Best practices for external footer links

[hazmat]

Hi all,

I was wondering if there is any consensus (as much as there ever can be) about external footer links such as trust-guard, mcafee, bbb, etc.

Rel="nofollow"?
Link to internal page then link naturally from there?
Natural link?


An internal page, with natural external links seems like it would work best, and would reduce the page overhead from all the crumby js that some seals/certificates can have. However, I see a lot of sites that rel="nofollow", for example zappos and others.

[Whitey]

However, I see a lot of sites that rel="nofollow", for example zappos and others.

Good question. My personal view is sites like Zappos don't need the authority, or to give out high PR. They already have it.

But I'd like to hear more from others on what objectives the footer should achieve. For me, I think it's good to pack it with trust elements. But not sure if the linking or not really matters. I mean a legitimate link to Wikipedia probably benefits the site by association, even if it's no followed.

If there is no association in the subject, there will likely be trouble if no follow is not applied. If it's badge like a security logo, probably google neutralises it's effects for PR purposes - not sure. Happy to hear from others.

[brinked]

you're fine either way. This is so ridiculously common that it would be foolish for google to give any type of penalty either way.

These icons represent trust and security, something that SHOULD be a positive factor by google.

[garyr_h]

You are putting the links in your footer because you trust them. So why bother with the nofollow?

Nofollow *does not* keep link juice on your pages. It still sends it. The only thing is is that the receiving end doesn't get it, the juice is simply lost in thin air.

[topr8]

These icons represent trust and security, something that SHOULD be a positive factor by google.

slightly OT but

i totally disagree, none of the big players like amazon have trust seals.
and anything you can basically buy and that is sold using high pressure, cold calling techniques should not be considered a positive factor by anyone.

[hazmat]

Thanks for replies. I tend to agree about the nofollow.

In my original post, I asked about a internal page, linking to these other sites. I may not have been clear, so let me give an example:

All pages have a footer than includes SSL cert/BBB/trust seal/whatever which links to http://www.example.com/what-makes-us-great/third-party-verified.html, which would give the actual certificates and links to the relevant sites.

Would this be a better implementation than giving external links on the footer of every page on the site?

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

It's all about authority in Google's eyes.

- New site or not the top site on its subject = no footer links is best

- Established or top tier site on a subject = you can add links to dozens of your other sites without problem.

There is no one right way, just take it easy until you're established. Search is an imperfect science and remember that REAL PEOPLE will likely adjust your rankings so it had better make sense.