How does Google interpret navigation links in terms of SEO?
Question: -
Q: Do the Navigation Bar links and subcategories carry the same weight as on page links?
Answer: -
This is an interesting question. Of course we never really know what Google thinks about anything, we can only conjecture. Here are some conjectures by myself and other SEO folks -
If Google sees a lot of links throughout the website that are the 'same,' it tends to ignore them in terms of calculating the internal page rank or value of those pages. So off links to navigation aspects of your website, probably don't hurt, nor do not help.
But... If EVERY page on your website is linking to certain CORE pages, then some people feel that this means Google sees these pages as VERY IMPORTANT. For example, you probably have almost every page on your website linking to your 'home page.' This is a double-check to Google that http://www.company.com/index.html is your HOME PAGE, and thereby indicates its importance.
So, my thinking on this is to name your navigation links after your core keywords, where possible, and since we know that Google interprets links as 'votes,' remember that these site-wide links are 'votes' that certain pages are important. Throughout, they indicate to Google what are your primary / directory pages and therefore your most important pages.
Hope this helps!
- Jason McDonald - info@jm-seo.org
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