Are reciprocal internal links weaker than one way?
-
Hi guys
I have an eCommerce site and a blog. the blog is on a suddomain. I am writing content about our products on the blog, I.e. Full in depth reviews and top 10 lists etc.
These blog posts link back to the main product page.
It would also be nice for customers on the site to a "blogs about this product" section. However, would a link from the product page to the blog weaken the internal link from the blog to the product?
Thanks
Paul
-
Thanks EGOL
This all makes sense. It's nice to get a bit of a sanity check.
I think I worry because in the SERPs we struggle against our competition, but once we get a browser conversion is good. So I keep worrying about the SERPs. But I know I need to just concentrate on writing good content and adding depth to the site, and that will hopefully give us the pay day we are looking for.
Thanks
Paul
-
If I thought that a link from the product page to the blog would be helpful for the visitors I would have no hesitation to provide it.
Lots of my product pages have a link to an article with anchor text like this. "How we use the SEOmoz Blender" or.. "Video: How we use the SEOmoz Blender"
These have significantly increased conversion rates. I don't care what the search engines think.
If you have a really good article that you think will help visitors make a decision about your product or help them enjoy it I am betting everything that will make you a stronger brand than any teeny tiny advantage that a link on the page or its anchor text will subtract. In fact, I am willing to bet that those back-and-forth links with optimization improve your search visibility because it shows you have deeper content than the guy who has not written this content.. That will earn tweets, likes, links, sales.
Lots of mine have double listings in the SERPs. Then I pull traffic for people who are looking for a product page AND people who are looking for information.
This is not deoptimization or cannibalization. It is kicking ass.
-
Excellent, great stuff
Thanks for your help. I think these blog posts provide real value to the customers, which is the main thing.
Thanks
Paul
-
Hi Paul,
Reciprocal linking is more something that can devaluate external links. When it comes to internal linking this isn't really a problem. You can definitely include that link when you think it's benificial to your visitors.
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
-
Need advice on internal links
I run a couple of gadget/technology based blogs, which essentially has news based articles and long form articles such as reviews, tutorials, and tips. Looking for some advice on the strategy for internal links: We have been using internal links in the following ways in articles so far: Links to the category pages at the end of the article (we call it related topics) Links to category pages wherever relevant preferably in the first paragraph. The logic here was that if we can add the link to a category in the first paragraph, which appears on the home page and category page, it will pass the link juice to the category page. Link to relevant articles, mostly by using the full title of the post as we thought that it stands out. Issues with the current strategy: In the case of the 1st strategy, it doesn't seem that natural, so we are not sure if people actually end up clicking them. In case of the 2nd, we have couple of concerns: it could result in linking to a category page twice. One within the article, and the second at the end of the article because of strategy 1. Because the first paragraph also appears on the category pages, it would mean that in some cases we will be linking to the same category page (recursive). In the case of the 3rd strategy, the problem is it does not appear natural so we are sure if it increases the value of the content. I was wondering if we should adopt the following strategy: Get rid of category links at the end of the article. Avoid linking to the category pages in the first paragraph, instead link to the category pages after the first paragraph, so we don't end up with the issue mentioned in b. i. Alternatively, we could remove the excerpts from the category pages so we don't hit the issue of linking to the category page from the category page. Add links more naturally. So have a sentence which talks about the related article and link to it using partial match (keyword phrase) or exact match. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Content Development | | Gautam0 -
Best way to handle blogs for a customer with a chain business?
I have a new customer who owns three local gyms. Each one has its own unique url. I intend to do some blogging for him, and would like it to be effective for SEO. Obviously, publishing duplicate content is out, but writing tons of new posts each month is beyond our scope. Would you recommend having one separate blog (with its own url) that is linked from each of the 3 main sites, or would it be better to create a blog on each site and alternate publishing articles on each one, putting a unique intro and link to the main post on the other two?
Content Development | | ScottImageWorks0 -
What is the best way to rank organically for location search?
I just read this great article about location search. I am going o read it over and over again, but I wanted to ask... When ranking organically for location searches, do you recommend posting articles (such as testimonials, etc) or build informative pages - that can link through the home page through the nav bar or through a drop down or what have you. There are so many ways to do it, what do you think is best?
Content Development | | SwanJob0 -
This would not be considered selling links would it?
I have a site that is an informational site about a particular market segment. It is not a directory at all, but as part of the site I have pages for the various vendors, and have "states" pages that list which vendors sell in those states. The site makes very good money on adsense. But I see opportunity in getting the vendors to pay to be listed in our site. At a minimum, grandfather in those already there, and then charge for new companies to be included. Most of the new companies are second-tier players anyway, and if they decode not to pay and get in, it's not to a detriment ot my site. But I do have companies lining up wanting to get in. Of course my first thought, is what will Google think? I would of course make any link out to one of the vendors NOFOLLOW, so even even though they pay for inclusion on our site, I am not selling links for page juice. Google loves us in search right now, so they have a favorable opinion of us. The site has lots of content, and new blog posts and comments all most pages hourly. So, is this going to be okay with Google? I don't see how it breaks any rules, but thought I'd better check. One further worry: If I change the new guys for inclusion on the site, and don't charge the old ones, that means I'd have the new guys NOFOLLOW, but the old ones would still be DOFOLLOW if I don't change them. I don't want Google to be confused thinking I might have sold those existing DOFOLLOW links as well. So, should I change them all to NOFOLLOW? And if I do, does that then cause anything that Google would not like (I know they don't like pagerank hoarding).
Content Development | | bizzer0 -
How quickly should one add content?
I'm building a content site (the model is AdSense revenue) around a certain niche, and I'm currently paying for about 6 articles to be contributed per week. I have the capacity to be paying for a lot more articles, however, so I'm wondering what, if any, factors exist to recommend building the site up slowly as opposed to throwing on e.g. 100 articles over the next week? Those I can think of are: 1. Going slowly leaves room for better keyword optimization etc. 2. Google seems to favor aged domains/content, so 100 good articles now certainly isn't as advantageous as 100 articles 2 years from now. All that being said, I still feel like the benefit in terms of traffic of adding more content now - since I can - might outweigh these considerations. Does anyone have any thoughts?
Content Development | | ZakGottlieb710 -
Sub Domains or Multiple Domains? Which is a better way to go for blogs?
We just can’t decide what the answer is, particularly from an SEO perspective. We want to run multiple blogs on different categories, please assist on deciding should we go with different blog domains or create subdomains for each category.
Content Development | | amitjain0 -
Should You Allow Off-Topic Links in Guest Posts
Hi Mozzers! Suppose you accept guest posts on your blog about marketing and a guest blogger wants to use the anchor text "outdoor clothing" in their bio. Is there a risk to my blog if I allow off-topic links in guest posts? Is there a risk that Google would consider guest post links as paid and apply a penalty? Thanks!
Content Development | | Charlessipe1 -
Blogging competition - risky link acquiring method?
We are planning to launch a competition where bloggers can blog about our products and about our company. One winner will be selected to win a gift card to our web shop. In order to participate the blogger has to put a link to the blog post that points to our front page or into one of our product pages. Does Google have a guideline against such "link acquiring" methods?
Content Development | | EuropeanSEOguy0