WebMarketEdge

The infrequently obtuse and generally unnoticed footer text links we all keep on our sites probably don’t garner much attention on the whole, but footer links are still an obligatory part of building nearly any Web site. Some of us have neat little menus with inbound links to direct users around the site. Most of us have several links to sites we own or just enjoy. Some folks take it as far as stuffing fifty links down there.

The point of this post is that most of us aren’t exactly raking in the clicks with these footer links. They are often there just for search engine exposure. If we want our footer links to stick out a bit more, why not snag a few extra links where we can?

Visitors don’t often read to the very end of a page, unless it’s fairly short or extremely relevant. But they do skim pages, and often that means hauling off on the scroll wheel until they hit the very end of a page. And what do they find? Not much, usually. All the content is focused near the beginning, and all the random stuff near the end. Instead of letting our footers become a warehouse of unwanted stuff, organize your Web site footer so that your footer links have prominence. At best you can expect one sweeping glance before they move along.

Of course, footer links aren’t necessarily the only thing we want people clicking. We know from good ad optimization for CTR, the highest Click-Through-Rate is usually achieved with placement in the content area of a page. While footer ads may not garner a lot clicks, we can apply this same principle to anything we want increased exposure on. A great way to keep a visitor on your site is linking to related articles and pages after the content. If they finish reading something and like it, offer them something else they would like!

So, we have established that footer text links, PPC ads, related content, etc. can be a little more valuable if we pay attention to the design and layout. But what is the best choice? Do we focus on inbound links or outbound links? PPC ads or related items? The answer depends on the Web site to a great extent. If you want to prime AdSense or YPN revenue then drawing attention to ads is a clear choice. If you want to increase CTR for outbound links, make your footer links a little more prominent. If you want to keep your visitors around, add some related article links.

Personally, I want to have my cake and eat it too. I want ad exposure, link exposure, and navigation exposure. By clearly identifying available options for our visitors we can come close to achieving this goal. Use headings to organize footer content into understandable sections. For example, organize links under headings like “Related Articles”, “Share This Article” (links to send to friend, digg, furl, etc.), “Related Sites” (your footer text links), “Navigation” (toplevel inbound links), etc.

Focusing your energy on an infrequently viewed part of your site is just part of a complete strategy. Remember your basic SEO techniques first and prioritize your work.