Sitewide Link
A sitewide link is a link that appears on every page of a website. These links are usually placed in prominent areas such as the header, footer, or sidebar of a website, making them visible across all pages.
For example, a link to the home page or contact page is often included as a sitewide link because it’s important for users to easily navigate to these pages from any location on the site.
Why sitewide links matter for SEO
- Improved crawlability: Sitewide links help search engine crawlers find and index important pages across your site.
- Distributes link equity: These links can help pass on link equity (the SEO value passed through links) to other pages on your site, particularly those that need a boost.
- Better navigation: Sitewide links improve user experience by making it easier to find essential pages without searching.
- Brand visibility: Sitewide links can help reinforce brand identity by linking to key brand pages consistently.
Example of a sitewide link
Here’s an example of a sitewide link in the footer of a website:
<footer>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.example.com/privacy-policy">Privacy Policy</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.example.com/terms-of-service">Terms of Service</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.example.com/contact">Contact Us</a></li>
</ul>
</footer>
Best practices for sitewide links
- Link to important pages: Use sitewide links to direct users and search engines to important pages, such as the About page, Contact page, or Privacy Policy.
- Don’t overdo it: Too many sitewide links can dilute the effectiveness of each one, making the link equity spread too thin. Choose your links wisely.
- Keep it simple: Ensure that sitewide links don’t overcrowd your design, keeping the user experience clean and easy to navigate.
Sitewide links vs. internal links
| Feature | Sitewide Links | Internal Links |
|---|---|---|
| Where they appear | On every page of the site (header, footer, sidebar) | Within the body content of specific pages |
| Purpose | Help with site navigation and distributing link equity | Help users navigate and enhance relevance between pages |
Potential risks of sitewide links
- Over-optimization: Using too many links in the same location (such as excessive footer links) can look spammy and might be flagged by search engines.
- Dilution of link equity: Having too many links on every page can spread the link equity too thin, reducing the SEO effectiveness of each link.
In summary, sitewide links are an essential part of website structure and SEO strategy. By placing important links across your entire site, you help improve navigation, distribute link equity, and make your site easier to crawl. However, it’s important to use them strategically to avoid over-optimization.