Inbound Links are places on the Internet than people can click which will bring them directly to our (or your) website.

Many of us interested in improving our place in search results look for opportunities to create what are called Inbound Links to a page or pages on our website (or websites). That is because we know Google, MSN, Yahoo! and other search engines count the number of these Inbound Links; the more you have, the "more important" you are, and the more priority you get.

But not all inbound links are equal.

There are three rough groupings that reflect relative value of inbound links.

1. Basic link:
This is when a page on your website is linked to from somewhere on the Internet simply as the exact URL. For example http://www.ici.ie/index.php. Let us say for comparison purposes this kind of link is worth $100.

anchored text gives search engines clues about what the subject of the linked-to website is.

2. Anchored text link:
Anchored text is where the URL is not visible to the reader, but English (or other spoken language) words are displayed, and the web link is "hidden" behind the English words; all you see is blue underlined text. For example: "You might be interested in one-on-one executive coaching to help you be more successful in business". the underlined blue text hints at a possible link. This link might be worth $300 (again, for comparison purposes only).

3. High Source Value Anchored text link:
This is like #2 above, but the link is coming from a web page of "high importance". For example, a link from a website of a higher PageRank than yours is worth more than a basic link or an anchored text link. For example, an anchored text link from the American Medical Association's website, which as I write this has a PageRank of 7, pointing to one of your web pages, would be worth a lot.
On our imaginary dollar scale, such a link might be worth $1,000 or more.

An Anchored Text link is worth more than a Basic link because the words in the anchored text give search engines clues about what the subject is and consequently reinforce keyword density for the anchored text words. When you create inbound links, whenever possible make it an anchored text link, paying special attention to the words you use in the anchored text. You don't always have control over what the anchored text is, because it is usually someone else's website you're adding to, but if you do, choose words that likely reinforce keyword density.

Tags: inbound link, PageRank