Sitmap Page - HTML and XML

[stefanok]

Hi there

I have a domain which has a sitemap in html for regular users and a sitemap in xml for the spiders.

I have a warning via seomoz saying that i have too many links on the html version.

What do i do here?

regards

Stef

[AlanMosley]

Well have a look if you can move a few out, it is good to link to as many pages as you can from the home page for the sake of PR flow. but not go over the limit, Some say the limit is 100, some say 150

[stefanok]

So do you think that i should ignore this warning for the sitemap html page?

[RyanKent]

Your HTML sitemap is for users. It should present your links in such a manner as to be useful for users who are looking for a page on your site.

An example sitemap for a large site: http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/sitemap.jsp

It does not contain a link to every last page. It is more of a helpful directory. I would suggest you adjust your HTML sitemap in a similar manner. Treat is as a page of links for users.

[AlanMosley]

Wel how many do you have.

A quick way of checking is with IE, press F12, go to view menu, then link report

[stefanok]

I have about 220 links

[stefanok]

Nice, i really like that example that you gave. My one is similar and categorized too. Question still remains, do i ignore this warning for this page?

[RyanKent]

Yes, ignore the warning.

It is possible to present 220 links in a neat, categorized manner. It is also possible to present 100 links as a jumble which is not user friendly.

You shared your presentation is similar to the example I shared which means it is user friendly so ignoring the warning is fine.

[AlanMosley]

too many according to google. make of it what you will, does not look like it is for any technial reason anyymore, but obviously there is a limit to how much of page they will crawl.
http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/how-many-links-per-page/

You see how page rank flows, having a lot of links on your home page works to your advantage. Using numbers from Googles original algo,
Assuming every page starts with 1PR, a page passes %85 of its link juice, so if you have 100 links that’s 0.0085 each. To 100 internal pages, making them 1. 0085each , now they all pass back 85% that’s 0.857225 each, x 100 = 85.7225 back to your home page, now we do the sums all over again and again till they numbers stay static. Now this calculation relies on the internal pages having no other links, so you are unlikely to get figures as good as this, but you get the idea.
See link for better explanation.
http://www.webworkshop.net/pagerank.html check out calculator
Remember don’t stuff up your linking stuckture for the users just for the sake of page rank.

I see it as like a golf swing after a lesson, if you try to do what you just learnt too much, you will get all stiff and un-natural, it’s better to swing naturally with what you have learnt in the back of your head.

[RyanKent]

220 links on a page is absolutely not too many on any level. Many of the highest ranked sites on the internet present more then 220 links.

The particular page is question is simply a sitemap, and the page is being offered to help users navigate the site. The VerizonWireless.com sitemap I shared has 370+ links on it.

The SEOmoz "warning" is a simple feature which will be set off on any internet page with 100+ links. The SEOmoz tool does not care how well those links are presented, whether they are footer links, whether they are on a content page, what the PA of the page is nor any other SEO factor. It is simply a >100 or not warning. As such, it offers very little value.

I am in the process of compiling a list of suggested features for the tool which will help improve it's usefulness. One of the feature recommendations I am proposing is to allow users to adjust the 100 count to any number they want. Each SEO can then choose to use the default 100 number, or use a number more suited to the particular site.

The link Alan shared is a nice explanation of PR flow. It is a nice page for learning PR, but with respect to this topic it over-complicates an otherwise very simple and straight-forward question. The simple point is, the more links on a page the less link juice will flow to each link.

The goals for any web page links should be as follows:

1. Ensure all links are useful for your site. For example, you probably want PR flowing to your most profitable product/service, and to your latest additions.

2. Ensure your links are actually used. Check analytics.

3. If a link is not used or not useful, remove it.

4. Along the lines above, your links should be presented in a very user-friendly manner. You don't want a page to look like a list of nothing but links as users will have a difficult time choosing what they want. An exception would be a sitemap.

With the above in mind, keep as many links as you see fit on the page. If it is 40, that is fine. If there are 250 links on the page, that is fine as well. When you start down a path of chasing numbers such as forcing your content into "500 words" or forcing your links into "100 maximum" you fall into a pit of SEO fallacies. You are not providing the best experience for your users nor SEO.

TL;DR - Provide your links in a manner which is visually appealing, non-spammy and helpful to users. Keep in mind your need to flow PR to important pages such as your money pages. Otherwise remove unnecessary links. Whatever that number of links is, so be it. Don't try to fit your links into a "I must be under 100" or any other number mindset.

[stefanok]

Sorry for late reply guys. Great advice by both of you.

@ Alan, great display on how Page Rank flows. Great illustration which i totally could never explain to clients