Have you got too many links on your site?

I saw a site today that had only 4 visible links on its home page. 3 of those links were text links and linked to other pages within the same web site. Therefore there was only 1 link to a different site. Is this site operating profitably?

I'm really not sure but the information on the site was very good. It got me thinking though.

Everyone is talking these days about link popularity and getting as many people to link to your site. Often this means you have to give reciprocal links back to them. The theory goes that the better your link popularity the better you will rank in the search engines.

Well some people appear to be taking this to extremes. Suddenly you have got 473 links to other sites all sprayed across your web pages. Your visitors are bombarded with banners and text links on totally different subjects. They do not know what to click on next. Ahhhhhhhhhhh!

Sure you may jump up a couple of places in the search engine results but is it really worth it?

With so many links these sites are not focussed.

What is the answer?

Why not have fewer links. This might mean more profits.

Then your visitors will come to your site and see only a few links. There will only be a few places for them to click on. It will mean they spend more time reading the actual content on your site. This will mean they actually stay longer at your site.

The 'stickiness' of your site will improve. They may even come back because they have learnt a bit more about you and your web site. They may even bookmark your site for future reference. Now that is what you are trying to do - get the visitor to come back. Rarely do they buy on the first visit.

Contrast this to a site with lots of links. You see dozens of links to dozens of different sites. You quickly scan the home page and see a link that takes your interest and click on that link.

You are suddenly on someone else's web site. In the meantime you have completely forgotten the name of the web site you were just on. Not only a lost visitor but perhaps a lost customer.

These people are less likely to come back to your site. They cannot even remember the name!

So here is a method to focus your web site.

Have fewer links on your home page. Put some of the links that were on your home page into your other pages. This will make people click from your home page to one of the other pages of your web site. Then make sure each link is related to what you are discussing on that particular page.

Be more focussed. People will stay longer at your site. They will not be inclined to leave on the first link they see. Get them interested in what YOU are offering not what someone else is offering.

Less links means more profits.