Random internal links, bad for SEO?

[AxelH]

Just a quick question.

I have an ecommerce website and on each product page I have internal links to other similar products.

Let's say that a product has 100 similar products. Adding internal links to 100 products would look really spammy, so instead of linking to all of them I randomly add links to 10 similar products on every page load.

Would this be bad for SEO? Every time the Google bot visit a product page there will be different internal links.

I am thinking that there might be to scenarios:
1. It's good because it will trigger some kind of freshness factor.
2. It's bad because the site structure changes every time the Google bot visit the page.

 

[tazarbm]

Would this be bad for SEO? Every time the Google bot visit a product page there will be different internal links.

big ecom, and classified ads sites do this all day long, I don't think it will be an issue

1. It's good because it will trigger some kind of freshness factor.

it's the same as related posts for blogs, so again, I don't think it's bad

 

[NeedMyLink]

Dynamic linking can be tricky. It's less about randomness and more about context and user journey. If each product link adds value for the user and makes sense semantically, it can work. Watch crawl budget though, as Google might not re-crawl all variations.

 

[Titans]

Adding links to similar products won't affect your site. But don't overdo with that.

 

[tylero]

I randomly add links to 10 similar products on every page load.

This is not good at all even for user experience. Also Googlebot creates a vector checksum of a page after crawling; if it changes without a change in the timestamp of the page, you would likely loose rankings.

 

[webarehosting]

Just a quick question.

I have an ecommerce website and on each product page I have internal links to other similar products.

Let's say that a product has 100 similar products. Adding internal links to 100 products would look really spammy, so instead of linking to all of them I randomly add links to 10 similar products on every page load.

Would this be bad for SEO? Every time the Google bot visit a product page there will be different internal links.

I am thinking that there might be to scenarios:
1. It's good because it will trigger some kind of freshness factor.
2. It's bad because the site structure changes every time the Google bot visit the page.

its not a issue you can do it

 

[blackbeans]

Yes and no.

Yes, it would be bad for SEO if the internal link that you posted featured a keyword that has nothing to do with the content that it is supposed to contain.

Remember, you're linking to another page using a keyword.

If that keyword is unrelated to the content of that page, this may be counter against you.

On the other hand, if you're talking about a broad topic and then you mention a keyword that is accurate and it's backed up by accurate content in passing, it might act as a "contextual link diversification."

This may be okay but don't overdo it.

 

[Skratch2k]

I do that all the time for my programmatic SEO sites. I put 5-10 links to random posts (of the same category, of course - which would be analogous to your product categories, I guess) in the sidebar. And if you have enough products in your ecom site, you'll have internal links to all products in the end. I have never had any issue with that approach.

 

[Virtualfund]

I don't think it would be too much of a problem, but you'd better not do it.

 

[2Index]

you are doing everything right. most of the major players in this market do exactly the same

 

[CallistoSEO]

Just a quick question.

I have an ecommerce website and on each product page I have internal links to other similar products.

Let's say that a product has 100 similar products. Adding internal links to 100 products would look really spammy, so instead of linking to all of them I randomly add links to 10 similar products on every page load.

Would this be bad for SEO? Every time the Google bot visit a product page there will be different internal links.

I am thinking that there might be to scenarios:
1. It's good because it will trigger some kind of freshness factor.
2. It's bad because the site structure changes every time the Google bot visit the page.

nope its all right as it would help your site build good backlink profile for each page rather then been empty .

 

[praetserge]

Nothing wrong with linking to similar products... it's a normal practice.

Just think for yourself... you run a blog and have 5 latest posts in the sidebar... every time you add a new post all your blog pages will change.

 

[1SEOWarrior]

Don't always take references from big websites. Even if they don't give Htag they might rank, even if they rank for keywords which are invisible in the content as well.

So, try to keep things as much relevant as possible.

 

[Rankon Guru]

While including related products on the same page won't hurt SEO, product display shouldn't discourage customers from placing an order.

 

[RMX]

You can try and see the impact it has on your website. Monitor the results before and after

 

[randyseoppc]

You're correct, randomly adding internal links on every page load isn't the most effective SEO strategy. While it might signal freshness to Google, this is outweighed by potential drawbacks such as confusing link structure and diluting content value. A better approach involves selecting the most relevant similar products to link to on each page, providing users with valuable navigation options and maintaining consistency for search engine understanding. Additionally, strategic rotation of these links can offer variety without sacrificing clarity. By prioritizing relevant internal linking, you enhance user experience and establish a clear website structure, ultimately benefiting your SEO efforts.

 

[njbox]

Just a quick question.

I have an ecommerce website and on each product page I have internal links to other similar products.

Let's say that a product has 100 similar products. Adding internal links to 100 products would look really spammy, so instead of linking to all of them I randomly add links to 10 similar products on every page load.

Would this be bad for SEO? Every time the Google bot visit a product page there will be different internal links.

I am thinking that there might be to scenarios:
1. It's good because it will trigger some kind of freshness factor.
2. It's bad because the site structure changes every time the Google bot visit the page.

Recently I did a case study with WooCommerce website with 400+ products. Let me know and I can send you the casestudy

 

[Aydemanekyn]

Personally, I've always seen random internal links as a bit of a double-edged sword. On one hand, they can help spread link equity and improve crawlability, but on the other, they might dilute the relevance of your content if not used judiciously. It's like walking a tightrope – one misstep and you could plummet in the rankings.As for the CrawlSpider aspect, I believe it's crucial to strike a balance between letting the spiders do their thing and guiding them with a strategic internal linking structure. Think of it as laying breadcrumbs for a hungry spider to follow through your website maze.

 

[huereinbk]

Google’s bots may have difficulty understanding the site structure if the internal links change frequently. This can affect how link equity is distributed across your site.

 

[kyrahileman]

Might have some negative impact on SEO, but I think it can be ignored