CHANGING link structure

[moppy56]

Hi,

I am doing a new version of my website.

I rank very highly for all my keywords but I feel the pages could be optimized better.

I am planning on changing my link structure / having less links on each page and having a few of my "main menu nav" links be different then they presently are. Also, a few of these new "main menu nav" links are brand new content so they will not have been indexed yet nor have a pr.

Please keep in mind I will still have all the same pages I presently do, named the same, etc., but some of them will receive less links.

I realize I will take a short term hit but do you think in the end it will hurt my standing long term?

[The Old Sarge]

I'm missing something. If your pages already rank very highly, why do you want or need to optimize? Maybe later ... if your pages slip. But why now ... while they enjoy very high ratings?

[moppy56]

hi, thanks for the response -

It ranks well but the layout of the site is not set up best for the potential client visiting the site - some of the main links are to topics that really are not so essential or effective in turning them into clients let along the keywords for those page I'm talking about are not as relevant as the ones I would replace them with.

[The Old Sarge]

Ok, I see what you're talking about now.

IMO, changing things as you suggest might drop you a bit in the short-tem, you'll probably benefit in the long-term. How long did it take yur current pages to reach the rank they are now? I ask because it may be a similar "wait" while the changes take effect. On the other hand, if you enjoy good PR right now, say 3 or 4 or so, your pages may not suffer at all.

But in the end, it's about converting visitors into customers, as you said. No matter the effect, it may be worth it in that respect.

[moppy56]

thanks.

It's nerve racking either way though.

I have thought of maybe keeping those other main nav links I presently have and maybe putting them in the footer of the page? I don't know though because part of my idea with the re-design was to have less links per page to hopefully increase my pr ranks overall - tough call and today i went up to #2 for every key search term I have too -

[moppy56]

PS - in regards to your questions / my main pages are pr 4's and my pages two layers below would be pr 2's / it usually take a few months to receive pr for a new page / my new site would not actually have that many new pages and even if it did I would add them over time but my issue is really the main ones / thanks again

[The Old Sarge]

Congratulations on the rise!

You're venturing into SEO corners I've not explored myself. But I like your thinking and ideas. At the very least, I don't see how you are doing yourself any real harm. And maybe you'll discover something very useful. Let me ruminate a while ... :)

[Duke]

The clearer and more organized your linking strategy, the more webmasters such as myself will be interested in exchanging links with your site (assuming your site shares the same overall theme as mine). Don't even give page rank a concern because if your base url is a solid PR4, all new content pages will automatically receive PR by default the next time google dances. The reason for this is that your linking/backlinking within your own site so PR should be immediate (or so it has always been for me).

Good luck with your updates!

[DayTradersWin]

Thanks for the info within this thread - my task at hand.

I have a quick question for Duke: So you have your site and a few pages indexed by Google, say - and you add pages. How long does it take for Google, generally speaking, to find and possible index these new pages?

John

[Duke]

Thanks for the info within this thread - my task at hand.

I have a quick question for Duke: So you have your site and a few pages indexed by Google, say - and you add pages. How long does it take for Google, generally speaking, to find and possible index these new pages?

John

I'm not exactly sure how long it takes google to actually index your new pages and I'm not sure that anyone really does, other than google.

I have noticed though that my news gets indexed within a day or so and climbs the SERPS much more rapidly than on my old site. Of course, there are a few differences between then and now:

- I signed up and verified my site (main and forums) with google webmasters tools (http://www.google.com/webmasters/).
- I've changed CMS' from phpnuke to Joomla and added SEF Advance to my main site (static url's)
- I'm much more aware of my content and no longer title articles with anything other than targeted keyword(s) or keyword phrases.
- All content within the article body re-affirms my topic title and emphasis is put on keyword density (without spamming) as well as "alt" and "title" on images/links.
- After my article has been published for a few days, I find where it's located in the SERPS and monitor the articles progress daily. If the article continues to move up in the SERPS, I leave it alone. If the article stagnates or falls in the SERPS, I edit the content better and add more keywords.

...as an example (currently tracking google.com only):

Article Title: Justice for Michael:

- May 25, 2007 (AM): Page 2, Result 17: Results 11 - 20 of about 63,900,000 for Justice for Michael. (0.16 seconds)
- May 25, 2007 (PM): Page 3, Result 23: Results 21 - 30 of about 67,200,000 for Justice for Michael. (0.22 seconds) NOOOOO!
- If it drops much farther it will require editing.
- May 27, 2007 (AM): Page 3, Result 28: Results 21 - 30 of about 63,900,000 for Justice for Michael. (0.16 seconds)
- Requires Editing
- Edited May 27, 2007.
- May 27, 2007 (PM): Page 3, Result 26: Results 21 - 30 of about 59,900,000 for Justice for michael. (0.16 seconds)
- May 31, 2007: Page 1, Result 10: Results 1 - 10 of about 61,900,000 for Justice for michael. (0.19 seconds) Big change due to edit?

Of course now that I've posted this, I see the above example has fallen to Page 2 in google.com. I've since edited the article yet again with an update so it will be interesting to see how google reacts to the changes.

Please keep in mind that if you are to visit my site (http://www.lifesupporters.com), its nothing out of the ordinary and in fact, is quite plain really. I've just switched to Joomla after using phpnuke for close to 3.5 years and I've lost all my old news content in the move (due to multiple server moves and progressive db corruption). That said, google has done a great job re-indexing my new content and depending on # of results, I've seen targeted articles climb as high as Page 3 in google.com in less than a few days.

I'd suggest this if you want your site to place well with google:

- verify your site with google (http://www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/) if you haven't already done so.
- get a google analytics account (http://www.google.com/analytics/) and monitor what keywords are getting hit and add more similar content.
- title all your content with keyword(s) and keyword phrases ONLY.
- re-affirm your keyword title in the content body.
- always use "alt" and "title" in your images. Does it work, who really knows? Does it hurt, ABSOLUTELY NOT!
- write as much original content as possible even if you’re simply commenting on an article from another similar resource (always give credit to the original resource)
- get inbound links (not the cheap kind via a forum sig, actual reciprocal links from free quality directories and like-minded websites). Do not build a link farm or add tons of new links right away, it may do more harm than good.
- find a good sitemap component and submit it to google (I haven't done this yet but plan to once VBSEO is installed).

Is the above the definitive way to get your site ranking high in google, prolly not? All I can say is that it's exactly what I've done (- sitemap) and the results I'm seeing are pretty good so far.

I'd also suggest that you start burying your head into SEO for Yahoo and MSN as well. This has been my weak point in the new site and I've seen traffic fall off as a result. Getting ranked well in google is great but it's only one of "the big 3". :cool:

Good luck.

[Vibes63]

As the Old Saying Goes...If It Ain't Broke Don't Fix it....
Well, I don't think thats the case. I think you want to make it user friendly, content friendly, as well as SEO friendly. I am thinking along the lines as you. Currently my links are on a general one page directory. I am thinking about split it up into individual pages and allowing more links for the category. But, I don't rearranging willl hurt you as along as you have the same content. Also, they say refreshing content can be good for SEO.

[DayTradersWin]

Thanks for all that info Duke.

Can you believe, I just got notice of your post above today.

John

[pintobuck]

Duke, thank you for the post with all the info.

I also have a joomla site. How did you interface joomla with linkpartners and/or linkmanager? what do you think is the best way?

[ccdoshi]

Dear Moppy56 What Ever You Done For Your Site That Was Really Best But Next Time Do It Before Launching Your Sites on Web World....

It's Helps You From Google And Other Search Engines....

Because There Is Written Guidelines on Each Search Engines For Don't Make Any Changes on Your Sites After Search Engine Bots Indexing Your Sites....

[Duke]

Duke, thank you for the post with all the info.

I also have a joomla site. How did you interface joomla with linkpartners and/or linkmanager? what do you think is the best way?

Sorry for the very late reply.

I chose not to integrate with Link Partners Software because I wanted full control over how I chose to arrange, categorize, approve, etc., my reciprocal links. I chose instead to use the Component SOBI 2 (http://www.sigsiu.net/sobi2.html) for Joomla.

[Duke]

<---Spam links removed from above message response--->

Somebody really needs to figure out a way to identify spambots and have them automatically upload and install a virus that wipes out their entire sysem. :rolleyes:

[The Old Sarge]

But wouldn't such a thing destroy itself? ;)

[Duke]

But wouldn't such a thing destroy itself? ;)

lol nope because it's not actually posting :cool:

[Phil Staff]

LM and LP Fans,

I developed a Joomla Component that specifically works with LinksManager. Now it isn't the same as using a standard account because not all features can be used with the simple component but it does help integrate the two systems together.

More information on the LinksManager Bridge Component here: http://extensions.joomla.org/extensions/bridges/6197/details

Additionally there is now one for WordPress Blogs as well that I am still working on but is available for use:

More information on the LinksManager WordPress Plugin/Widget here:
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wplinksmanager/

If anyone needs help with these new developments please contact LinksManager HelpDesk.

Phil Staff

[Copied21]

How long did it take yur current pages to reach the rank they are now? I ask because it may be a similar "wait" while the changes take effect.


Regards

Copied

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