Does Search Engine Optimization (SEO) seem like some occult dark magic to you? Are you scared that you will either a) ruin everything and get banned from Google with one little mistake or, b) get ripped off by some person or product because you don’t know anything? Or do you think SEO is illegal or unethical?
Not too long ago, in my post, Should You Squidoo?, Rich Hill of LinkMoney.org had a great suggestion in the comments:
Michael,You are so good at what you do and so helpful to us all. Now I have a request.
Would you please tell us in easy terms about no-follow, backlinks, anchor text? I read and read but still don’t get it.
Rich, I’m here to help. I will explain these terms, and then after that I have a special treat for you and all of my readers–so please read on.
Anchor Text
Anchor text is the words that you click on in a hyperlink. It’s called anchor text because the HTML tag that creates a hyperlink in the code of a web page is the anchor tag. Anchor text is important in SEO because the words that you use to link to something often describe it, so to Google, those words carry some weight. Those words influence how a site shows up in search results. If I want to rank highly in search results for the words “blog consulting,” then I want other sites link to me like this: blog consulting. “Click here” is not a phrase that you want to rank for. 
Backlinks
When other sites link to your site, we call those backlinks, because they link back to you. The quantity and quality of sites that link back to you influences your search rankings. If an authoritative site links to you, it confers authority to you. If many authoritative sites link to you, Google will see you as a highly regarded authority for a search phrase. This authority is measured by a number Google assigns to web pages called PageRank (notice I said pages, not sites–each page is ranked individually). PageRank is a number from 0 to 10, with 10 being the most authoritative. When other sites link to you, Google treats this like an endorsement of your site.
I bet you’re now starting to see how anchor text and backlinks relate to each other. If your site is backlinked by many other sites with the anchor text you want (and those sites have a high PageRank), that will help boost your search rankings (and your PageRank, too).
Nofollow
When Google places a web page into its search index, it follows all of that page’s outgoing links and notes who you’re linking to. Google takes into account your PageRank, the anchor text of the links, and the PageRank of the sites to which you link. Google uses that information to assign PageRank both to you and to the sites you link to.
Linking out to a great many low-ranking pages can harm your own PageRank. Since many people leave comments for the purpose of promoting themselves, the existence of a link on your site to theirs is often not an endorsement of them by you.
Nearly all blog software (including WordPress) automatically adds a little bit of code into a hyperlink in blog comments called nofollow. Nofollow tells Google to ignore an outgoing hyperlink, as if it weren’t there. This prevents your site from conferring any authority to the other site. A nofollowed link will not help the other site gain rank in search results.
Some bloggers (like me) choose to allow comment links to be followed as a reward for high-quality comments. The price we pay for this is that we are completely attacked with comment spam and have to constantly guard against it.
Something Special For You
The three terms I explained above are only a tiny part of the entire SEO picture.
SEO is important, because if you don’t appear in search, you don’t exist. Basically, you’re dead. Nice, huh?
I can’t make any plainer than that. Luckily, someone else has done a hell of a job explaining everything you need to know about SEO in a fun and entertaining way that demystifies SEO completely.
Naomi Dunford of IttyBiz.com is a frequent commentator here on Remarkablogger and a trusted colleague of mine. She has written a gem of an ebook called SEO School, and it is for beginners–total beginners–who wish to cut through the hype and learn the basics of SEO in plain potty-mouthed English. You know why SEO is important, as I explained above in my own delicate, subtle fashion.
You need to at least know the basics of SEO, for two reasons:
- So you can do it yourself if you want to
- So you can hire someone to help you with it without getting ripped off
Even if this book was, say, $99, it would be worth it. I know, because I bought my own copy of it and read every word. I didn’t need to read it for myself, because I already know this stuff (although I gotta tell you, there were a couple things in there I didn’t know). I wanted to read it because it seemed like the perfect thing for me to recommend to you. And I would never recommend something to you without thoroughly checking it out, first.
I’m glad to say I was completely delighted with SEO School. It was a hoot, and if you feel like SEO is out of your league, this book explains everything:
- How to figure out what you want to rank in Google for (it’s not what you think)
- How to maximize the number of people searching for your keywords while minimizing your competition
- When you want to optimize, and when you don’t
- Where to find free tools — what you should pay for and what you shouldn’t
- What to do about the Google sandbox
- How to get creative with your SEO — it’s not just stuffing a bunch of keywords in and crossing your fingers
- How to tell whether your niche is profitable — will you ever be able to rank for what you want?
- Black Hat SEO vs. White Hat SEO — it’s not just for Westerns anymore
- How to capitalize on long tail search terms — the ones that the big guys aren’t even trying for
- Competition reconnaissance — how to know what you’re up against (Hint: ninjas are involved.)
The best part is, it’s not even close to $99. Hell, it’s not even $49. it’s only $39… except it’s really not even that much, because I have a special code you can use to get a discount. 
When you click the link to buy the book, enter in the code “MovingDay” and get $9 chopped off the price. Do it now, because this discount will only last for a few more days, and this it’s gone. Starting July 1st, discount go bye-bye. If you’re not happy with it, you can get your money back, no problem. Don’t forget that discount coupon code! It’s: MovingDay.