Due to the fact that the test in the last posting did not yield a definitive result, I set up a new test and I am confident that I have figured out the answer. Just as I did with the text a few days ago, I generated a few pages and links to check how long the linktext is allowed to be. Since the previous test has shown that the pure length of the linktext is not a limiting factor, this time I tested the number of words in the linktext which can be seen online over here. For 8 words or 7 spaces respectively, the target-page can still be found through the last linktext:


For 9 words or 8 spaces respectively, it is not found anymore:


You can still find the target-page when searching for the second-to-last linktext (the 8th word) which proves that Google set the cut-off point after 8 words. Incidentally, this is the exact same number that Shaun mentioned in his original blogposting – he just came to the erroneous conclusion that Google is limiting the linktext through the number of characters. I am pretty confident that the two tests have shown that Google is actually using the number of separators.

The consequences that this realization entails are a nice and surprising display of how much in the field of SEO is connected – in this case linktext-length and URL-design. Many users are linking URLs with the URL itself as the linktext, either because they are in a hurry or because the CMS is set up that way. If we are to assume that Google will not only use spaces are separators but also the regular separators, then this might cause Google to ignore the interesting parts of descriptive URLs for the linktext. An example:

www.sistrix.de/artikel/verschiedenes/1337-dies-ist-das-keyword.html
I colored the separators in red and, as you can see, in this case the actual “keyword” will not be used as a linktext at all because there are too many separators before it. In short: keep the URL short, put IDs – if necessary at all – at the end of the URL, limit the number of subdirectories to a bare minimum and place the important keywords as far in the beginning of the URL as possible.

[update 22:30] the question of whether I had also tested the idea that this could also have an effect on URLs as linktext came up in the comments. I have to confess that I did not do that. I will make up for it, here is the test: Separators and the treatment thereof.


How long may a linktext be? (part I)
How long may a linktext be? (part II)
How long may a linktext be? (part III)