Multiple Links on the Same Page: What You Should Know
Last week, Matt Cutts of Google defined the best practices for using multiple links to the same URL on the same page. Prior to this, it was unclear as to whether or not this situation was bad or good for SEO. Here is what you should know about multiple links on the same page.
What Is the Problem With Multiple Links?
The situation is this: you have two links on the page that point to the same target URL. However, each of these hyperlinks uses unique anchor text. Should you keep both of these anchor texts or get rid of them?
Google never quite made it clear as to how to this should work or what the consequences should be for certain configurations of multiple links. Now, Matt Cutts has given the official word on this topic so that website owners will know exactly how to configure on page links so that you can make sure that your site’s links are not harming your search engine positioning.
Should You Make Any Changes?
Before you make any changes, try to decide on how much PageRank will flow from these multiple links on the page. Both links will delver PageRank to that link page.
In addition, it is important to remember that PageRank flow is separate from anchor text. Having different anchor text does not have any impact on the flow of PageRank. This has to do with how Google performs its link extraction process.
How Google’s Link Extraction Process Works
Google looks at all of the links on a page on a combined basis and extracts them. Then the search engine will annotate or fix the links to the documents that they refer to. The link extraction process can then select only the links that it wants or all of the links. Over time the behavior of the link extraction process can also change. This information is built into Google’s processes and is not available to the public for evaluation.
Why Anchor Texts Really Don’t Matter
In the end, the anchor text of the links really don’t matter. The order in which the anchor text links appear also seems to be unimportant according to Matt Cutts. Basically, he says this because he wants website owners to direct attention elsewhere.
Focus on What’s Important
However, Cutts has emphasized that small items like this are essentially negligible in determining page rank. Matt Cutts has emphasized that website owners should instead be focused on more important factors such as user experience, relevance, site speed, and site design. Even more importantly, instead of focusing only on the rank of your site in the search engines, you should also try to optimize your on-page conversion rate so that you can convert more site traffic. Conversion rates and sales are really what matters so you should place your efforts there.
If you need help with adjusting your on-page SEO for better conversion rates, Infintech Designs can help. Click here to request a free quote for SEO services today.
