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For usability, linking a graphic header to the homepage makes sense. In fact, many users expect this.
Also for usability, linking to the homepage with the text "Home" is helpful. This is what many surfers expect. If they want to go to the homepage, they'll look for the "Home" link.
However, neither of these has any value in terms of SEO, specifically in terms of internal anchor text. The graphic header doesn't have any anchor text, and the "Home" link will only help you to rank for the search query "home", which is unlikely to be what you're after.
Instead, it's tempting to link to the homepage using the keyword phrase for which the homepage is optimised. For SEO, this is the preferred option, but for usability it isn't.
Does anyone have any strategies for resolving this dilemma?
One idea I've had (but about which I have my doubts) is the "all of the above" option: link the graphic header, have a "Home" link in the main navigation panel, and have a cookie trail using the keyword phrase as the homepage link. Does anyone know if this is likely to be effective?
If you want your site to stick around for the long haul, and you want to give users what they expect (always a good idea IMHO), then you've already answered your own question.
Besides, whadya think backlinks are for? ;-)
I've had a site with "keyword phrase" used in this way (it's also the name of the site and the anchor text of plenty of backlinks) that's been locked in at #1 of ~50,000,000 for several years.
I'm certainly interested in getting quality sites to rank well in the long-term rather than getting short-term results on throwaway domains. Should I be rethinking my strategy?
It confuses people sometimes because a site can overdo it on some fronts and still be OK. But IMO, there are certain traits that when overdone put a site at particularly high risk, and internal links (w/primary kw's) on a sitewide basis pointing back to the homepage is one of those.
If you continue to rank well for that site, it prolly has a lot going for it general (e.g., backlink profile, quality content, etc), or perhaps you're not really "close to the line" on most other high risk attributes. That sort of thing. Just my opinion but we're pretty convinced of it. Looked at it from a lot of angles, FWIW.
You've raised all sorts of issues to do with what the other factors that raise flags are (suspiciously high keyword density? reciprocal links with poor quality and off-topic sites? cross-linking?). How much of any of these is too much is also an interesting question (and presumably a trade secret).
It'd also be nice to have a clearer idea what the signs of quality that can buy you leeway are (PR? a DMOZ listing? .edu backlinks? age of site?).
Still, thanks for clarifying how I should think about the problem. For the site I'm working on right now, I'll stick with the "Home" link.
Etc. ;-)
Take a screen shot.
Crop your HOME link and turn it into an image.
Replace the text link with the image.
Use contextually relevant keyword rich Alt and Title tags.
Old school....not perfect but a good compromise
Things have got a little more complicated since then, but I still appreciate the thought.
Take a screen shot.
Crop your HOME link and turn it into an image.
Replace the text link with the image.
Use contextually relevant keyword rich Alt and Title tags.Old school....not perfect but a good compromise
Sounds to me like essentially what caveman was warning against, only you've gone to more trouble to send roughly the same warning signals to Google.
(And stuffing alt tags is real old school.)
(And stuffing alt tags is real old school.)
You are right; stuffing alt tags (and title tags for that matter) is olde schoole. At the same time I like to think there is a big difference between using contextually relevant descriptions in tags--as they were designed to be used--and repeatedly stuffing tags with ground-up spiced ham.
There is nothing wrong with, and lots of things that are good about, using "Home" text as a nav link back to the homepage. You should search WebmasterWorldand read about "signals of quality" and "reg flags" and "absense of negatives."
A kw stuffed "home" graphic in a breadcrumb is certainly not a signal of quality, regardless of whether or not it is a red flag. Conversely, no SE is going to take "Home" text in the nav to be anything other than an indication of the location of the site's homepage.
There are many, many, many other ways to convey to the SE's what your site is about, and to employ keywords strategically and tactically, to achieve your goals. Don't mess with little tricks that in the event of a hand check, strongly suggest an attempt to manipulate the SE's.
IMHO anyway.
To throw in another angle, what about something like a blog hosting site? Each blog has a bar at the top that points to the blog host homepage, something along the lines of 'get your free blog here'. Although each blog is effectively a mini-site (each has its own subdomain) with it's own content, I'm sure the SE's see them as part of the main site.
For a while I've had links (with keywords in the anchor text) in the top bar, but this thread is making me reconsider that idea.
For the site you have and ranks well, DON'T TOUCH it. IMHO, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I prefer to have good SE traffic and bad usability then no SE traffic and great usability.
If you make something new, then that is another matter.
For any new site, use the standard home link. In terms of how much is too much for any element, just follow a simple rule of thumb. Make your website for your user, THEN think about how to make it obvious to a SE that each of your particular pages are about a specific topic. I go by this guideline and I fair pretty well.
Make your website for your user, THEN think about how to make it obvious to a SE that each of your particular pages are about a specific topic.
I like this way of thinking about it.
I've heard people say that there's no such thing as white-hat SEO, that if you're optimising your site then you're already on the dark side. I disagree. Good SEO should be helpful to the SEs because it's involves making it completely clear what every page is really about, making it easier for them to index it correctly.
Okay, there's a little more to it than that, but that's a good way to start.
