Are links in footers treated differently than paragraph links?

Andres from Boston, MA asks:

"Does Google treat links in footers differently than links surrounded by text (e.g. in a paragraph)?"

This video is part of a "Grab Bag" series in which Matt Cutts, head of Google's webspam team, answers questions from users. We're not currently taking new video questions, so your best bet for getting an answer about webmaster-related search issues is to head to our help forum: http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Webmasters?hl=en

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Google
• links
• footers
• PageRank

[fritzfromlondon]

if you don't want to watch the video - the answer is 'yes'

[DadsonFireORG]

Good God its yes or no Matt! As usual vague.....much more sophisticated.....reserve the right to treat differnt....may, it might not.....You never simply say YES we do treat it different...but disclaimer we reserve the right....you never say anything honestly, yet we have to get our sites found and u want us to be honest.....where is the clear answers they never exist? reserve the right??? come on!

[Artakserksis]

@DadsonFireORG Google's the one who judges you, not the other way around. It should have been obvious actually, since you are watching a video on how to make yourself better for them.

[IMAVEX]

We put links in our header and footer on most sites. We do that so that people can have access to all pages on any page of the website. We actually put a lot on our footers including images, phone numbers, and an address. The footer is a powerful piece of your website... don't waste the space.

[magnetica2288]

@agapitoflores001 if u listened he says they reserve the right, in other words, if they see the need to treat it differently they can

[magnetica2288]

@DadsonFireORG But you would still moan if he did just say "Yes"

[agapitoflores001]

I am a bit confused in what the answer really is. He didn't sat yes nor no.

[TheDeepEndDesign]

looks like a cloaked "yes" to me

[LinkWorxSeo]

The links in the footer are primarily for structure purposes and do not do hold as much significance as the links within the content on the page. As part of proper on page optimization, this is not only for allowing the user to navigate the website easier, but it links your pages internally. While most links within your content use a magnitude of anchor text allowing you to link with multiple types of keywords to other pages the footer usually contains navigational links. Out of space...

[XSAoRAD]

@DadsonFireORG If he gave out clear cut yes or no answers in every video, every viewer would take it as gospel and exploit his tips. So, should Matt say "Yes, links in paragraphs are more valuable than in footers", many people would stuff the links that were in footers, into their paragaphs and look junk.