Footer links 'may be detrimental to SEO'

28/11/2008

Using footer links for search engine optimisation (SEO) may be detrimental to a search marketing campaign, it has been suggested.

According to experts at SEOmoz.org, Yahoo recently said it may devalue footer links and there is evidence that Google will soon follow suit.

Rand Fish, an SEO professional advised companies looking to make sure their links are "passing maximum value" to avoid footers.

He noted that the first link on a page is the one whose anchor text counts, adding that footer links are likely to be placed below and so not have the "desired impact".

Mr Fish said: "Many pages that already have 80 to 100 links on the page are going to lose out when they add a footer with another 30 to 50 links embedded."

Footer links could devalue other links on a page, he added.

In related news, KingPin-SEO.co.uk recently said that a good SEO company can improve a firm's website and boost its visibility in "an ethical way".