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In Speedlinking and SEO, Part 1: What is Speedlinking? we discussed the two possible meanings of the term "speedlinking," and I explained which definition I espouse and why.
Speedlinking, Slow-linking: Which Is Better?
Let me point out here that neither practice (writing link posts - which often contain longer and more highly descriptive link text - and anchoring links with pithy descriptive terms) is necessarily inferior to the other or innately bad for a blog's SEO (when used correctly, at least). Each has a role to play in any successful blog strategy. Yet, each is entirely different, which is why I believe that each should be called by a different name - a name that's more appropriate to its function. Thus, I call writing link posts speedposting (since it speeds up the posting process) and creating links that use shorter and less complex anchor text speedlinking (since it speeds up the linking process).
Speedlinking Defined
To recap, the definition we will use in this series on Speedlinking and SEO, is the following:
Speedlinking is the practice of using just one or two sometimes-insignificant words to anchor a link. The words in question are used either as a substitute for exact titles and/or full names (which are generally longer and more time-consuming to reproduce accurately) or to highlight specific keywords and short key phrases. Sometimes, the words chosen to anchor the link are ambiguous, universal, and nondescript, giving the reader little incentive to follow them. Speedlinking may be used in either a link post or a conventional one, though it's more likely to be used in the latter, since it lends itself well to easily achieving an unbroken narrative flow.
In my previous post, I linked to a few highly respected bloggers who choose to define speedlinking differently than I do. Today, I'll refer briefly to another blogger I also highly respect, who views the issue very much the same way that I see it.
A Blogger Who Shares My Perspective
The only blogger I've found thus far, who uses the term speedlinking in the clearer and more intuitive context described above is Confident Writing Coach Joanna Young. In How to write a links post, Joanna covers this topic, differentiating between simply "linking out" and "speed linking." In this post, she offers a description of speedlinking and demonstrates the practice in a few of its more positive and negative forms. While the topic of her post may be writing a link post, she doesn't use the term speed linking to describe that practice but rather to represent one possible method of linking out from within that link post. Many may find this distinction subtle and consider it unimportant, but I agree with Joanna that the term speedlinking has a very specific meaning and serves an equally specialized function in blogging and SEO.
Outbound Link Text and SEO
The next question thus becomes, "Just how important is outbound link text to our SEO strategy?" Answering this question will help us better understand the impact of speedlinking on our sites' SEO.
Let's start by consulting the Google Webmaster Central Blog to get the Big G's take on outbound anchor text:
Descriptive anchor text (the visible text in a hyperlink) helps accurately inter-connect the web. It allows both users and Googlebot to better understand what they're likely to find when following a link to another page.
Characteristics of Good Speedlink Anchor Text
This would indicate that our outbound link text is very important to our site's SEO. Does this mean speedlinking is bad for SEO? Not necessarily. It all depends on how it's done. With speedlinking, we need to ask ourselves a few questions to determine whether our method enhances or detracts from website SEO:
- Is our anchor text relevant to the link's content?
- Is it reinforced by surrounding page content?
- Does it use appropriate keywords?
- Does the link's URL structure use recognizable descriptors, such as keywords or titles, rather than numbers?
- Are the URL descriptors relevant to the surrounding content?
- Does the link contain a relevant title tag to further reinforce its anchor text?
All the above factors determine the SEO-ability of our outbound links - whether they are speedlinks or conventional links.
Information to Include in Speedlink Anchor Text
In summary, good outbound linking principles apply to speedlinking just as much as they do to any other type of linking strategy. While the anchor text of an SEO friendly speedlink may be shorter, quicker, and easier to execute, it still contains such helpful descriptive information as the following:
- Keywords or key phrases
- Names of individuals
- Company names
- Website or blog titles
- Publication titles (as opposed to article titles, which are generally longer)
- Domain names
- Combinations of the above (such as "ProBlogger's speedlinking post," which contains a blog title and a key phrase)
- Other brief but specific descriptive text
Some Final Thoughts on Speedlinking
Whether speedlinking or slow-linking, the links themselves should generally be deep links (links to website pages other than a site's homepage) unless your purpose is simply to refer your reader to the website or connect a particular individual with his or her website or blog.
Speedlinking can have a positive impact on your site's SEO, just as any other kind of linking can - as long as you give your speedlinking strategy a little forethought. When done properly, speedlinking not only draws the attention of search engines, but like any other outbound link, it can give your site's SEO a boost by encouraging other bloggers to link back to your content.
