In the previous article we have learn about the basics of link building. Here we will be discussing about the concept of deep linking and its importance in SEO.
When links pointing at your site are evaluated by search engines, their targeted content is taken into consideration when assigning value to them. A link that is pointed at content pages buried deep in your site, rather than to a common link page or the front page of your website, is called a deep link.
These deep links are seen as pointing to quality, relevant content. When targeting links from other websites it is recommended to request a link from their most targeted relevant page to your most targeted relevant page, ensuring a deep link is created. Some SEO professionals create content based upon easy linking opportunities they’ve identified, pandering to the search engines to gain PageRank
Websites grow with time and a website’s natural link accumulation has a typical profile where most high quality sites have lots of links pointing at internal pages, rather than at a common page. Search engines recognize and rate this, and hence accord more value to these deep links.
Careful of not having any links to a front and/or common pages as that will also seem unnatural to search engines. Their working is such that they not only identify and discriminate between deep and common links, but also evaluate the ratio between them. This is called the deep link ratio.
The deep link ratio is defined as the ratio of links pointed to internal pages versus the total number of links pointed at the site. A high deep link ratio is interpreted as a sign of a natural link profile. Search engines accord more value to websites with high deep link ratios, but getting the balance right is the secret, as too high a ratio will appear manipulated and will therefore be penalized.
