Weird Looking Linkbacks...

[sew2002]

I swaped links with a directory and noticed that on the directory, they link to their link partners like this:

<a href="content/top-100-poker-sites-1065_a8" class="headerLink14" target="_blank">184. Top 100 Poker sites</a>

<a href="content/top-100-poker-sites-1065_a8" target="_blank" class="linkblack">www.toppoker.com</a>

Does it matter that the directory did not make this link:

<a href="http://www.toppoker.com>www.toppoker.com</a>

When a spider crawls through that, will it be able to recognize the link to toppoker.com? I am pretty new to this game, so I apologize if this is a very stupid question.

P.S. I am not toppoker.com, I am only using it as an example.

[jewboy]

You want your keywords to hyperlink to your web sites (not the URL). This is known as anchor text.

[sew2002]

Thanks for the response. That is a good point. But what about the fact that the link is to: "content/top-100-poker-sites-1065_a8" instead of the actual URL of the page?

[seobook]

But what about the fact that the link is to: "content/top-100-poker-sites-1065_a8" instead of the actual URL of the page?
if it does not link to you then it probably does not help you (at least not directly).

[sew2002]

Well, when you click on it, it DOES take the user to my page. So in that sense I'm satisfied.

But will the search engines recognize it as a valid link to my page and award me the appropriate PR benefits?

[seobook]

Well, when you click on it, it DOES take the user to my page. So in that sense I'm satisfied.

But will the search engines recognize it as a valid link to my page and award me the appropriate PR benefits?
what type of redirect does it use? if its a 302 it might eventually be a bad deal.

[sew2002]

This is where my ignorance comes into play. I have no idea what type of redirect it uses. :)

Here's the directory in question:

http://www.pokerlistings.com/poker-software

Thanks again for your help, it is greatly appreciated!