.e. proof. Comment spam is bottom of the barrel, just can’t believe you actually use this technique to get rankings…