Too many on-page links vs. UX issue

[isret_efront]

I am having an issue with many of our pages having too many on-page links. I have gotten many of them below the 100 page limit that is suggested and I understand this is not a critical factor with SEO, but my issue is this:

Many important pages I am trying to optimize are buried at a "3rd" level which is actually not accessible from the home page navigation dropdown due to our outdated CMS. I am trying to decide if we should develop our site to display these pages on-hover from the main navigation. This would make a lot of sense since users would find these pages easier, however adding this functionality would increase on-page links by a lot more.

So in your opinion, would it be worth it to spend the money to have this functionality developed? Or would it end up hurting our SEO standings?

[isret_efront]

Awesome, thanks so much. I know what I need to do now.

[Jeepster]

FWIW, here's Matt Cutts making clear the "issue" of too many links per page is not an issue.

[jesse-landry]

As long as you think it doesn't look "spammy," I think you should do it. User experience should be the first factor you consider in these decisions.

I mentioned this in an earlier thread, but I am currently working on two different sites targeting essentially the same market. They both get darn near the same google placement for target keywords. One of them I was allowed to redesign from the ground up, the other one I was not. The new site is generating 65% more leads with pretty much the exact same amount of traffic as the archaic, hard-to-navigate site.

I.E. you can get all the traffic in the world, but if people can't quickly find what they are looking for easily, your bounce rate will skyrocket and your business will not generate any capital via your website.

That's my two cents.