
Link Values
To assist you in determining the value of a link, there are a variety of tools that you can use.
Using the Page Rank Toolbar
Page Rank (PR) is Google’s proprietary algorithm. According to Google, “PageRank works by counting the number and quality of links to a page to determine a rough estimate of how important the website is. The underlying assumption is that more important websites are likely to receive more links from other websites.”
Page Rank is measured on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest and almost unattainable. For example, Facebook is a 9, SLR Lounge is a 4, and Lin and Jirsa Blog is a 3.
General Rule – If all else is equal, a link from a high Page Rank site is more valuable than a link from a low Page Rank site.
Common Misconception – Many website owners see PR as the only important factor for determining the value of a link. But in reality, it’s just one of the many indicators, as we mentioned in the previous section. So be sure to not obsess over increasing PR and getting links from high PR sites.
There are many more factors to consider when it comes to link quality, which we’ll review later in the chapter. For now, simply install a toolbar in your browser that shows you the page rank of a website. You can simply search “Page Rank [insert your browser name]” and you should see plenty of options.
Using the Alexa Toolbar
A website’s Alexa ranking is one of the best ways to determine the amount of traffic for a website. According to Alexa, “Alexa’s Traffic Ranks are based on the traffi c data provided by users in Alexa’s global data panel over a rolling 3 month period. Traffic Ranks are updated daily. A site’s ranking is based on a combined measure of Unique Visitors and Pageviews.”
Websites with more traffic have lower Alexa Rankings (Google is 1 and Facebook is 2), while websites with higher Alexa Rankings receive less traffi c (Lin and Jirsa hovers around 600,000).
General Rule – All else equal, links from low Alexa number sites are better than links from high Alexa number sites.
Using the Moz Authority Toolbar
Moz.com is one of the thought-leaders on SEO. I highly recommend browsing their site if you’re looking for more SEO information. They have come up with their own algorithm to rank “Page Authority” based on the factors mentioned along with many more. You can download and use their Toolbar at no cost; and it gives you another, reliable 3rd party way to gauge a website’s authority.
General Rule – All else equal, links from high Page Authority (PA) pages are better than links from low Page Authority pages.
Using these Tools
These three tools that we mentioned, Page Rank, Alexa Rank, and the Moz Toolbar, will help you make objective, informed decisions.
For example, if you are deciding between listing your site on Photography Directory A or Photography Directory B, you would choose the directory with a higher PR if all of the other factors are pretty similar. If you’re deciding to guest write for either Photography Blog A or Photography Blog B, prioritize the one with a higher Alexa Ranking if all other factors are similar. If you’re deciding to submit your work to Magazine A or Magazine B, submit to the one with a higher page authority if all other factors are similar.
We’ll get into each of these link building strategies, and others, in detail later in this book; but we wanted to mention some of them here to give you an idea of how we are going to use these tools to guide our decisions.
CHAPTER 1.01 – INTRODUCTION
- 1.1 Photography SEO and Web Marketing Intro
- 1.2 Why You Need SEO
- 1.3 Why You Should NOT Hire Out For SEO
- 1.4 Overview of Chapters
CHAPTER 2: 1.02 – SEO BASICS & KEYWORD STRATEGY
- 2.1 How Do Search Engines Work
- 2.2 Understanding Search Results
- 2.3 Search Results Quiz
- 2.4 What is a Keyword
- 2.5 How To Determine Keywords For Your Photography Studio
- 2.6 Using the Keyword Planner
CHAPTER 3 1.03 – CREATING CONTENT
- 3.1 How to Create Great Content
- 3.2 Web Page Ideas
- 3.3 How to Create Great SEO Content
- 3.4 Grow Your Business with Google Image Search
- 3.5 Balancing SEO with Workflow
CHAPTER 4: 1.04 – SITE STRUCTURE
Chapter 5: 1.05 – ACCESSIBILITY, SPEED, AND DUPLICATE CONTENT
- 5.1 Importance of Correct Internal Linking
- 5.2 Broken Links
- 5.3 Under the Hood Accessibility
- 5.4. How to Speed Up Your Site
- 5.5. Avoiding Duplicate Content
- 5.6 Conclusion
Chapter 6: 2.01 – LINK BASICS
Chapter 7: 2.02 – LINK VALUE FACTORS
Chapter 8: 2.03 – NOFOLLOW, RELATED LINKS, & ANCHOR TEXT
Chapter 9: 2.04 – LINK BUILDING STRATEGIES
Chapter 10: 3.01 – THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
- 10.1 Why Social Media is Important?
- 10.2 How to Get Started with Social Media
- 10.3 How to Create Quality Content
- 10.4 How to Post Your Content – Rules and Guidelines
Chapter 11: 3.02 – MAXIMIZING SPECIFIC SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORKS
- 11.1 Use Wedding Slideshows To Showcase Your Work On Social Media
- 11.2 2 Apps To #MaximizeEngagement
- 11.3 Using Facebook to Grow Your Business
- 11.4 Using Twitter to Grow Your Business
- 11.5 Using Google Plus to Grow Your Business
- 11.6 Using Pinterest to Grow Your Business
- 11.7 Using Instagram to Grow Your Business
- 11.8 How to Post Videos and Photos to Instagram From Your PC
Chapter 12: 3.03 – MASTER LOCAL SEARCH
- 12.1 Local Listing Accounts & On-Page SEO and Local Links
- 12.2 Decide On Your Name, Address, and Phone
- 12.3 Set Up My Google Business Page
Chapter 13: 4.01 – Initial Decisions
- 13.1 Create a Photography Website
- 13.2 Photography Business Names | How to Choose
- 13.3 Photography Domain Names | How to Choose
- 13.4 Best Website Builder for Photographers (Updated for 2019)
- 13.5 One Website vs. Separating Your Blog
- 13.6 How to Create Multiple Websites to Improve Your SEO
Chapter 14: 4.02 – WORDPRESS AND Squarespace
- 14.1 WordPress for Photographers
- 14.2 Recommended WordPress Plugins for Photographers
- 14.3 Squarespace For Photographers | Pros And Cons
Chapter 15: 4.03 – GOOGLE ANALYTICS
- 15.1 Using Google Analytics to Measure Performance
- 15.2 Google Webmaster Basics for Photographers
- 14.3 Squarespace For Photographers | Pros And Cons
Chapter 16: PAID DIRECTORIES
ACCESS TO INDUSTRY-LEADING EDUCATION
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