Links placed in headers or footers that appear across many pages, sometimes carrying less SEO value.
Why Overhead Links Matter
Overhead links are a crucial part of a website’s technical health. A search engine’s crawler has a finite amount of time and resources to crawl a site. If a large percentage of this budget is spent on crawling irrelevant or low-quality pages, your most important pages like your homepage, product pages, or cornerstone content, may not be crawled or re-crawled as often as they should be. This can lead to a long delay in indexing new content and a failure to re-index important updates to existing pages. A well-optimized website is one that uses its crawl budget efficiently, ensuring that all its important pages are rendered and indexed.
Across Different CMS Platforms
The management of overhead links is a technical SEO strategy that can be applied to any CMS.
WordPress
WordPress users have the advantage of effortlessly managing their overhead links through effective SEO plugins such as Yoast SEO or Rank Math. These powerful tools enable you to designate specific pages as “noindex” and efficiently handle your sitemap, providing a strategic method for guiding search crawlers on which pages to overlook.
Shopify
On Shopify, overhead links are essential for an e-commerce store. You can use the platform’s built-in SEO features to manage your titles, meta descriptions, and on-page content.
Wix
Wix has a streamlined, user-friendly system, but you can still optimize for crawling overhead. The platform’s built-in SEO tools make it easy to manage your titles, meta descriptions, and on-page content.
Webflow
Webflow provides granular control over your website’s design and code, making it ideal for a sophisticated SEO strategy. It allows you to create a perfectly structured page that is optimized for a specific keyword or set of keywords.
Custom CMS
With a custom CMS, you have the most control but also the most responsibility. You can build a system that automatically tracks and analyzes your SEO performance and provides your content creators with data-driven insights.
Across Different Industries
The way you use crawling overhead will depend on your industry and your goals.
E-commerce
E-commerce sites often have thousands of pages, so a large number of overhead links can be a major problem. It is crucial to use a canonical tag to ensure that all your product and category pages are properly indexed and that link authority is passed correctly.
Local Businesses
Local businesses can use a normalized URL to manage a change of address or a change in services. This is the most reliable way to ensure that your local search rankings are not harmed.
SaaS Companies
SaaS companies can use a normalized URL to manage a change in their pricing or features page. This is the most effective way to ensure that your marketing pages are properly indexed and that link authority is passed correctly.
Blogs
Blogs often have a large number of pages, so a a large number of duplicate URLs can be a major problem. It is crucial to use a canonical tag to ensure that all your articles are properly indexed and that link authority is passed correctly.
Dos and Don’ts of Overhead Links
- Use a clear, HTML-based menu: This is the gold standard for SEO. It ensures that a search engine’s crawler can easily find and follow all your pages.
- Use a clear, hierarchical site structure: A logical site structure makes it easy for search crawlers to find and index your content.
- Use descriptive anchor text: The anchor text is the visible, clickable text. It should be relevant and descriptive of the page you are linking to.
- Avoid using a JavaScript-only menu for your core content: This is the number one mistake and can lead to a significant portion of your content being invisible to search engines.
- Avoid blocking search engines from crawling your JavaScript files: A search engine needs to access your JavaScript to properly render the page.
- Avoid a deep, messy site structure: A lack of a clear structure can lead to a lower indexation rate and a loss of organic traffic.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Failing to use a clear, hierarchical site structure: This can confuse a search engine and a user.
- Ignoring a user’s intent: A keyword should be used with a user’s intent in mind.
- Focusing on short-tail keywords alone: Long-tail keywords are often easier to rank for and can be a great source of organic traffic.
FAQs
How do overhead links affect a website’s crawl budget?
Overhead links affect your crawl budget because a search engine has a finite amount of time and resources to crawl your site. If a search engine crawler spends too much time on low-value pages, it may not get to your most important content.
What is the difference between overhead links and a link farm?
Overhead links are a natural part of a website’s structure. A link farm is a black hat SEO tactic that is designed to artificially boost a website’s ranking.
How can I reduce the number of overhead links on my website?
You can reduce the number of overhead links by using a robots.txt file to tell a search crawler which pages to ignore. You can also use a noindex tag for pages that are not a high-quality resource.
Can a website with a high number of overhead links still rank?
A website with a high number of overhead links can still rank, but it can be difficult. A high number of overhead links is a sign that a website has a messy site structure and a wasted crawl budget.
What is a “crawl budget”?
A crawl budget is the number of pages a search engine will crawl in a given period. It is a key factor in a website’s overall SEO health.
