What is the best way to make use of internal anchor text links without appearing to be a 'spammy' webpage?
-
I've recently been spending some time going through all the content on our website, henstuff.com, adding internal anchor text links to product copy with the link following back to the product's generic catagory. I've been focusing on the search term 'hen party accessories', but have also been using 'hen do accessories' and 'hen night accessories'.
I know that internal linking has value when it comes to SEO and rankings, but was keen to find roughly at what point usage of a certain search term for anchor links is seen as spam by the engines. Is there a certain formula to follow when it comes to internal anchor text links?
You can see some examples at:
http://www.henstuff.com/hen-night-accessories/hen-party-accessories/willy-bubbles
http://www.henstuff.com/hen-night-accessories/hen-party-devil-horns/hen-night-pink-devil-horns
Many thanks
Oli
-
Great answers thanks. In terms of where to link to, is it necessary to divide equally between different pages on the website, or does it help for SEO purposes to have lots of links to one particular page?
-
I agree with Mark, that seems like a safe ratio. I also suggest mixing up your anchor texts with synonyms and reworded phrases if it still sounds logical. For instance "cat toys", "toys for cats" "toys made for cats" etc. While some people are concerned about the internal anchor texts and overdoing it, you need to think about the user. If clear and distinct anchor text is good for conversions and helps your visitors find what they are looking for, you should do it.
That should also give you an idea of how many links are good. 5+ links in each paragraph or content would be confusing for users, and bad for SEO.
-
Thanks for that! For instance, I've added inlinks to around 45 products thus far, with just over 20 each for 'hen party accessories' and 'hen night accessories', is that a correct sort of balance?
And also, is it detrimental to have lots of internal links back to one specific page?
-
I try and keep it to 1 link every 300 words (or page) and I mix up the anchor text so its not always the same to prevent it from looking spammy.
Rememeber you need to link across all your pages, not just have a load of anchor text links heading to the home page
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
-
Outbound links
Hi everyone, Just a quick question about using info/statistics from other sources in my articles. If I use a quote/piece of info from another online article do I just say where it's from and link to it? Is this acceptable or do you have to get permission? I find the whole permissions thing quite confusing! I know that outbound links are good for SEO so just wanted to check this. Thanks!
On-Page Optimization | | ClareO0 -
Should we use the same word in multiple mega menu link text?
We are currently working on a redesign of our site and I'm working on our mega menus. In the middle of this we had an agency evaluate our current/old site for improvements. (yes the timing is strange) One of the things they recommended is updating our link text in our mega menu. See image: old mega menu. The links are to pages for installation guides in our installation section. They recommended adding Installation to every link. To me this looks spammy. And using the same word in the menu and therefor every page seems spammy. The question is do we need to do this on the new site? In my opinion no. We have the links under a section for installation. Is that enough or should we use installation in every menu item? 6JcZwiU krbzxqx
On-Page Optimization | | BbeS0 -
How many internal links should a (sub-)page maximal have?
What would the effect of having too much be? Does google stop crawling after a number and punish more internal links?
On-Page Optimization | | brainfruit0 -
OMG! does Google really consider text-decoration:none as a hidden link?
So I was reading this article today https://www.mattcutts.com/blog/hidden-links/ Can setting a link to the same color as regular text and applying text-decoration:none really be considered a 'hidden link'?
On-Page Optimization | | cbielich0 -
Use of trademarks in tags and text
Does Google spider read registered trademarks (the 'R' or 'TM') or do these marks impede anything if they are featured in meta tags or text?
On-Page Optimization | | KnutDSvendsen0 -
Does Google use 302's to pass value to the target page?
Hi, I've received the below advice, is this correct? Throughout the site, the 302 (moved temporarily) status code is used for redirects, which Google will use to pass value to the target page. Is this correct? I was under the impression a 301 was used to pass value to the target page? Could someone explain the difference between a 301 and a 302, I'm not 100% sure. Thanks, Nathan
On-Page Optimization | | Heehaw0 -
If I have too many on-page links can I reduce it with nofollow tags or do the links have to be removed?
On my site I have a top nav drop down menu but once visitors go to one particularly large subsection, that menu is repeated on the left for easier viewing. As a result, I shoot over 100 links on page. Can I put nofollow or noindex tags on the left side links and reduce my "official" on-page links count or do I have to actually eliminate some of the links? Thanks, Oak
On-Page Optimization | | CSA-2316710 -
Social media links/buttons - best practices
Has anyone tested social media buttons, to see which types, styles, and placements get the most clicks? Should they go at the top of an article, or are they OK at the bottom? Should the icons definitely have labels? Display # of tweets and Likes? How big should they be? My preference is for discrete buttons with a smallish, plain icon and a label. I don't display tweets or Likes, unless it's a healthy number. And I still think a "share by email" icon is important. I put them at the bottom of the article, to keep the home page uncluttered and lead the eye into reading the article. I'm also concerned about leaking rank from the homepage, especially for a site that's still establishing itself. But if moving buttons to the top gets more shares, that's probably better. Is there a Wordpress plugin that you really like? (I haven't found one yet - I'm still hardcoding my social media buttons.) Opinions are great, but test results are better! Can anyone share?
On-Page Optimization | | mattotoole1
