How to optimize achor text links on ecommerce category page

[DeptAgency]

A category page on an e-commerce sites, containing a list of the products within the category, usually shows the product image above the product text link. If both image and anchor text link to the product page, this would mean that the image is counted as the link in terms of ranking value.

What would be the best way to make the anchor text count in stead of the image? I guess some ways would be:

1. Not making the product image a link
2. Using some kind of link masking / redirecting technique for the image
3. Employing a technical trick to make the anchor text link come first in the code readable by search engines.

What would be the easiest way to solve this issue? Or do you believe it's not worth bothering?

[RyanOD]

A very common issue to encounter!

#1: Absolutely not! People click on images.

#2: Too much effort and possibly risky in Google's eyes.

#3: This isn't really a trick. Just update the template that generates the page and move the linked text ahead of the image. Any developer could handle this for you.

Hidden option #4: Have the link enclose both the image and the product name. It may invalidate your markup, but if #3 isn't an option, consider this.

[DeptAgency]

Thanks Ryan, that's really helpful. Regarding #3: could you still make the anchor text link appear below the image for users, but have it come first in the source code for search engines? Any suggestion for how that would look like in terms of code?

Could you also do this with a block of text that appears at the bottom of the page, but is placed on top in the code? As having static text on the category page is important for SEO, but you might want to have users seeing the products before the text.

[PaulRogers]

This is unlkely to have too much of an impact on your rankings. I would recommend looking at the top 3 or 5 for your chosen keyword and look at what they're doing. I certainly wouldn't lose any sleep over this, just make sure your images are optimised too and maybe go with #3 if you're really keen to make the change.

[KeriMorgret]

Hi! We're wondering how your project is going, and if you made a decision and can share any results, or if you're sill looking for advice. Thanks!

[brandonjschwartz]

Just curious, would no-following the image link work?

[Saijo.George]

Perhaps add a no follow to the imageand move the link above the image . Currently you might have

My Product

you need to make it something like

My Product

<a <strong="">rel="nofollow" href="product.php"></a>

[BeytzNet]

Firstly, I wondered if there are any news about this discussion...

Secondly, I wondered why it matters.
Is it because Google will consider only the first link from page A to B?
If that is the case (assuming you can't change the look and feel of the site) won't adding nofollow to the image link will solve the problem?

Thanks

[AlanMosley]

Using a no-follow will loose link juice,

[X-com]

Hi all, i notited this discussion in another question (http://www.seomoz.org/q/how-to-properly-link-to-products-from-category-page)

I answered there with a technical solution, which i also would like to share here.

http://jsfiddle.net/D7vMG/3/

I made a fiddle about it, what do you think? Is it over optimization, or is it just a nice trick to get only one link, which is really well optimized?

[BloatedWolf]

You could design your product pages around having the anchored text link appear first, perhaps in an above description or blurb, and once again under the photo.

[stephenfishman]

Is this worth the effort or change in design?

Isn't it that google looks at the 1st link on a page?

So if you have 6 products and images this issue would only effect the 1st product seen?

Thanks

Handcrafter

[penelopecircle]

On our category pages we display products like displayed below. It is semantically correct, as all the elements inside the link are inline elements - it would not validate if we had a

in there as that is a block-element. However, in order to be able to style them correctly, we have added "display: block;" in the stylesheet making it easier to work with.

[

Name

Price](link_to_product)

Does anyone know what this setup has of impact on Google picking up anchor text etc.? Technically, we have an image, a name, and a price, where normally only a name is displayed. Is there some way, in which we can specify what should be counted for/valued as the anchor text (in this case )?

Thanks

[danatanseo]

Here is a link to an insteresting thread on this topic in the GWT forums: http://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/webmasters/1yhb_xcdtZ0

Judging from what top level contributors have said there, linking images and text links pass the same amount of PR, with a very tiny amount of advantage to anchor text for a text link versus anchor text from the image alt text. Ultimately, do what's best for the user. In this case, for e-commerce, I think the image link taking precedence is just fine.

Dana

[AndrewAkesson]

This pretty much mirrors what I was going to say....

"I can't find an example of how it would be coded (check link above!), but you could look at having a single ahref stemming from the product text, and expand the clickable area to include the image. This would get around your issue, and I've always thought that having multiple links to a single product like that is sub-optimal.

I'm not sure how much added SEO benefit this would have, but all the small things..."