Should I worry about limiting link count on product listing/category pages?
-
I've noticed that my link count is high (165ish for some) on my category listing pages. I've been scouring my page to see if there's any way that I can reduce the link count without restricting functionality to the end user.
Each product listing on the category page has 5 links currently:
- A link to the product in the title
- A link to the product from the image
- An 'add to compare' link
- An 'add to cart' link
- An 'add to wishlist' link
When the customer chooses to show 30 products per page, the link tally goes off the scale. So I have two questions:
Firstly - is it appropriate to keep link count down in this scenario? To elaborate - is it just inevitable that product listing pages will have lots of links, and should I just assume that Google knows this and forget about these warnings.
Secondly - There are two links to the same page (the title and image links to the product page). Does SEOmoz include this in the link count, and more importantly, will Google take heed of these when deciding whether the page is too link-heavy?
-
I'm sorry Simon but you have reached the extent of my knowledge on the topic. Many things can only be answered by a Google employee...who can't answer because of a non-disclosure agreement.
Our sources of Google info are primarily Matt Cutts, official Google announcements and the occasional response shared by a Google employee on their forums.
I would agree with you that Google is quite capable or reading and executing javascript if they want to. I plan to perform a lot of various testing in the future and this sounds like a good candidate. In the mean time, I'd welcome any additional knowledge or experience others can share on this topic.
-
Thanks for the thorough response Ryan.
I've changed the add-to links to onclick=setLocation(). It seems logical to separate the 'functional' elements of a website from the content elements.
I've read some differing opinions about the use of Javascript instead of HTML, with some people suggesting that Google is just as capable of reading Javascript syntax. Whilst I'm sure that's true, it seems like a pretty rational way of distinguishing between content and function, and I'm curious to know whether Google makes that distinction, and whether it's considered standard best-practice to separate your linking methods in this way...?
-
Thanks Stephen, I've seen some of the debate, but I'm more curious what sort of strategy is best for ecommerce sites specifically, where many of the links serve as functions rather than content links (as Ryan mentions below). Any pointers?
-
Is it just inevitable that product listing pages will have lots of links, and should I just assume that Google knows this and forget about these warnings.
When you offer 165 links on the page, they all receive the same link juice, adjusted for where they appear on the page (i.e. header, footer, navigation) and with the idea the links at the top of the page are probably given more value then links lower on the page. To this end, it has nothing to do with what Google knows, and more with how you view the importance of your pages.
One possible idea. Can the "add to" links be presented in another format to where the links were not counted by Google? Add to cart, add to wishlist, add to compare don't seem to add any value to search engines. Perhaps they can be presented in a block together and not presented as links. As for the specific method, you can use encoded javascript or other options. I suggest speaking with a programmer on this topic.
Normally I don't endorse methods to hide links but these aren't links in the traditional sense. The user is not going anywhere but instead triggering an action. When a user clicks on a product link, that is a link in the traditional sense they are taken to a new page on your site. When a user clicks on one of the "add to" buttons, the user remains on the same page and an action is performed. If you do go with the javascript method, keep in mind any adjustments necessary for analytics tracking of actions.
There are two links to the same page (the title and image links to the product page). Does SEOmoz include this in the link count, and more importantly, will Google take heed of these when deciding whether the page is too link-heavy?
SEOmoz will count every link regardless of whether it is to the same target or not. No one knows for sure how Google handles the situation. Opinions on this topic vary. Over time I have seen theories going each way. We know for sure Google only associates anchor text with the first link to a target page. The weighting factors involved with multiple links are open to speculation.
-
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
-
Question about inbound links
Hi, When i run a scan for inbound links for the domain denverhongkongcafe.com/. One of the inbound links does not have the website denverhongkongcafe.com on its page. I viewed the source code and couldnt't find anything. But denverhongkongcafe.com links to that "inbound" link. Just to summarize everything. This link https://www.beyondmenu.com/40371/denver/hong-kong-cafe-denver-80014.aspx?r=40371 is an inbound link but does not have denverhongkongcafe.com anywhere in the site. But when i go to denverhongkongcafe.com it goes to https://www.beyondmenu.com/40371/denver/hong-kong-cafe-denver-80014.aspx?r=40371 . I am not sure how https://www.beyondmenu.com/40371/denver/hong-kong-cafe-denver-80014.aspx?r=40371 is an inbound link?
Moz Pro | | eldan880 -
'Duplicate Page Content' for dissimilar pages
I'm using Moz's Crawl Diagnostics to try and clean up some SEO priorities for our website (http://www.craftcompany.co.uk) HOWEVER, virtually all of the pages that are being categorised as duplicate content are not the same, or indeed similar. For instance, these three pages have been deemed duplicated pages; http://www.craftcompany.co.uk/pme-rose-leaf-veined-plunger.html http://www.craftcompany.co.uk/double-faced-satin-ribbon-black-25mm-wide.html http://www.craftcompany.co.uk/double-faced-satin-maroon-10mm-wide-25mt.html Can anyone give me an insight into why this is? Many Thanks! http://www.craftcompany.co.uk/
Moz Pro | | The_Craft_Company0 -
OK I'll try again.... Linking root domains and external links
I'm new to the crawl test tool, I think I know what is meant by external links and linking root domains but I need to check. If there are 500 external links and 50 linking root domains does that suggest the essentially those 500 links are coming from 50 root domains? If yes, then what would 1000 linking root domains and 100 links mean? Or am I completely wrong in my assumptions and if so, can somebody point me in the right direction? Thank you.
Moz Pro | | JemRobinson0 -
Duplicate page errors
I have 102 duplicate page title errors and 64 duplicate page content errors. They are almost all from the email a friend forms that are on each product of my online store. I looked and the pages are identical except for the product name. Is this a real problem and if so is there a work around or should I see if I can turn off the email a friend option? Thanks for any information you can give me. Cingin Gifts
Moz Pro | | cingingifts0 -
If you only had a limited budget for tools...
With a limited budget for SEO tools, what would you suggest having that would cover everything. Lets say with a £200 a month budget. We only look after ourselves, which is around 5 accounts in terms of PPC, so SEO follows similar suit. Is SEOmoz effective enough to cover all of our basis. Are there bits it is missing that are better else where? What are your thoughts basically and what are the benefits of each tool. Thanks in advance
Moz Pro | | esendex1 -
Very confused on site.com/ or not using a /
I'm wanting to put the rel="canonical" tag on my homepage but I'm not sure which to use? How would you know what to use and always links to, http://www.site.com or http://www.site.com**/** Personally I never knew there was a difference until I used the seomoz tool and I wasn't using the tag.
Moz Pro | | GYMSN0 -
SEO Moz Tools - too many on the page links result driving me nuts
A while back I remember Rand and I having a conversation about how many links on the page and up until that point I had followed the NO MORE THAN 100 links on a page rule - which is what the MOZ tools are telling me now in the campaigns I have running. But then during a seminar both of us were holding this 100 link rule question came up and Rand commented that this was probably old hat now as the search engines can crawl a much greater number of links in the page. I was encouraged by his answer especially where ecommerce websites are concerned. But the MOZ tool is driving me nuts telling me that this 100 link rule is still something to be adhered too. It is especially frustrating when we are discussing ecommerce website sites with editable mega menus. Examples to support this question are www.bohemiadesign.co.uk or www.flowersbuydelivery.co.uk which are 2 ecommerce sites I am aware of using such mega menus that are editable and give a link count greater than 100. and I am sure there are many more sites like this, even Amazon for example. So, how much notice do we take of this warning in MOZ tools that is telling me about excessive numbers of links on the pages it lists as needing corrected?
Moz Pro | | ICTADVIS0