DropDown Menu with 175 links in headers, Can it hurt SEO?

[BigBlaze205]

I'm planning to add a dropdown menu in my online store header.

The dropdown menu will have about 175 options with 175 internal links to different products.

Can it hurt my SEO for aving more then 175 internal links on my header.

This header will be on every pages.

Thank you,

BigBlaze

[TheeDigital]

Ouch!  Our first thought is that having a lot of choices sounds ugly and frustrating, from a user experience side.  Remember you don't want to give your customer too many options, you want to guide them through the process and watch them through a conversion funnel.    
Why don't you just create landing pages and add those to the header?

[josh-riley]

We have a "mega menu" that also has a lot, lot of links as part of the drop down. I agree with ThreeDesign - the user experience is very questionable (which is why we are moving from that format). I don't know how much those thing "hurt" SEO anymore - it used to matter but the popular opinion has trended away from it. However it's not a best practice by any stretch so the question is what's the value and is it worth it?

[grasshopper]

Having that many links in your global nav can hurt you from an SEO perspective.  You're diluting the link authority that any given page is able to pass to another page by splitting it across 175 links - and that's before you get to links in the body copy, right nav, left nav, and footer.  Essentially, you'll have a site with a large number of pages that each have a tiny amount of link authority.  It's great for indexation, but bad for ranking.

Unless you're operating in keyword markets where a tiny amount of link authority is all that's necessary to compete for the super long-tail phrases you're targeting, that means that most of your pages will be unable to compete for shorter-tail terms.

You have to prioritize those 175 links and think about the business value of each of the pages that you're linking to, and the competitiveness of the keyword market that each page addresses.

• If you have lots of lucrative head terms in that 175, but you know you won't be able to rank for the foreseeable future because they're so competitive, eliminate them from the global nav.
• Similarly, if you have lots of obscure long-tail terms in the 175, you may be able to rank very well immediately, but the page will only get one visit per month, even with a #1 ranking.  Eliminate those as well.  .

Balance the conversion value of each page with its ability to rank for the term.  The terms that strike that balance deserve to be in your global nav.

And think about this from your users' perspectives as well - 175 links in a global nav is a usability nightmare, and will cost you sales down the road, because your users will be overwhelmed.  There's a saying in conversion rate optimization that "by emphasizing everything, you emphasize nothing."  175 links fits that description.

Hope that helps!

[EGOL]

I am usually an advocate for "lots of links on a page".... however, in this case I think that 175 links is excessive.

I would reduce the 175 into a few categories and then make beautiful category pages with wonderful images that entice people to drill down.  These category pages might rank in the SERPs  for lots of diverse terms related to their content.

I would use this as an opportunity to expand my longtail keyword reach.

[BigBlaze205]

I need a clear solution.

We are investing in a new header design and I thought to use one big drop down menu with all the furnace filters sizes was the solution.

Buyer are having a hard time to find there furnace filters sizes on our online store.

If you visit the store: http://www.furnacefilterscanada.com

you will see categories on the left, I would like to improve this and make it easer faster for the buyer to find is filter size.

The part I need to improve is the categories:

5 inches

4 inches

2 inches

1 inches

Those categories represent 95% of our products sales.

Evry furnace filters sizes on our store is avaliable in 3 or 4 differents qualities.

So, when searching for a 20x20x1 furnace filters for example, you have 3 options.

SOLUTION: How about designing a large ''SEARCH BOX'' in the header where the shoppers type is furnace filter size...

Could it be a solution?

Thank you,

BigBlaze

[BigBlaze205]

how about a page like this:

http://www.furnacefilterscanada.com/House-Air-Filters/

[BigBlaze205]

Thank you for your help.

How about using the TOP horizontal menu with this options:

1 inch thick filter
2 inches thick filters
4 inches thick filters
5 inches thick filters

each option in the menu with a dropdown menu and 30 sizes option.

example:
1 inch filter>>20x20x1 furnace filters

when selecting 20x20x1, the will land on a page with a product option and select the options quality they want to buy.

QUESTIONS:

• all my products descriptions are the same, the only difference is the filter size.

[u][b]Shopper are searching for there furnace filters sizes first[/b][/u], then they will select the quality options.

Do you have any suggestions on How to improve my site architecture?

this is the store: http://www.furnacefilterscanada.com

I'm planning to have a BIG search box in the heade where the shopper can enter is filter sizes.

ex: 20x20x1

Thank you for your help,

BigBlaze