The 5 minute Link Value Test – 6 Link Quality Indicators

Getting links is hard work. It’s very difficult to solicit links with no value proposition. It’s difficult to develop a value proposition if you have no sense of what you’re negotiating for. This is one of the key reasons why understanding the value of links is such a critical component to an SEO campaign.

No one likes to hear that placing a value on a link is a “gut feel” skill, but it’s true. You need to repeat the process many times, and understand the shifts in the marketplace. It’s pretty easy to get paralysis by analysis when placing value on links, so I thought I’d do a post on a quick stripped down link value test. You’ll have to apply your own monetary guides to these scales, but these are key variables that I try to always consider quickly.

This should take you no more than five minutes to test these 6 quality indicators of text link value to search engine rankings.

6 Quality Indicators for Text Link Value

Keyword/Theme/Industry Worth
Tool – Overture bid tool is dead – sorry. Try determining this with adwords bid pricing.

Relative to:
SERP Value

Link Pop/Power/PR/ Googlejuice Link Popularity
Tool – Y site explorer – or handy yExplore FF extension

Relative to:
Click through value, traffic levels, 2nd tier IBLS (your IBLs IBL’s…their “network” if you prefer)

Outbound Links
Tool – Outbound link bookmarklet –
Installation – drag this to your browser toolbar.

Relative to:
Percentage of page outbound link value

Unique Linking Domains
Tool – Link Harvester

Relative to:
Overall trust link score

Placement
Tool – Use your head and look at this.
Links in the body are worth more than navigation or advertising links.

Relative to:

Overall trust link score, co-citation, proximity, anchor text usage 6. Age
Tool – Wayback Machine, or search status ff plugin which gives one click access to the wayback machine info.

Relative to:
Overall trust score

Understanding how to get links isn’t nearly as worthwhile as why you want to get links and the types, and developing semi-automated methodology.

Rand’s quick strength tool sounds like it shares some similar ideas

Todd Malicoat

More information about Todd Malicoat aka stuntdubl.