No logic

[noordhout]

I compared my site ranking #10 for a given keyword with the site ranking #1 for the same keyword.

This is the result, the first value mine, the second value theirs ..

Domain authority  40  21

Domain MozRank  3.76  3.30

Domain MozTrust  3.57  2.43

Total External Links  32,567  571

Total Links  300,000  47,000

Linking Root domains  249  30

Linking C-Blocks  131  19

On top, my site is older, bigger, has more text, source controled, no dead links, more landing pages, more social networking, etc etc.

Anybody sees the logic ?

Rik

[NeilD]

"So stuffing is good as long as you know where to stop :)" - Yes, I think a sudden downward spiral in rankings will reveal the invisible line

Just going back to your original question - Are you updating your website as often as your competitor? I ask, as we have found with one client who operates in a very competitive market (car leasing) that we have pretty much optimised the site as best we can (within their budget), yet have discovered that when they get lazy (or too busy) in updating their website content, their rankings drop and the moment they get back on the case with content updating their rankings improve, sometimes dramatically.

[NeilD]

Thanks Shane, it does help. You made a great point about risk etc when discussing with the client about the techniques that go against guidelines.

I also think you have a valid point about treating the Google guidelines as strict and then flirt with it within reason, sounds like a sensible policy.

[noordhout]

Ok, here it comes.  I'm Dutch speaking, my customers too.  The link to the homepage of the dutch part of the site is http://www.sixlight.com/NE/Verlichting.html.  The keyword is lighting in Dutch being Verlichting.  De other site that is ranking first appeared six months ago while mine is 4 years old and was for two years on #1 for that keyword.  Some weeks ago I started to drop together with the historical #2 and this third jumped over us from 10 to 1 in a few weeks.  The one actual on #1 is http://www.lichtkoning.be

So in my initial post I was comparing sixlight with lichtkoning.  Both are ranking in the top 10 with the homepage.

Hope this helps.  I leave it to you to see which one is the best.

[TakeshiYoung]

It's impossible to say without looking at the actual site.  Google looks at over 200 ranking factors to determine your rankings and determine which page is most relevant to the query. Also, when it comes to links it's about quality, not necessarily quantity.

[Marcus_Miller]

I guess it is just a very complex system and whilst statistics like DA etc are useful, they are far, far away from the big picture.

You mention your page has more links, more landing pages etc - what is your navigation like? Where is this page in your site hierarchy in comparison to these other pages?

You also have not included Page Authority and each individual page inherits from it's domain but it also exists as an entity in it's own right.

What is the PA values for your page and the competing pages?

Also, what is the quality of your content like? If you are honest, are the pages above you better than you in some way?

What about your brand? Are people talking about you and talking about this product / service keyword? Are they talking about your competitors close to this keyword?

It's a complex system and you are looking at one page here with domain level metrics so if you want to do more analysis look at this on a page level. Have you got links to the page? Has the competitor? Who has the best (be honest) page. What are your links like? Is this page being mentioned elsewhere? Is this keyword being talked about with your brand?

Why not post a link to the page you want to rank and the keyword you are going after for more feedback?

[Jinx14678]

"e.g keyword stuffing etc (if you go by all the webmaster tools guidelines and white hat stuff that is) yet don't appear to be penalised either which makes it hard to justify to the client why we are not 'copying', for want of a better phrase, the method used by higher ranking competitors."

Personal Opinion

Google is not the omnipotent source of knowledge it portrays itself as - It is a large corporation with communication, process, procedure issues just like any other large corporation.

But at all times, it must portray a sense of "omipotence" or constant understanding of its product...

The problem lies in the scope of the products "resources" (the inter webz)

So it relies on some Mcartyisms and Propaganda to get webmasters to "do the right thing" or even rat eachother out for their own gain, thus giving Google more easy intelligence.

So in response to NeilD i would say the reason for your clients or the question you let them answer in respect to this is "How Much Risk, and How do we Mitigate that risk, and how do we quantify it against ROI" If these questions are not easy for you or the client to answer, I would suggest running a very clean campaign. But if you have a set of disaster recovery plans in place, and the client is fully aware of what you are doing - then it is a gamble (hell half of life is a risk gamble)

Basically in short, the webmaster guidelines are just that GUIDELINES, one must make their own decisions on how to follow them.... as strict rules, or guidelines...

But the key to remember is Google is the gatekeep, and gets to change the rules at anytime, so this is the reason I personally follow them as Strict Guidelines, with a tiny bit of wiggle room is some instances.

In response to the initial question - The SEOMOZ authority rankings are based in data sets that are thousands (probably more) less intensive than the real algorithm - So the metrics you are referring to are merely a simple guideline to beginning a competitive analysis not a "source of truth"

Hope this helps!

[noordhout]

SEO Majestic gives you a chart with the quantity of your links and also here I am better of than the other site.  Actually I thought Domain MozRank is giving an indication about the quality of your links too.

I agree with you that sometimes keyword stuffing is helping to get higher in the ranking.  I developed a theory that says that you get higher with every keyword you add until you pass an invisible line and then it is over.  So stuffing is good as long as you know where to stop

[NeilD]

This this is a very good question and I'm eager to see what peoples comments are as I see these sorts of anomalies when doing site ranking comparison work for my clients as well.

Whilst I can't give a full answer on each stat, perhaps the quality of your inbound links are not as good as your competitors? ... quality v quantity

What I also find confusing is some higher ranking competitor sites are over optimised e.g keyword stuffing etc (if you go by all the webmaster tools guidelines and white hat stuff that is) yet don't appear to be penalised either which makes it hard to justify to the client why we are not 'copying', for want of a better phrase, the method used by higher ranking competitors.