Moz Q&A is closed.
After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.
How does this site rank higher than a seemingly better one??
-
Ok, I'm really trying to wrap my self around all this SEO stuff. Right when I think I'm grasping it, I come across something like this.
When running a keyword difficulty report for the term "essay editing", the top two results are:
www.papercheck.com/essay-editing.html
www.gradesaver.com/essay-editing/
The first result has a PA of 37, 2 linking page domains, DA of 48, and 197 root linking domains.
The second has a PA of 65, 32 linking page domains, DA of 68, and 2,572 root linking domains.
What the heck is going on here!?!? I can't understand it. I checked anchor text and that doesn't appear to be it. The only thing I can find is that the papercheck has a link from a site (marketwire) with a DA of 90 while the #2 guy's highest linking domain has a DA of 60.
However, I have a really hard time wrapping my head around this considering the total linking domain stats compared to one another.
Any insight is much appreciate... this is frustrating trying to grasp these situations!
Thanks!
-
You're not considering a lot of factors that go into SEO:
-
Page speed could be better on #1.
-
Over optimization on page 2 - with many links with anchor text that includes "editing"
-
"editing" appears 80 times on page 1, 66 times on page 2, despite page 2 having more text. I'm not saying this is a case of keyword density/spamming it, but maybe they're on the line and #2 is under it.
-
Better overall inbound link authority to #2 possibly.
-
Page 2 has repetition of both keywords in the title. Google already punishes this if you don't have noODP by replacing your title with a more suitable one. They aren't big fans of duplication but even so, #2 has a much different title.
-
Co-citation. Even with a better DA and PA, the related inbound links may be more relevant to essay editing on page 1. Also, more domains may point directly at the subpage essay-editing.html than they do the absolute page at /essay-editing/index.php
-
Analytics matter. If #2 bounce rate is double #1, and the time on site for #1 is 4 minutes longer per visitor and they get more traffic through an email list that actually stays on site, they'd have a natural boost in the "analytics" department, as well.
There are always a million reasons why one site could or may outrank another. All you can realistically do is improve your site as much as possible, create relevant links back, get citations that all match, engage on social and have a site that responds well when people click it.
-
-
The seo moz stats for a site is not the exactly same as what google uses to determine authority/trust so just because one seems to have more authority does not mean google thinks it is more relevant.
Hence why even some new sites with minimal back links can outrank some very trusted sites on the same topic.
Welcome to the wonderful world of seo, strap in and get comfortable because it's a never ending journey.
All the best
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Block Links From Spam sites
can you block links from other websites?ie: links backlinking to your site, causing a high spam score.
Link Building | | Socialdom0 -
How Many Backlinks does I need to rank?
A keyword Olehana private label cosmetic company that also my competitor have 4k ref domain for this keyword. So Do I need more than 4k ref domain with anchortext "olehana" Please help me. Thanks.
Link Building | | arainbadami0 -
Links from coupon sites
Hi All, I post coupons on coupon sites a month ago and when I checked backlinks of my website I saw approx 1000 links coming from coupon sites on my Brand Name. IMO it is quite natural please share your views. *All the big brands listed on that coupon sites e.g amazon, dell etc Thanks
Link Building | | Alick3001 -
Article submission web-sites and SEO
Does article submission web-sites have any impact to SEO in these days? There are a lot of good/not so good article submission databases, but does it really matter if you spend a time to write unique articles for them? I mean, is it a good way for link-building, or should I spend more time for other parts of SEO? There are also a special websites (for example SubmitYourArticle) which automate this process, does it make sense to use this services? Alternates? Lots of questions… Update Sorry, I found some good answers only after that I posted this question.
Link Building | | ditoroin0 -
Linking to sites that link to porn or casinos, my site getting penalized?
I have some link exchanges with some sites to get web traffic but when i ran the bad neighborhood link checker, i found that one site links to some casinos and another site has one link to a porn site. Is this getting me penalized? should i remove the links to these sites? Thanks, Ron
Link Building | | Ron100 -
Where to put reciprocal links on my site?
I am starting a link bulding campaign and want to know where to put the reciprocal links on my site. Do i create a new specific Link Page? or do i place them on the pages that i want ranked higher? This is my first question on SEOMoz. Please be kind....:) Thanks
Link Building | | aidanlawlor1 -
Press Release Sites for Backlinks
OK, I read a previous thread about whether people found press release sites useful (specifically I am considering a reputable pay for release service). I understand the knock on press releases in this digital age (namely that no one reads them and arguably never did . . . ), but I was interested in moving the discussion in a different direction . . . Do press releases services really help a sites performance based on increased backlinking? Is there a SEO benefit to PR services? My company is a local print company. I've done quite a bit of research on my local competitors, and specifically for a couple products we would like to dominate. The good news is that it looks like the hurdle would not be terribly high to really take over the web presence with a well planned and executed website/SEO campaign. My inclination is that for a relatively small company like mine (dealing with relatively small competitors) it WOULD benefit me to pay for the sheer number of backlinks a PR program would generate. The monthly cost is frankly about the same as the cost of this site, which OF COURSE I get value from (hey moderator, how about a couple extra MOZ points for that one!) Specifically, I am looking at this for myself, but feel free to expand the question to the broader topic.
Link Building | | damon12121 -
Which Directory Sites to Choose?
Hi All I am a newbie to SEO and have a quick Q. Assuming that appropriate steps would be to; a) Ensure all onsite matters are are correct, title tags, meta descriptions, redirects, canonical issues. b) Submit to Directories c) Build Links I am approaching step b) Which Directories are worth submitting to? For those which require payment, how can I decide which are value for money or should I just use SEOMOZ list of links and assume that theyre worth the $50 - $100 if my higher ranking competitors have links from these directories. Also, can this be looked opon as grey/black hat 'buying of links'? Thank you Sean www.pretavoir.co.uk
Link Building | | seanmccauley0
