When to Use Nofollow Links and Other SEO Onpage Optimization Questions

Naturally, in my role as an affiliate manager, I get asked a lot about SEO (search engine optimization).

After months of answering many of the same questions repeatedly, I thought that some of them would make a good blog post.

Here are the list of the most commonly asked SEO questions from our affiliates:

Q1: When do I use nofollow links?

A: As little as possible. Preferably, never. Rule Number One is do NOT link to a page on YOUR site and use a nofollow. If you don’t want Google going there, don’t link to it.

Q2: Why is that? (in reference to Q1)

A: I don’t know. Google says not to. I listen to them.

Q3: What are the most commonly missed SEO techniques by affiliates? (Note: no one has ever asked me this, but I see it missed all the time)

A: Proper image naming and tags. All images should follow this basic guideline:

• Proper image name. If you target keyword is “children playing guitar” then your image should be “children-playing-guitar.jpg.”
• Proper Alt Tag. Using the same target keyword, take a wild guess at the alt tag. You guessed it! “Children Playing Guitar.”
• Image Caption. If this is irrelevant or would not make sense in the given context, skip it. But if it works to the viewer, use a caption under the image and use the relevant keywords.

Read more about Google Images Search Optimization.

Q4: What is the H1 tag and what should it say?

A: Short Answer: REALLY important text. It’s the header tag. Use your keyword phrase, preferably exactly as you would want it searched. “Children Playing Guitar” is a good H1 tag.

Q5: What about the H2 and H3 tags? How do I use those and how often?

A: They are slightly less important text than the H1 tag. Think of subheaders. These should contain your keyword phrases as well, but with other relevant keywords as well. Examples: “Tips to Get Your Children Playing Guitar,” “Potential Problems with Children Playing Guitar,” and “Children Playing Guitar in Groups.”

A general rule of thumb is to use each tag the number of times based on the number in the tag (i.e. H1 once, H2 twice, H3 three times).

Q6: Should I bold my keyword phrase in the text?

A: Ever seen a site in which this was overdone? Me too. Those sites suck. Do it once when it makes sense. Then stop doing it.

Q7: What should be in my title tag?

A: Let’s start with what should NOT be in your title tag:

1. Anything that is not related to your keywords. Company name, your name, etc. Stick to the keywords.
2. The same keyword over and over again.

Make sure your #1 target keyphrase is the first thing. Make sure that it is readable to a human as well and compelling. What good is a #1 ranking if you never get clicked?

Read more about SEO Friendly Page Titles. How to screw up page titles.

Q8: What about the other meta tags (description and keywords)?

A: The description tag means almost nothing to the search engines. Some use it, Google doesn’t. However, it may be what shows up in the results in the longer description, so focus on making it compelling, using the keywords (because the keywords ARE compelling). I honestly have not seen a difference in keyword tags, but it takes 30 seconds to write them so I do. Not doing so scares me. I am ridden by Google fear.

Q9: Should I use external or internal CSS and Javascript?

A: A general rule of thumb is the less code on the page, the better. Keep it clean! So use external CSS and Javascript.

Q10: Where is the best place to link to my other pages or sites?

A: Within the paragraphs. Text links within the body of text rank much higher than footer links or even side navigation.