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What is anchor text? The latest "buzz" term in the search engine ranking world is "anchor text". Anchor text refers to the words that are linked to pages within your website or other websites. For example, if I wanted to create a link to VegasWeddingGuide.com from the portfolio page of my business website, I could do it several different ways.

Here are two possibilities: 1. Visit VegasWeddingGuide.com 2. Visit our newest website for planning your Las Vegas wedding and Las Vegas reception.

The underlined words in this example are linked to VegasWeddingGuide.com and make up the anchor text for each link.

Why is anchor Text Important? In the past year, search engine algorithms have become much "smarter" and are beginning to weight anchor text much more heavily in determining how your site ranks.

In the example above, #2 is MUCH better for VegasWeddingGuide.com because the primary keywords for the site are included in the anchor text linking to it. Search engines will weight this link more heavily than #1 because the keywords are tied directly to the link. When it comes to Anchor Text, the words you select for links can make a dramatic impact on your search engine rankings.

What you should do with this information... Knowledge is power ... now that you are armed with this information; you can take steps to help improve your own website's rankings in the search engines.

When exchanging links with another website, be specific in how you want your link to appear. Rather than having the other site create a link direct from your business name, take advantage of anchor text in your link.

For example, if you are a florist in Washington DC ... Don't send your link like this: CapitalFlowers.com Instead, do this: Washington DC Florist: Capital Flowers or like this Washington DC Florist: CapitalFlowers.com

The second example, builds your main keyword into the anchor text of your link. You can use these same linking techniques within your own website too.

If you are running online ads for your web site, contact the companies with whom you advertise and ask if you can edit your listing to include keyword anchor text. Taking advantage of keyword-rich anchor text in your online ads may go a long way toward improving your rankings!

For more information about search engine optimization, visit http://www.MSWInteractiveDesigns.com

About the author:

Sandra Waggett serves as owner and principal webmaster for MSW Interactive Designs LLC (MSW-ID), a website design and hosting firm that helps small business professionals achieve an effective Internet presence. Waggett designs and develops a variety of online technologies including websites, eCommerce and portal sites. Contact us to find out how We put the Web to Work for You! Visit http://www.MSWInteractiveDesigns.com