Links

Link Best Practices for Google

Google utilizes links as a critical signal in determining the relevancy of pages and discovering new pages to crawl. It is essential to ensure that your links are crawlable so Google can find other pages on your site efficiently, and to optimize your anchor text to enhance comprehensibility for both users and Google.

Making Your Links Crawlable

Google can effectively crawl your link if it is an <a> HTML element with an href attribute. Links in other formats may not be parsed by Google's crawlers. Here are some guidelines and examples:

Recommended (Google Can Parse):

<a href="https://example.com/information">Information</a>
<a href="/services/web-development">Web Development Services</a>
<a href="/services/web-development" onclick="javascript:goTo('web-dev')">Web Development Services</a>
<a href="/services/web-development" class="service-link">Web Development Services</a>

Not Recommended (Google May Still Attempt to Parse):

<a routerLink="services/web-development">Web Development Services</a>
<span href="https://example.com/information">Information</span>
<a onclick="goto('https://example.com/information')">Information</a>

Ensure that the URL in your <a> element resolves into an actual web address that Google's crawlers can send requests to.

Recommended (Google Can Resolve):

<a href="https://example.com/about">About Us</a>
<a href="/contact">Contact Us</a>
<a href="/products.php?id=456">View Product</a>

Not Recommended (Google May Still Attempt to Resolve):

<a href="javascript:goTo('contact')">Contact Us</a>
<a href="javascript:window.location.href='/products'">Products</a>

Anchor Text Placement

Anchor text, the visible text of a link, provides context about the linked page for both users and Google. Place anchor text between <a> elements that Google can crawl.

Good Example:

<a href="https://example.com/hot-sauce">hot sauce</a>

Bad Example (Empty Link Text):

<a href="https://example.com"></a>

As a fallback, Google can use the title attribute if the <a> element is empty.

<a href="https://example.com/spicy-recipes" title="delicious spicy recipes"></a>

For images used as links, provide descriptive alt text in the img element.

Good Example:

<a href="/cart.html"><img src="hot-sauce-shopping-cart.jpg" alt="add hot sauce to your cart"/></a>

Bad Example (Empty Alt Text and Link Text):

<a href="/cart.html"><img src="hot-sauce-shopping-cart.jpg" alt=""/></a>

If using JavaScript to insert anchor text, utilize the URL Inspection Tool to ensure the text appears in the rendered HTML.

Writing Good Anchor Text

Good anchor text is descriptive, concise, and relevant to both the page it appears on and the page it links to. It provides context for the link, enhancing user experience and aiding Google in understanding the linked page.

Bad Examples (Too Generic):

<a href="https://example.com">Click here</a> to learn more.
<a href="https://example.com">Read more</a>.
Learn more about our services on our <a href="https://example.com">website</a>.
We have an <a href="https://example.com">article</a> that provides more background.

Better Examples (More Descriptive):

For a comprehensive list of our services, see the <a href="https://example.com/services-list">services list</a>.

Bad Example (Weirdly Long):

Starting next Monday, the <a href="https://example.com">Local Farmers Market welcomes residents to their grand opening with free samples and a family-friendly atmosphere</a>.

Better Example (More Concise):

Starting next Monday, the <a href="https://example.com">Local Farmers Market welcomes residents</a> to their grand opening.

Write naturally, avoiding the urge to cram every keyword into the anchor text. Consider the entire sentence and ensure the context around the links is clear.

Bad Example (Too Many Links Next to Each Other):

I've written about peppers <a href="https://example.com/page1">so</a> <a href="https://example.com/page2">many</a> <a href="https://example.com/page3">times</a> <a href="https://example.com/page4">this</a> <a href="https://example.com/page5">year</a>.

Better Example (Links Are Spaced Out with Context):

I've written about peppers so many times this year: the <a href="https://example.com/habanero-vs-jalapeno">habanero vs. jalapeno debate</a>, the <a href="https://example.com/oldest-pepper">oldest pepper ever discovered</a>, the legendary story of <a href="https://example.com/the-missing-pepper">The Missing Pepper</a>, and my favorite, <a href="https://example.com/the-pepper-adventure">The Pepper Adventure: a tale of discovery</a>.

Internal Links: Cross-Reference Your Own Content

Linking to your own content can help users and Google navigate your site more efficiently. Ensure that every important page has at least one link from another page on your site, considering what other resources might be useful.

There isn't an ideal number of links per page, but avoid overwhelming users with too many links.

External Links: Link to Other Sites

External links can help establish trustworthiness and credibility, especially when citing sources. Link to external sites when relevant, providing context for what users can expect.

Good Example (Citing Sources):

According to a recent study, tomatoes exposed to classical music grew larger than those that were not, as detailed in the <a href="https://example.com">Journal of Botanical Studies</a>.

Use nofollow when you don't trust the source or if the link is paid or user-generated content. For instance, if someone published a dubious story criticizing a beloved book, use nofollow to prevent transferring link equity.

If users can insert links on your site (e.g., forums or Q&A sections), qualify those links with nocollow or ugc attributes.

Always strive for clear, contextually appropriate, and helpful link practices to enhance both user experience and search engine understanding.