There’s no surefire formula (that we know of) for ranking well in natural search. It’s a combination of different factors, some under your control and others not. How important is this in comparison to other attributes, such as domain age, quality of content, or on-site optimization?

Our friends at SEOmoz went to great lengths to help us answer questions like these. They assembled over 35 of the finest and most respected minds our industry has to offer, asking them each to provide insight into how different factors affect ranking. The results were consolidated and presented as part of Search Engine Ranking Factors v2, a free report from the SEOmoz site.

Why is this important?

Comparing Rand’s 2005 report with his most recent version illustrates a dramatic shift in terms of how important high-quality, trusted links are to ranking well in natural search. Seven of the top ten elements are directly tied to a site’s linking strategy, with quality and quantity of incoming links ranking second in the overall list.

Below are the top ten results from both reports. Notice the weight given to links in 2007. (Link related ranking factors in bold)

Top 10 Ranking Factors in 2005:

1. Title Tag
2. Anchor Text of Links
3. Keyword Use in Document Text
4. Accessibility of Document
5. Links to Document from Site-Internal Pages
6. Primary Subject Matter of Site
7. External Links to Linking Pages
8. Link Popularity of Site in Topical Community
9. Global Link Popularity of Site
10. Keyword Spamming

Top 10 Ranking Factors in 2007:

1. Keyword Use in Title Tag
2. Global Link Popularity of Site
3. Anchor Text of Inbound Link
4. Link Popularity within the Site’s Internal Link Structure
5. Age of Site
6. Topical Relevance of Inbound Links to Site
7. Link Popularity of Site in Topical Community
8. Keyword Use in Body Text
9. Global Link Popularity of Linking Site
10. Topical Relationship of Linking Page

Global Link Popularity

Yahoo Site Explorer is an excellent tool to understand a site’s backlinks. Search for ‘linkdomain:yourdomain.com’, then filter out internal links by selecting ‘except from this domain.’ Results are thought to be ordered based upon importance, but Yahoo makes no guarantee.

Measuring the quality of backlinks is a tougher game. The exact calculations behind link popularity are unknown and vary from engine-to-engine. We recommend to use a backlink analysis tool and do spot quality checks for unfamiliar domains or anchor text. Try Jim Boykin’s Backlink & Anchor Text Tool when beginning an analysis on a site’s link popularity. Its summary report may be used to determine popular anchor text for a given site.

Topical Relevance

Another theme seen in 2007’s SEOMoz report is an emphasis on quality over quantity. Engines are still vulnerable to spam, the most recent example being Comedy Central’s, “The Colbert Report” ranking first for the term 'Greatest Living American' We expect anti-spam efforts to accelerate, putting an even greater emphasis on topical relevance.

Much of the spam being targeted is link spam. These are links that are irrelevant, machine-generated, and setup specifically to manipulate rankings. They achieve their desired impact not through quality, but sheer volume.

Keep your employees, consultants, agencies, and even your in-laws away from automated link schemes. It’s not worth the risk.

Instead, focus on building linking relationships within your own topical neighborhood. If you sell widgets, work towards building links from high-quality, trusted widget sites. The impact from one high-quality link is worth fifty from bottom-dwellers ( Jim Boykin has some great thoughts on this).

Key Takeaways

1. A site’s link building strategy is becoming an increasingly important component to a search marketing plan.
2. Adding high-quality backlinks from trusted, reputable, and relevant sources will have a substantial impact on a site’s search visibility.
3. Do not sacrifice topical relevance when building link popularity. Stay away from automated schemes which promise maximum return with only a small investment.
4. Focus linking efforts inside your topical neighborhood. Build linking relationships with authoritative sites relevant to your product or service.