Explain Competitive Link Analysis

[cttgroup]

Hi all...bit of a newbie into the SEO world! So excuse me if this question makes me sound simple

Basically we have recently had a link analysis done on our site but I'm finding it a little bit difficuilt to actually understand what it all means.

What are followed and nofollowed links? What is the sort of ratio needed between the two for best results.

And my next question being what are followed linking root domains and nofollowed linking root domains?

[RyanKent]

Hi Laurence.

I will gladly respond to your questions but if I can first point out the Beginner's Guide to SEO is an excellent resource, easy to read and will answer most of your questions.

A followed link is one which you are endorsing or offering in sincerity. An example of a link that I would endorse is the Begginer's Guide to SEO link presented above. I don't make any money or otherwise benefit from your reading the pdf. I am offering the link in a purely helpful manner. All of your internal site links should be followed.

A nofollowed link is one which you are not endorsing. It might be a paid advertisement. You are offering the link but do not necessarily vouch for the product. Another example would be comments on a blog article you publish. You may not know or vouch for the users who are sharing comments so it is common to nofollow those links.

Follow and nofollow are tags which can be applied to web pages or individual links.

The followed/nofollowed linking root domains is a count of the known links to your website or a given page on a website. Those are not instantly updated but otherwise is representative of all the known links from other websites to the site or page you are reviewing.

[cttgroup]

Hi Ryan thanks for your reply.

So there isn't an amount of follow vs nofollow links ratio that will help increase our rank? I'm assuming the more quality links that we do have though the better...

Thanks for the link as well! Have seen it around but it's finding the time to sit down and read it all, looks very interesting though, thanks!

[RyanKent]

The ratio of followed vs nofollowed links on a web page is not a ranking factor.

You do want to keep the total number of links offered on a page down to the minimum number required to provide the best user experience. Repetitive links and unused links should be removed. Your page rank flows through your followed links.