Does percent of links using anchor text matter?

I thought that one of the reasons for pointing to a subpage from backlinks was to make it clear to Google that this is the main page for that term (because of the high % of links using that anchor text), vs. the home page which is likely to be "watered down" with many links just for your company name. Is this true? Or is it the absolute number of links (assuming similar quality) to the page?

On some of my most competitive terms (e.g., intranet software), I've noticed that the top results all seem to be home pages, and I wondered whether the home page was getting some additional benefit (from total # of links, themes, etc.). Bottom line is that I've drunk the Kool-Aid and am beginning an aggressive push for links with anchor text of my most competitive terms and want to know where to point them.

 

The % of links does not matter. It is the absolute number that matters. More links with keyword rich anchor text = more relevancy to the keywrods. The top results for most keywords are home pages because:
1) home pages usually have a higher PR than the rest of a site's pages
2) they have a smaller number of slashes in the URL. URLs with less '/' are a bit more important than URLs with more slashes

Combine the high PageRank with the keywords in the title of the home pages and add to them the little advantage of point 2) and there you have it.

 

if the % of links mattered, then you'd be able to "trash" another site's position in google by buying links to them with junk anchor text.

 

Makes sense...

Do the other links to the homepage (with company name, etc.) improve rankings or are they irrelevant?

 

Which ranking?

There are two thing that happen from having links to your page.

1. Any link, no matter what anchor text is used, will contribute to your PR ranking.

2. The other issue is relevance, and Google uses the anchor text to determine, at least in part, the relevance of the link. That can be said to increase your SERP ranking. But I particularly always try and avoid the term ranking in regards to the SERPs. I prefer SERP placement as a term.

So a backlink using your company name will improve your SERP placement for a search on your company name. The company name in the anchor text tells Google that the link is relevant to your company name. If you are trying to establish your company name as a "brand" then links using your company name for anchor text are very relevant.

There is very little black and white about SEO. It depends what you want to do, and what you want to be found for. You use the anchor text for terms that you want to be found for. No anchor text is irrelevant, perse. The question is, what is your marketing plan, and what do you want Google to think your site is relevant for?

SEO optimization is 99% logic. It is not a bunch of arcane and mysterious rules.

 

That's what makes it so damn complicated

It really is though, common sense can go a long way in SEO. I'm on a lot of forums. If I had a nickel for every "how do I get more PR" or "how do I rank better" question I've seen I could retire to a small island in comfort for the rest of my life.

What always amazes me is that the people asking how they can be better positioned in the search engines never even bother to search the forum they're posting in for the answer - they just ask the same question that has already been answered 500 times by 500 different people. They want to place better in search engine results, but don't even take the time to perform a search to get the answer they are looking for.

The irony kills me.

Little off topic - sorry. Bob's logic comment sent me off on a tangent

 

Thanks for the very clear articulation Bob.

So if I have a couple of terms that are disproportionately important for my business (I've learned this from a year of extensive experimentation with Adwords and Overture), am I best served by optimizing (and linking to) the home page for one or two of them, since it will carry more weight than an interior page?

 

Optimising the homepage and using keyword text anchor links pointing to the homepage which generally has the highest pr would be the way I would go. If thru you research you have found the keywords with the most relevant traffic then optimise and check out your conversion rate. Sometimes traffic doesnt convert.
For me conversions are the goal. hth