A sitewide link refers to the hyperlink that appears on every page of a website, either linking to an internal page or an external website. These links are commonly found in footers, headers, or navigation menus.
Examples of Sitewide Links
- Navigation menu links
- Footer links (e.g., “Privacy Policy” or “Terms of Service”)
- Sidebar widgets linking to external resources
Sitewide Links in SEO
In off-page SEO or link building sitewide links refer to backlinks that appear across all pages of a referring website. While they may occur naturally (e.g., branding links), on the other hand, excessive use of sitewide backlinks, especially when linking to external domains, can be seen as manipulative and may violate Google’s spam policies.
Best Practices for using Sitewide Links
- Use sitewide links primarily for internal navigation and usability and ensure they are relevant for use.
- Avoid excessive external sitewide links to prevent potential SEO penalties by the search engines.
- Ensure sitewide links provide value to users and are contextually relevant.
