Cross-Site Links with different Country Code Domains

[AlliedComputer]

I have a question with the penguin update. I know they are really cracking down on "spam" links.  I know that they are wanting you to shift from linking keywords to the brand name, unless it makes sense in a sentence.

We have five sites for one company in the header they have little flag images, that link to different country domains.  These domains all have relatively the same domain name besides the country code.  My question is, linking these sites back and fourth to each other in this way, does it hurt you in penguin?  I know they are wanting you to push your identity but does this cross-site scheme hurt you?

In the header of these sites we have something like this.

I am assuming the best strategy would probably be to treat them like separate entities. Or, just focus on one domain.

They also have some sites that have links in the footer but they are set up like:
For product visit Domain.com

Should nofollows be added on these footer links as well?  I am not sure if penguin finds them spammy too.

[AlliedComputer]

Thanks a ton.  I do have one last question, well for know.  I am not sure about the etiquette for Moz, so I don't know if I should ask it here.  But I will anyway, live and learn.

Let's say I have a site with domain.com and a store on subdomain.domain.com
We want to link the main\subdomain back and fourth.  Would this be a valid thing to do in the navigation since the point is to get the customer to the store?  Or, do the spiders view subdomains as separate entities? I would rather put the store under a directory but it is hosted by a third party.

I have read the following but I don't know the validity, "Each subdomain is considered a separate site for SEO and rankings. But links to within site sub domains are considered as internal links by Google."

I assume if that is true, I have nothing to worry about with concerns of nofollow on those links.

[RobMay]

Thanks. Great point I neglected to mention in detail. !!

[RobMay]

Absolutely. Probably your best bet.

On a sidebar note, try to keep your link count on any domain pages to a maximum of 100. Anything above and beyond that, are not counted on pages and usually the BOT won't follow anyways. The more links on a page, the less value can be attributed to them.

If you want to help the link profile of the site, decide which links could be <nofollow>and place those tags to help with improving the link quality on various pages. This also helps Google with trust as you are not trying to 'game' the linking profile of the site or structure to improve various pages SERP rankings.</nofollow>

[Matt-Williamson]

I agree with Rob you would be best to place a nofollow on the links between your country level domains. By doing this you get to keep the links and convenience from a users point of view, but you are flagging to Google that you are not trying to pass authority between your sites by interlinking them. Essentially you are waving a flag that says you are not trying to manipulate your rankings by creating your own link network.

[AlliedComputer]

So essentially, avoid, and remove, repetitive links that are found across sites in the header\footer\sidebar areas and focus on getting, or placing, fewer links in relative content.

Correct?

[RobMay]

Hey there,

Are you linking these domains just form the main level TLD (homepage), or all the product pages from within each company/country site.

If yes, absolutely! Use <nofollow>on any of the domain/brand or country level TLD's to avoid any kind of penalty. Penguin being as picky as it is, you would want to stay away from any of that to in a 'safe' zone. I would stear clear and use these best practices for interlinking cross country domain sites and products. </nofollow>

Work on building your outside links to the site through content development and social media/mentions, while using the <nofollow>links within the site at the brand and product level. </nofollow>

Thanks, Rob