Backlinks: The Chains that Bind

My last post covered a little bit of SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Diving into the subject, I began to question certian aspects of it and how one would actually increase their number in the SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages). Why I got started on this is beyond me, but the chain that seems to tie it all together is the backlinks.

I woke up in the middle of the night, actually the wee hours of the morning, and began doing some reading on the subject. Backlinks are links back to your site, blog, page, or information on the net. Simple enough for me.

Backlinks make search engine algorithms hum. A site with a number of links back to it that is rich in keywords and phrases, offers quality content, and is frequently updated will rank higher.

In Filthy Linking Rich, by Mike Grehan, the Web is looked at as a small world that is intertwined from network to network by paths. It said you could randomly pick two sites and get from one to the other within 4 clicks. I haven't tried it, but it sounds plausible.

The next relation comes from page links. The magic number of links for pages is 19. This comes from a network theory. The entire article is really quite interesting, long but interesting. I suggest giving it a read when you have the time.

Grehan made a comparison using Kevin Bacon and the "erdos number." I remember discussing this topic in some course work myself, so I won't go on about it. Basically, it rings true to the small world theory and we are all connected either personally or are a friend of a friend.

So, the backlinks to our sites drive traffic to our content which increases page views. Increased page views combined with a number of backlinks will increase page rank. Once you rank higher in the search engines you will get more hits.

For some reason I have an image in my head of a water wheel. Like the one from Little House in the Prairie. I see the wheel turning round and round--the wheel is the net. I see the water spilling onto it--the water is our content. I see the sawmill powering up--the mill is our computer. I may be reaching with that, but I thought it, I was inspired, and so I wrote it.