By : #1 Google wants websites to be user friendly
A big part of being user friendly is navigation. This is because navigation conducted in a poor way is very frustrating for a user and will often result in a user leaving the website. On the other hand, if the user can bounce around from the landing page to the various pages that interest him or her then the website is a pleasure to use (ergo is more user friendly).
If a website is more user-friendly then it is in the interest of Google to put it higher up the search engine results pages. If two websites have the same content theme, same keywords, and same use, but one of them is easier to navigate, then Google will look better if it ranks the easy-to-navigate website higher. It makes the search engine results more useful so people will keep coming back.
#2 Anchor text describes what a web page is about
Whether it is on internal links or backlinks it is still useful for describing the content or the meaning of a web page. The title is probably the only thing that trumps anchor text when it comes to describing the meaning of a web page. Back in the old days the Meta description would have served as the best indicator of page content, but Google lowered its meaning when they discovered people were just filling the Meta description with poorly writing keyword stuffed content.
Anchor text is supposed to encourage people to click, which means it has a bigger duty to be accurate. Google can safely assume that you will not write “Buy your socks here” on anchor text for a web page that leads to a currency calculator. That is why anchor text is regarded as a clue to the content of a web page by the Google search engine.
#3 Three internal links per page
This is good because if you ever have any broken links for a page then you still have two spare so that the page is not lost to the search engines or the users. When you have more internal links it gives Google more of a clue as to what your website is all about, and if your anchor text has keywords that match the Meta tags of the pages it lands on, then the keywords are highlighted in the eyes of Google.
#4 Different types of navigation links are okay
This does not mean insert JavaScript links for pages you want indexing because Google won’t index the links. But, it does mean you can have links coming from page elements, widgets, images, video and even audio files.
#5 The links you point outwards may reflect on your SEO
This is one of the more recent updates and it indicates that the links pointing out of your website may affect your SEO. This may be because some people are creating mini-link farms with their websites and Google are trying to stop it.
#6 The three click rule should apply
This means that the user should be able to find what he or she is looking for within three clicks. It is not an iron cast rule but it is worth keeping in mind if you want your website to be more useable and have search engine friendly navigation .JavaScript and other widget links are not search engine friendly but may be used to hide a page or two if that is what you want to do (though doing that may also be search engine unfriendly too).
#7 Your search bar should be highly effective
In other words it should help people find the web page they want as quickly and effectively as possible. If people still have to search through pages of results to find what they want then you are failing.
#8 Having internal links present on your web pages is good in general SEO terms
Just having internal links listed on your web pages is good for your SEO. It shows that you are trying to make your website easier to navigate. It also shows that you are not trying to railroad or funnel people too strongly.
#9 Your website is crawled easier if the navigation is good
If there are more internal links then Google finds it easier to crawl your website. The crawlers move using your links, so the more there are then the more efficient the crawlers become. There is also less chance of them stopping before the entire site has been crawled.
Kate Funk is a writer and blogger of Aussieessay . She is the author of numerous essays on SEO, internet, marketing.
