Internal Links - First Link Rule Confusion

[JBMediaGroup]

Hello All -

I would like to create a guide for my team of rules for internal links and I could use some help. My understanding is that Google only counts the first link to a page, so any crafted keyword text links within the content do not count if the page in question is linked to from the main navigation. Is this correct? For example, if the menu or drop down menu in main site nav (which exists on all pages of the site) includes a link to a particular section that will be the only one that ever counts since the menu is on every page?

Example: let's say a website selling cat toys includes a drop down menu on the homepage with links to "holiday cat toys". Does this mean that no other text links in content on the site will support that page from an SEO perspective since the link is in the main nav and will always be the first one counted?

In the past we have added text links in the content on the homepage to important pages on the site. It seems to work, though now I'm questing these tactics based on the first link rule. I would appreciate some advice, clarification, thoughts, etc.  Thanks!

[CommT]

I would take any SEO 'rules' with a pinch of salt.

Build pages for people first, worry about search engines afterwards. At the end of the day, search engine spiders are never going to buy cat toys off of you, but people will (assuming your example). Make your site easy for people to use, and the conversions will follow. Google is looking more and more at user engagement (check out the latest whiteboard Friday - http://moz.com/blog/the-massive-ranking-factor-too-many-seos-are-ignoring-whiteboard-friday) so look at ways of improving these before worrying about where to put your links - it really doesn't matter overly much.

Good luck,

Amelia

PS - this 'first link rule' sounds like 'old' advice to me, and may have worked well several years ago, but I highly doubt it makes much difference in 2014 (2015 soon!).

[JBMediaGroup]

Amelia -

I appreciate your response, but we're already doing all that you've suggested. I am wanting more information on the nitty gritty details.

[Ray-pp]

You can pretty much disregard the 'first link rule'

However, it is important to understand that if you have a link to a page in your main navigation, that link usually exists across the entire domain (whatever pages use the main navigation). Forget the first link, look at the quantity of links created!

G also understands the difference between a link in the navigation and an inline link. I would have your team add contextual links to the page desired from related products/categories. Differentiate your anchor text from the main navigation link anchor text since you already have X links with that anchor text from the navigation link. That'll help build authority to the page in question.

[CommT]

I was trying to politely say that you have some old advice that I don't think is worth investing any time on.

If you want nitty-gritty details read the moz blogs and seo starter guides for newbies. Read from 2014 onwards (SEO info gets out-dated very quickly and you kind of have to keep up-to-date with it regularly - the longer you do it the more adept you'll become at sorting the wheat from the chaff in terms of 'advice' - I have read newly published SEO guides this year offering advice that if followed could potentially get a site blacklisted today but would have worked in 2009! - it's annoying because any Tom, Dick or Harry can say they are and SEO expert - it doesn't mean they are one!)

Ignore any 'advice' that says 'this is an easy fix' because there aren't any.

Good luck.