WBF told me to get rid of my low contrast footer links...
-
I just finished watching WBF where Rand took a moment to identify some of the potentially harmful SEO practices that could be penalized in the upcoming algo update targeting over-optimization. (Great post BTW!) One of which was using low contrast, exact match footer links to inner pages.
But I couldn't help but notice something similar being done on the SEOmoz site. In the attached image, I compare this to a site I've done using a similar practice.
What are your thoughts on footer links found in this example and how should we, as SEOs, handle footer links in the future?
-
I agree with you, but you see it quite a lot - especially people trying to optimise for multiple location based variations.
-
Correct me if I'm wrong but surely adding more internal links to pages on your site with different keywords would dilute your overall link value, and therefore you're actually doing yourself no favours anyway?
-
I took it to be the kind of footers that are there to create spammy internal links for multiple permutations of particular keywords. The fact that they're not just low contract, but so unnoticeable that that the link really can't be there for any user benefit.
It seems that more than ever, it's a good idea to ask yourself what the reason is to add something to the web page...
-
Hi Alex,
I agree with what you're saying about distracting you from the content of the site, but if you've reached the footer chances are you've already read the important information on the page.
Links in the footer tend to be the boring Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, Contact Us and maybe a few social media links, and lets be honest we don't immediately visit a site and expect to see that information in our faces or in the main navigation or above the fold.
It's a shame that there aren't more tools or extensions available that will allow us as website developers to optimise our site and code to help users with more diverse accessibility issues.
-
<title>SEOMoz Rand Fishkins Response | Footer Link Best Practices</title>
Footer Link Best Practices by Rand Fishkin, CEO of SEOMOZ
Ooops - did I over optimize this reply?
Hear us, Rand, hear us.
-
Thanks for the responses. I agree with Ben, in that all text should be readable and not hidden in anyway. But I also think there is a need to have lower contrast text to avoid distracting users from other elements on the page.
If I'm reading content on a page, I don't want to be distracted by the footer links. On the flip side, if I can't find something, I look to the footer for some navigational help.
And Mark, I'll be curious to see what Rand has to say as well (although I'm not counting on it). I know he's a busy guy. I would certainly welcome a response from any of his knowledgeable staff.
Thanks again!
-
I think this goes back to the days where people sued to have a whole bunch of spammy links in the footers of their sites and changed the colour of the text to match the background of the footer in an attempt to fool search engines and get higher up in the rankings.
I can certainly see why its an accessibility issue for users using screen-readers to navigate through the web. Sometimes I view my own website using Lynx on my Linux command-line to see where I can improve my website accessibility.
-
I asked a similar question in the comments on today's WBF.
It wasn't clear to me whether the focus was on low-contrast, for-seo-purposes-only only keyword phrases or the concept of footer links in general.
Looking forward to some clarification from Rand, the Master of the Board.
-
I think that you need to have good contrast between text colours and background to ensure good usability of the site.
I always make sure that my designs don't have any combination of green text on red background (and vice versa) because visitors who are colour blind won't be able to clearly read the text on a page.
I can see why Google is pushing for this to be a ranking factor as it should lead to more accessible websites being produced, but I don't see how the algorithm can determine low contrast on a website.
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
-
Backlink from High DA but low PA
Hi, Which back link has more value; 1. Backlink from High DA and low PA. 2. Backlink from High PA and Low DA Thanks
On-Page Optimization | | Kashif-Amin0 -
Can I robots.txt an entire site to get rid of Duplicate content?
I am in the process of implementing Zendesk and will have two separate Zendesk sites with the same content to serve two separate user groups (for the same product-- B2B and B2C). Zendesk does not allow me the option to changed canonicals (nor meta tags). If I robots.txt one of the Zendesk sites, will that cover me for duplicate content with Google? Is that a good option? Is there a better option. I will also have to change some of the canonicals on my site (mysite.com) to use the zendesk canonicals (zendesk.mysite.com) to avoid duplicate content. Will I lose ranking by changing the established page canonicals on my site go to the new subdomain (only option offered through Zendesk)? Thank you.
On-Page Optimization | | RoxBrock0 -
Best way to nofollow affiliate links?
I don't "nofollow" affiliate links but I have quite a few. Doing them one by one would just be an impossible job. Would it be best to get a plugin that nofollows EVERYTHING? What would google prefer? I need to DOFOLLOW some links because those sites deserve it.
On-Page Optimization | | 2bloggers0 -
What is on page links?
Hi - i would like to know exactly what an on page link is? i understand the linking system however cant work what exactly what an on page link is? Thanks
On-Page Optimization | | OasisLandDevelopment0 -
How do I PERMANENTLY change an incorrect URL link with one of my keywords?
Hello, I received an “F” grade on my on-page report for one of my keywords. I noticed that the URL linked with that keyword was wrong. After changing it to the correct URL, I received an “A.” However, the change was not permanent. How do I permanently change the URL? I don’t see any “Save Changes” or “Apply Changes” button anywhere. Thank you!
On-Page Optimization | | jampaper0 -
Boosting page authority/rank by linking from blog
We're developing several blogs and I was wondering if it would make sense to periodically create blog entries that 'naturally' link to certain pages on the main site. For example we have a large amount of 'partners' across the country, and we wanted to do an interview series on the blog, and insert a link into the interview, such as "partner bob services the Boston area", or something more elegant than that. Would have have any significant impact on the 'boston page aside from the pass through traffic from the blog?"
On-Page Optimization | | ilyaelbert0 -
Link Juice not passing for root domain to an internal page
Hi Im working in a SEO proyect for the web fagorarrasate.com, it has good root domain ranking, but it seems like the root domain isn't passing any of its link juice to other internal pages of the site although there are links which link to these sub pages For example if I seach in Google for the page http://www.google.com/search?aq=f&gcx=c&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=Stamping+System+and+Presses The firs page appears without any page ranking, so it seems that the root domain is not passing any of its ranking Why could this be happening? Thanks Jordi
On-Page Optimization | | joralles0 -
What is the effect of too many internal links on a page?
Hi there! We have been doing a great effort during the last year but our main competitor is still above us in search rankings. Basically, the main differente remains now in the number of internal links, specially in our homepage. We have more than 200 and they only have around 100, so I think we are wasting too much link power among some irrelevant pages. What could be the effect of this?
On-Page Optimization | | bodaclick0