Google Link Analysis 101
November 18, 2008
I've read over and over again on the forums of 3WayLinks.net and 1WayLinks.net questions regarding how to go about performing link analysis for Google. That is, how to know how difficult it
will be to rank for a given set of keywords, and how many links you'll need to be able to rank for those keywords.
So I put together a brief, 8 minute video on how I do link analysis. A quick warning: I recorded the video a bit too loud, so you might want to turn your volume down first! 
Click here to watch the video.
The two tools I reference in the video are:
I've got a tool that I use which automates most of the processes shown in the video. I've only used it for myself, in-house, but I've decided to make it available to the public soon. Look for more details on that in the next couple of days, but what I can tell you right now is:
- It's faster, and works better for top 10/20/30 link analysis, than everything out there.
- It will be less than half the price of one of its competitors, and one third the price of another.
Please post your thoughts and comments below.
Comments
66 Responses to “Google Link Analysis 101”
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Jonathan Leger has been earning his living online full-time since the fall of 2004. He regularly posts advice about search engine optimization (his current passion), AdSense and Internet Marketing. 
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Thanks for the advise Johnathon. I look forward to seeing your new tool!
Cheers
Mally
As usual, fantastic, well-explained info. Thanks.
Andrew Goulding
Jonathan,
Thanks for this informative video. I've seen several people talk about doing keyword research to find profitable keywords, but none have described a method like you do. Yours makes good sense and I am anxious to try this on some of the keywords I am trying to rank for today. When will you have more information on the tool you use?
Great refresher. Thank you.
Question? What do you think about using sub domains to build out niche sites. So far I have been buying .info's for .99 a piece and then only renewing the ones that are at least paying for themselves but it sure would be nice if I could start using sub domains.
Thanks again
Gilbert
Jon, as usual another great and informative post. I sometimes forget to check that part of the equation when trying to rank for a phrase and look at the competition in "". But thanks for reminding me. Steve
Jonathan, thanks for this great video. I have been doing the same thing for awhile, but neglected to choose the "except from this domain" feature in Yahoo Site Explorer.
I have a question, though: When using Google Keyword Tool, do you think we should select the results to be tailored only for "English, United States" or "English, for all countries"?
Thanks again & have a great day!
Josip
Hey Jon
How come this blog of yours is de-indexed in Google….eg. no page rank…greyed out bar.
What has Google got against this (and so many other sites) that it has decided to de-index it? (What used to be called the supplemental index I believe)
Your answer would be very helpful as one of my sites, an article directory with a PR of 4 up until last week has been down rated to PR0, perfectly clean site, no 'dodgy' tactics employed no reason for Google to suddenly zero it………getting answers from Google is impossible, they just don't want to know.
I reasoned that if it happening to your sites you may have some answers .
UPDATE to last comment…
Sorry, I see that your home page is PR3, just this page that is greyed out PR.
Some comments on PR would be appreciated anyway.
Jonathan:
Thanks for the clear, concise video. This is a very simple, yet clever, way to quickly analyze keywords for rank-ability.
Nice job!
Scott
Jonathan,
Excellent video and louder is better than not loud enough..lol Thanks for taking the time to make this for everyone. How to video's are definitely the way to go! Takes the guess work and potential problems right out of the equation for anyone that may be on a learning curve using something new for the first time. Be it a technique like this or some of your software, IE 1waylinks and 3waylinks, which both are lacking how to videos but I'm hoping you will remedy that for all involved in the near future for simplicity sake. I'm looking forward to hearing more about the tool you have for this, easier and faster is definitely better!
Keep up the great work!
David
Jonathan…Excellent tutorial on keyword research. Thank you.
But, in evaluating your competition on page 1 of Google based on the quantity of links the page has…isn't that just the first step in your competitive analysis?
Would you continue to evaluate the quality of those links as well? Like whether or not they are anchored text links, the PR of the pages giving the link, etc.?
Is this being too detail oriented (anal), and just looking at the quantity of your competition enough to determine if you can outrank them?
I'd appreciate your expert input.
Interesting video, although the information I'm missing is: the links which are linking back to the site in analysis do have or not the keywords in the backlinks ? (this changes alot in the strenght of the competition…)
Looking forward to your product: any sneak peak if it is a one time purchase or a recurring payement ?
ciao
alex
The reason that the PR toolbar is greyed out is that the page is too new to be indexed. It can take a while depending on how often the blog is spidered before PR shows up on the toolbar.
Jonathan, I took a photo in the year of our Lo'ward one thousand, nine hundred, nine-and-fifty,
It was an old man named "Leger". It was in Canada, he spoke French. He was able to lean backward until his head touched the ground, I photographed him in 2 stages of doin this.
Jonathan, was he your great-grandfather?
Jon,
Great video. I agree that louder is better. LOL. As always you are easy to follow and full of detail. A pleasure to watch.
Bob
Hey guys gals linking enthusiasts far n wide Yes Jonathan … Loud and Clear very very clear a real big high five to you for this clarity of information … I use both of these tools as most folks do! as you show on this video but never thought of putting these tools to good use such as you have demonstrated here thanks a bundle for this yet another layer of confusion stripped away from the G spot? … huh … lol
All my best to you and all our search successes
Phillip Skinner
What do you think about using sub domains to build out niche sites?
It can be done (e.g. About.com), but I'd be careful about the way you go about doing it so it doesn't appear spammy.
When using Google Keyword Tool, do you think we should select the results to be tailored only for "English, United States" or "English, for all countries"?
I don't do that, since the keywords are English anyway, and many folks from countries that don't have English as a first language still speak English and search in English.
In evaluating your competition on page 1 of Google based on the quantity of links the page has…isn't that just the first step in your competitive analysis?
Yes, it is, thus …
The links which are linking back to the site in analysis do have or not the keywords in the backlinks?
The tool tells you what's in the backlinks (the first 1,000 anyway), so it takes care of that aspect.
Any sneak peak if it is a one time purchase or a recurring payment?
It's a one time payment product.
Jonathan, was he your great-grandfather?
No, but no doubt I'm related to him in some kind of a way.
Finally! Conformation on a technique that I started using a while back.
Looking forward to the Tool!
Buddy
Jonathan,
Once again, right on the mark. Check demand first - to make sure the phrase is even worth going for - and then check the SERPs to see what the competition looks like.
Interested in your tool, especially if it looks at both the inner page along with the home page. Would save a lot of time.
Steve
I remember you have also written a small ebook on the subject. Anyways, this was fantastic, Jon.
woahh..nice info to share..thanks JL
How do you do it time and time again? You nailed down with this keyword research video. Good Job… GREG
Thanks for the video Jon.
I have been a member of 3WL and 1WL since they were first started as beta testers, and still am a member for both of these services.
I already knew how to perform link analysis fo Google, just like you mentioned. I still learn one new thing from your video though.
And I'm a happy customer of 3WL and 1WL!
Thanks Jon.
Cheers,
Welly Mulia
Thanks for the great tutorial on this…
Cheers,
Narmadi
Thanks for the links video. Question: Surely there are more factors at play than links for how you rank? Doesn't good seo on your green tea page matter?
Hi Jon,
Excellent video, I learned so much!
Thanks for the killer content!
Best Wishes,
Jeff Davis
Great video! If anyone is using Firefox, you can download the "SEO for Firefox" plugin from seobook.com. It will save you a lot of time in doing this analysis.
Fred
Jonathan,
As usual, another great tip from you. Waiting for the new tool.
I have seen many substandard and superficial tools out there. With your reputation and tech know how, I am sure a keyword research tool or video course from you would be well receive !
Sylvester
Always great content Jon. I am using a little cocktail of SEO right now along with a special software linking tactic, I will update later.
Thanks Jon, This is exactly the info I needed right now.
My website has improved from 2.9mil to 456k on Alexa using one of your services but not seen much traffic from google or other engines.
I guess that will follow? Any suggestions would be appreciated as I still a novice at this ….
Simon
Thanks Jon. As always, a great post - succinct and summarised with no filler or fluff.
The Yahoo idea is one I've not previously considered. Does anyone know whether this approach is as relevant in a smaller or targeted markets, or when the default Google search is not for the US (eg Australia)?
Andrew
Thanks for the heads up Jon. Always interested in reviewing link analysis tools.
Thanks for the great video. That is what I like about your blog, practical advice that I can put to use right away!
Thanks Jon for great information sharing with us.
off course, We should consider the competitor back links while we are choosing the keywords for your site.
Best regards
Safdar
Thanks Jon. Good to know that I am more or less on the right track with my keyword research. Do you ever consider allintitle counts as well?
Thanks for your video very nice i'm watching
Hey, great video! Short and easy to follow.
Great vid Jon. Nice simple introduction to keyword research and probably all anyone really needs to know in order to focus their SEO efforts. Top man
Jonathan,
THIS is WHY I have chosen YOU for my mentor!
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Looking forward for the tool
Everyone knows and says backlinks is key to ranking high on Google but you actually show the numbers with an unlikely tool from Yahoo. Great job!
I'm a newbie on internet marketing area… how to get indexed in google?
Thanks for your information
Jonathan,
Thanks for cutting to the chase. There is so much hubris out there dealing with over-analyzing competition that I can see how people just throw up their arms and say "why try?"
Another great post and video.
Jeff
As always,great video Jonathon. Gotta love videos!
Your tip about using the Google Keyword tool 'exact match' option is something people miss. It makes a difference.
Jonathan,
Thanks for the video. To me this is the kind of thing to use videos for - Not Sales Letters or even the product itself unless the product also includes a PDF companion.
You always offer quality content.
Thanks again,
Jackie
THX, I love U, if U gimme such a powerful info
Well explained.
I agree about the quantity of links, but you said nothing about the quality of links.
Andy
Jonathan:
Let me add my thanks to the above list. That was the best lesson on keyword selection I've seen.
Thanks again.
w.
Jonathan,
Thanks for your FREE information. It was great, as usual!
Thanks for the great video! I am a big fan of you and your products. I recently began using "Fast Blog Finder" to help analyze which blogs will allow my posts to be folowed. And I have purchased a few of your $1.00 products. I really appreciate all of the good SEO advice you give. Anothe good tool is SEO elite. I link this one for analyzing keywords and it even has a feature to help with link exchanging.
Thanks!
I watched your video - Google Link Analysis 101 - and it was
excellent. But I do have one question.
What is the easiest way to check the PLR of all the links going into a website. Doing this manually with the Google toolbar would take forever. What is the solution?
amazing video, thanks a lot for sharing with us. you are really an inspiration for all of us to do better in IM arena.
I can't wait to see the new tool that you have. If it's anything like your other products, it's going to be awesome!
excellent video, easy to understand
Jonathan
Thanks for this excellent video. Short, to the point and yet contains so much information.
I am sure this will help an awful lot of people.
I am looking forward to the tool you are going to release soon.
Jonathan,
Thank you very much for creating this amazing video and sharing your methods with us.
Tanny
Thank for sharing Jonathan, Google Link Analysis 101 posting is a very useful.
Jonathan,
As always, short and to the point.
We actually have the SEOQuake plug-in for Firefox which would reduce a lot of this research even further, as it shows page and home page links automatically.
I checked out the links you provided. Great information. So what's this tool you have been using inhouse? I'm looking forward to it. Hope you will post it soon.
Good videos.Link popularity simply is the number of links from other websites that point to your website.
Jonathan,
Once again, I look forward to utilizing your talents to continue to build links back to my sites. Keep up the great work!
Ok, when are you turning this product out. I would love to be able to rapidly research which keywords in my niche would be the easiest to go after. Right now anything helps to become more focued on gaining targete traffic as conversions are slipping in unison with the economy.
I also use Google Adword tool for keyword research. BTW thanks for sharing information.
I try to use 3rd party utilities for my link research. SEO Elite is fairly decent.
Johnathon,
Did you use anything else for links besides 3 way links and proper SEO for the site in your case study?
Sean
Jonathan,
Excellent post and I completely agree SEO is not dead.
I have 10 sites at the moment with content all written myself. I would like to join 3 way links and follow your lead. Can you tell me how often you added content to your site or blog in your case study? Was it unique content every time?
Do you think this is along with 3waylinks if what is keeping you ranked so well?
Thanks
Sean
Wow, probably the most consise explanation anywhere. And it's free!
Thank you Jonathan.