When optimizing a website for SEO, you’ll likely focus on the content, meta descriptions, title tags, and header tags. However, if those are your core focus areas, you might be missing out.
The significance of optimizing your website footer is often overlooked in the SEO process. Yes, that section at the bottom of the page holds more value than many realize, and the numbers speak for it.
According to Chartbeat, 66% of the engagement time of users happens “below the fold” – the bottom half of the page that shows up in your browser. That means the footer holds significant value for any website.
In this blog, we’ll tackle everything about this overlooked website element – from the importance of SEO to the essentials you need in a footer.
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What is Footer SEO?
The footer is a part of the website that contains relevant links, including privacy policies, contact information, and links to other sections of your website.
Essentially, the footer guides your website visitors on what they should do next rather than leading them to a dead end.
Why is Footer SEO Important?
Keep in mind that the footer is more than just a basic segment at the bottom of a website. There are several reasons why footer links are vital not just for on-page SEO but also for the overall success of your website:
- Easier Navigation: For many of your website visitors, there is nothing worse than a website that is difficult to navigate. By including links to important sections and contact information, you make it easier for visitors to find what they are looking for.
- Keyword Relevance: Your website footer presents an excellent opportunity to incorporate relevant, different types of keywords that could help boost your search engine rankings. Use them tastefully within the footer content.
- Crawlability and Indexing: Search engine crawlers navigate websites by following links. Including relevant links in your footer ensures that these crawlers can easily find and index your content. Remember not to saturate your footer to the point where it appears spam-like.
What is the Role of SEO in Website Footer Optimization?
When optimizing your website footer, SEO takes on several crucial roles, contributing to your website’s performance and visibility.
Link Structure
Your link structure refers to the organization and arrangement of internal and external links within your website. Optimizing your link structure effectively distributes link equity throughout your website. So, placing relevant internal links in your web footer makes your website more accessible and indexation a lot easier.
Keyword Usage
Wherever your keywords are located on your website, your usage of them should be strategic and purposeful. By doing so, you signal to search engines the relevance of your content for particular search queries. Avoid keyword stuffing, as this can hurt your search engine ranking.
Site Architecture
Keep in mind that your footer appears on every page of your website, so it is an essential component of your site architecture.
When optimized through clear headings, subheadings, and the categorization of links, both users and search engines alike can understand your website’s structure. An organized site architecture means search engines can efficiently crawl and index your web page.
Local SEO
Your footer is your chance to boost your online presence within your location. The best way to enhance your local SEO is to add your business address and local contact information to your footer. That way, you provide search engines with information on your physical location and users with clear details to connect with you locally.
Page Authority
The page authority is like a digital reputation score of your website, reflecting its credibility and trustworthiness. You might ask, how does an optimized footer increase your page authority? It’s quite simple.
As long as the links you include in your footer direct users to valuable and relevant content, you increase your chances of boosting your page authority.
When in doubt, consider using on-page SEO services to boost your page authority, thereby taking your website to the top of search engine results pages (SERPs).
SEO Footer Best Practices
Your website’s footer is a tool that can be made more powerful with the help of the best SEO practices. We’ll walk you through each strategy in detail.
Limit the Number of Links
Limit the number of footer links as much as possible. Adding an excessive amount clutters your footer, reducing the effectiveness of your links.
Instead, focus on quality rather than quantity. Add links to important pages, contact information, and other categories your visitors might find relevant.
Work on Mobile Responsiveness
There are about 7.5 billion mobile users worldwide, and the number continues to grow. Optimizing your website for mobile devices is now a necessity rather than a nice-to-have.
Because mobile screens are smaller, it’s expected that mobile users navigate websites differently than desktop users.
Keep your footer simple and intuitive, and mobile users will have a positive browsing experience.
Use Clear, Descriptive Labels
By adding clear and descriptive labels on your website, your website visitors have a better understanding of what they’re clicking on, and search engines easily interpret the purpose of each link.
Choose labels that accurately describe your content. For example, instead of using “Click here,” use labels such as “Try Our Services” or “Get Expert Consultation.” This improves your footer SEO while improving user experience.
Improve Visual Design
Visuals are everything on a website. Create boring visuals, and you risk losing your visitors’ interest. Your footer must be consistent with your branding to leave a lasting impression.
When it comes to colors and fonts, keep them consistent. As for other visual elements, they have to match your website aesthetic. If, let’s say, your branding is more on the minimalist side, choose a footer that reflects this.
Add Social Media Links
About 77% of businesses use social media to reach their customers. If you’re not including social media links to your footer, you could be leaving a lot on your plate regarding marketing opportunities and customer engagement.
Think of these links as invitations to web visitors to engage with your brand through comments, likes, and shares. You also get to share the latest information and updates that keep your audience informed.
When your audience becomes engaged with your content, they are more likely to support your brand and participate in word-of-mouth marketing.
Here’s What to Put in the Footer of a Website
Now that we’ve covered the best SEO footer practices let’s move on to the essential elements you should consider including in the footer of your website.
Copyright Notice
When looking at website footers, you’ve probably seen a copyright notice – which contains the following elements:
- The symbol ©, the word “Copyright,” or the abbreviation “Copr.”
- The year the copyright was created
- The name of the copyright owner
- A statement of rights, such as “All Rights Reserved”
For example: © TrioSEO, 2023.
While the law doesn’t require you to have this on your website, it’s an excellent protective measure if someone copies your work.
About and Privacy Policy Link
The About link in your footer allows you to share more info about your business, team, mission, values, and services. Visitors are likelier to convert or engage with your website if you build trust.
If you handle confidential data such as personal identifiers, contact details, and payment information, then incorporating a Privacy Policy link into your footer is mandatory. In fact, customers are likely to seek this information in the footer, so it’s a business practice you must adopt.
Sitemap
A sitemap makes it easier for visitors to navigate your website by visually representing its structure. There are 2 ways you can go about this:
- Adding a Sitemap Footer: A sitemap footer contains navigation points that do not fit the navigation bars of most websites. Hence, the sitemap footer offers users access to specific sections that may not be prominently featured in the primary navigation.
- Create an XML Sitemap: An excellent SEO practice is linking your XML sitemap in your footer. The file lists down all your website’s essential pages – a valuable tool for web crawlers to better understand the structure and content of your website.
Logo
When you think of iconic logos, you think of brands like Nike, Apple, or McDonald’s. Just like how these brands established a strong visual presence with their logos, your logo is the key to defining your brand identity. After all, it’s what will leave a lasting impression on your audience.
Here’s a tip: Make sure your logo is clickable to provide a navigation shortcut for users to return to your homepage. It’s considered good user experience practice, plus many users widely recognize this feature.
Contact Information
Providing your contact information, such as email addresses and mobile numbers, in your footer makes you more accessible to website visitors. Users with specific concerns can easily find the information without accessing a separate page.
Social Media Links
Social media provides an effective avenue to extend your presence beyond your website. Users can connect with the brand on social media, allowing for added engagement and communication. To provide more recognizable visuals, you may opt to use the logos of the social media platforms where your brand is active.
SEO Footer Example
Here’s an example from our website that utilizes the core elements of a web footer.
You’ll find the essentials: a copyright notice, a link to the About section, a well-structured sitemap, contact details, and links to our social media profiles.
It’s clear and concise so that users can navigate the website with ease.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
We’ve answered some frequently asked questions about footer SEO below.
Is it Fine to Add Keywords on the Footer of the Website?
Yes, adding keywords in the footer of your website is completely fine. But be careful not to go overboard and stuff your footer with irrelevant keywords.
Instead, you must incorporate them naturally to avoid detracting from the user experience or violating search engine guidelines. Again, quality over quantity.
Do Footer and Header Links Cause SEO Penalties?
Contrary to what most people think, footer and header links do not exactly cause SEO penalties.
Remember that you must only add links to pages your visitors want to see. This rule, however, mostly applies to relevant internal links. Adding irrelevant external links to your footer will likely devalue the overall quality of your website.
Ultimately, the importance lies in the relevance and quality of the links you choose to include. Will visitors consider the link to be a valuable resource? If the answer is yes, then feel free to add the link to your footer.
Conclusion
There we have it – our guide on optimizing your website’s footer for SEO. By following the best practices discussed, your optimized website footer can catapult your website to the top of SERPs.
Now, with this understanding of footers, are you ready to take your SEO efforts to the next level?
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