WBF told me to get rid of my low contrast footer links...

[AlexanderAvery]

I just finished watching WBF where Rand took a moment to identify some of the potentially harmful SEO practices that could be penalized in the upcoming algo update targeting over-optimization. (Great post BTW!) One of which was using low contrast, exact match footer links to inner pages.

But I couldn't help but notice something similar being done on the SEOmoz site. In the attached image, I compare this to a site I've done using a similar practice.

What are your thoughts on footer links found in this example and how should we, as SEOs, handle footer links in the future?

footer-links.gif

[blacey]

I think that you need to have good contrast between text colours and background to ensure good usability of the site.

I always make sure that my designs don't have any combination of green text on red background (and vice versa) because visitors who are colour blind won't be able to clearly read the text on a page.

I can see why Google is pushing for this to be a ranking factor as it should lead to more accessible websites being produced, but I don't see how the algorithm can determine low contrast on a website.

[DenverKelly]

I asked a similar question in the comments on today's WBF.

It wasn't clear to me whether the focus was on low-contrast, for-seo-purposes-only only keyword phrases or the concept of footer links in general.

Looking forward to some clarification from Rand, the Master of the Board.

[blacey]

I think this goes back to the days where people sued to have a whole bunch of spammy links in the footers of their sites and changed the colour of the text to match the background of the footer in an attempt to fool search engines and get higher up in the rankings.

I can certainly see why its an accessibility issue for users using screen-readers to navigate through the web. Sometimes I view my own website using Lynx on my Linux command-line to see where I can improve my website accessibility.

[AlexanderAvery]

Thanks for the responses. I agree with Ben, in that all text should be readable and not hidden in anyway. But I also think there is a need to have lower contrast text to avoid distracting users from other elements on the page.

If I'm reading content on a page, I don't want to be distracted by the footer links. On the flip side, if I can't find something, I look to the footer for some navigational help.

And Mark, I'll be curious to see what Rand has to say as well (although I'm not counting on it). I know he's a busy guy. I would certainly welcome a response from any of his knowledgeable staff.

Thanks again!

[DenverKelly]

<title>SEOMoz Rand Fishkins Response | Footer Link Best Practices</title>

Footer Link Best Practices by Rand Fishkin, CEO of SEOMOZ

Ooops - did I over optimize this reply?

Hear us, Rand, hear us.

[blacey]

Hi Alex,

I agree with what you're saying about distracting you from the content of the site, but if you've reached the footer chances are you've already read the important information on the page.

Links in the footer tend to be the boring Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, Contact Us and maybe a few social media links, and lets be honest we don't immediately visit a site and expect to see that information in our faces or in the main navigation or above the fold.

It's a shame that there aren't more tools or extensions available that will allow us as website developers to optimise our site and code to help users with more diverse accessibility issues.

[DougRoberts]

I took it to be the kind of footers that are there to create spammy internal links for multiple permutations of particular keywords. The fact that they're not just low contract, but so unnoticeable that that the link really can't be there for any user benefit.

It seems that more than ever, it's a good idea to ask yourself what the reason is to add something to the web page...

[blacey]

Correct me if I'm wrong but surely adding more internal links to pages on your site with different keywords would dilute your overall link value, and therefore you're actually doing yourself no favours anyway?

[DougRoberts]

I agree with you, but you see it quite a lot - especially people trying to optimise for multiple location based variations.