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  4. Do web design footer links of websites you build have value?

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Do web design footer links of websites you build have value?

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  • gdavey
    gdavey last edited by Mar 22, 2016, 4:33 PM

    Hi everyone.

    I am trying to build up DA for my site and create linking opportunities with my clients sites but I am not seeing any link value.

    I just did a redesign with another firm and we built out www.denbow.com . We have links to our sites in the footer but for some reason it's not being indexed.

    Can someone help me understand if it is good to put built by a href link in the footer? I've built almost 12 sites in my first 1.5 years of being in business for myself and I thought the links would pass some sort of value.

    Thanks in advance for the help and education.

    Regards,

    Noob Gary

    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
    • gdavey
      gdavey @Deacyde last edited by Mar 22, 2016, 6:43 PM Mar 22, 2016, 6:43 PM

      Powerful statement. Question everything and I like the statement. I want to keep learning and I want to do White hat principles for my clients to raise their DA and ultimately get found.

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • gdavey
        gdavey @EGOL last edited by Mar 22, 2016, 6:41 PM Mar 22, 2016, 6:41 PM

        EGOL,

        I appreciate you taking a stand on the position and question raised. I guess it all comes down to competition. I have only had my website and marketing business for two years. My competition has been doing this since 2010. They have a ton of the footer links coming back to their site which helps their DA which is presently a 34. If this helps them, why can't it work to help my DA while showing off my work?

        I just wan to know what is right, so I don't do anything spammy but I can tell, my frustration with getting found is already putting me on the slippery slope of cutting corners.

        G

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • Deacyde
          Deacyde @gdavey last edited by Mar 22, 2016, 6:40 PM Mar 22, 2016, 6:40 PM

          Also just remember even hunters get lost in the forest, knowledge is a quest not an end result.

          Question everything

          gdavey 1 Reply Last reply Mar 22, 2016, 6:43 PM Reply Quote 1
          • gdavey
            gdavey @EGOL last edited by Mar 22, 2016, 6:38 PM Mar 22, 2016, 6:38 PM

            Like I posted below, the CIMC is a digital marketing conference which MOZ is attending as an exhibitor. They have four links in their footer no of which are no follow.

            Does this mean they are wrong?

            They are rel="external" . Is that considered best practice?

            G

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • EGOL
              EGOL @gdavey last edited by Mar 22, 2016, 6:37 PM Mar 22, 2016, 6:37 PM

              Just so you know... there are people out there who will adamantly disagree with me.

              When I post here, I am saying what I would do with my own websites.

              If I was the web designer I would not use these links.  If I was the web design client I would not want those links on my website.

              gdavey 1 Reply Last reply Mar 22, 2016, 6:41 PM Reply Quote 1
              • Deacyde
                Deacyde @EGOL last edited by Mar 22, 2016, 6:37 PM Mar 22, 2016, 6:37 PM

                Thanks for that,

                Yes I've been under the impression that any external link in a footer is going to be looked at questionably by google, especially if it's promotional in nature. Since it can indicate a paid link.

                I've watched a few competitors using that same tactic to increase their overall DA for freshsite starting, they 1st ranked great and quickly dropped for various keywords relating to that link placed.

                Thanks again EGOL & Gary

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                • gdavey
                  gdavey @Deacyde last edited by Mar 22, 2016, 6:34 PM Mar 22, 2016, 6:34 PM

                  Hi Deacyde,

                  I'm talking about the Website Designed By Constructiv Works type URL. It's purpose was two fold, one of which I have learned is bad. 1. it is to allow people who are looking at the site, if they like it, find me in the footer and come to my site. 2. To provide link value like almost every other site I have now reviewed.

                  Here's one I came across this morning with multiple URL's. http://digitalbuzz.ca/

                  How is this site any different? Denbow.com 

                  "sometimes I think I know what I am doing...other times I feel like a child lost in the forest..."

                  EGOL Deacyde 2 Replies Last reply Mar 22, 2016, 6:40 PM Reply Quote 1
                  • EGOL
                    EGOL @Deacyde last edited by Mar 22, 2016, 6:33 PM Mar 22, 2016, 6:33 PM

                    My comments are related to a situation like this.

                    Egol.com is a webdesign business and designs a website for CarSeller.com.  Egol.com puts links in the footer of CarSeller.com that point to his own website at Egol.com.

                    In my opinion, those links are manipulative if their anchor text is Egol.com and they are not nofollowed.

                    If they have anchor text of "Dallas Web Design" then that is really spammy.

                    Deacyde gdavey 2 Replies Last reply Mar 22, 2016, 6:38 PM Reply Quote 1
                    • Deacyde
                      Deacyde @EGOL last edited by Mar 22, 2016, 6:30 PM Mar 22, 2016, 6:29 PM

                      Are we talking about navigational urls in footers? The kind say a CMS will naturally place there?

                      Or is this about external sites, which I completely understand, I don't understand how navigational menus in the footer, say of the most popular pages on the site could be considered manipulation or a scheme.

                      I understand the original poster ( Gary ) is speaking of his site's url on domains he designs in the footer, but now this talk has me wondering the wording of google.

                      Thanks for the further clarification.

                      EGOL gdavey 2 Replies Last reply Mar 22, 2016, 6:34 PM Reply Quote 1
                      • gdavey
                        gdavey @EGOL last edited by Mar 22, 2016, 5:22 PM Mar 22, 2016, 5:22 PM

                        Hi EGOL,

                        I consider myself a white hat SEO person but I honestly didn't know about this. So am I a "good designer" probably not because I didn't know and everyday I am learning. I am working on trying to build out better and better sites with good design and UX.

                        However, am I someone who wants to learn from mistakes and improve? Yes, yes I can definitively tell you I am.

                        Thanks for the slap on the wrist and telling me to get my stuff together. Also, thanks for sharing the information so I can get better...

                        G

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • EGOL
                          EGOL last edited by Mar 22, 2016, 5:18 PM Mar 22, 2016, 5:18 PM

                          Designers want those links for their ranking value.  That is manipulative intent.

                          Any good designer should know that Google dislikes site-wide footer links and links placed with manipulative intent.  They should also know about nofollow.

                          These kinds of links will never be on one of my websites.

                          gdavey 1 Reply Last reply Mar 22, 2016, 5:22 PM Reply Quote 1
                          • gdavey
                            gdavey @EGOL last edited by Mar 22, 2016, 5:09 PM Mar 22, 2016, 5:09 PM

                            Gotcha. That makes sense and yet I am hoping that people in this person's network are looking for a webdesigner then they will click on and find me. But if that is spammy, I will remove it.

                            Didn't even think this was not good practice... almost two years in and still learning about the moving target.

                            Thanks again.

                            G

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • EGOL
                              EGOL @gdavey last edited by Mar 22, 2016, 5:35 PM Mar 22, 2016, 5:06 PM

                              GOOGLE:  "Here are a few common examples of unnatural links that may violate our guidelines:"

                              • Widely distributed links in the footers or templates of various sites

                              These links are "manufactured" for the purpose of manipulating the search engines.  That is exactly why a lot of web design firms place them in the footer of their client's websites.

                              **you are spammy if you put a link in the footer to your site? Is that correct?  **

                              It's not spammy if you nofollow the link.  That removes the manipulation.

                              You could add "Web design by Egol.com" to the footer in unlinked text and that brand mention might be helpful for your rankings without it being a link.

                              gdavey Deacyde 2 Replies Last reply Mar 22, 2016, 6:29 PM Reply Quote 1
                              • gdavey
                                gdavey @EGOL last edited by Mar 22, 2016, 4:49 PM Mar 22, 2016, 4:49 PM

                                Thanks EGOL.

                                So if your a webdesigner and you built a site for a client, you are spammy if you put a link in the footer to your site? Is that correct?

                                Gary

                                EGOL 1 Reply Last reply Mar 22, 2016, 5:06 PM Reply Quote 0
                                • EGOL
                                  EGOL last edited by Mar 22, 2016, 4:46 PM Mar 22, 2016, 4:46 PM

                                  According to Google it is a link scheme.  If the anchor text is keyword optimized then it is also linkspam.

                                  https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/66356?hl=en

                                  gdavey 1 Reply Last reply Mar 22, 2016, 4:49 PM Reply Quote 1
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