Internal link strategy - "useful links" section in footer e-comm sites

[andreicomoti]

Hello,

I have a question related to internal links. I see that some major e-commerce websites doing the same thing, namely inserting a section at the end of the page, right above the footer, with "Useful links" and "Other people have also searched for" (which is found on category and product pages).

I have done some studies but did not quite get it yet. I am looking for some opinions on:

1. What are the main SEO benefits and reasons behind this strategy?
2. How are the links usually inserted in this section (they are different in each category - with related pages to the content found on the page I'm currently on - I doubt that the pages are selected manually)
3. What are the best ways to analyze this section on major e-comm websites?

Thanks in advance

[goodroi]

Bit of an outdated SEO technique now and more of a solution for usability & retention.

The SEO benefits are that it can help Googlebot discover and crawl the site. This can be better achieved by having external sites link to your content. Google tends to place a lower value on run-of-site links in the footer area. Google prefers links that are embedded in relevant content that is keyword rich with anchor text/urls that aren't constantly changing.

The links are often chosen using simple keyword matching. There are Wordpress plugins & other similar solutions that will do this.

The best way to analyze anything on e-commerce is by conversions. Are you making more money? Yes - keep doing it. No - go back & try something else.

[tangor]

Some times the more obvious "is this useful for the visitor?" before delving into "seo".

Use it when it makes sense, and actually satisfies the visitor, otherwise it is considered old hat these days.