Why is my footer full of links and is that a problem
A footer packed with keywords and place names looks like advertising to search engines and deters visitors, but this can be fixed with a few clear choices.
What do we mean by a footer as a link farm
The footer is the section at the bottom of every page on your site. It often contains your address, opening hours and a few handy links. That's fine, because visitors look there for guidance when they're done reading.
Things go wrong when that footer is stuffed with dozens of links to keywords and place names. Think of a row like plumber Utrecht, plumber Amersfoort, plumber Zeist, each linking to the same page with just a different name in it. We call that a link farm: a collection of links that exists only to convince search engines, not to help visitors.
This trick used to work sometimes. Search engines counted links and thought: many links to place names, so this entrepreneur is active everywhere. Those days are gone. Search engines recognise the pattern and see it as a signal that the site is trying to steer rather than inform.
The difference is in the purpose. A functional footer helps the visitor find something: the contact form, the terms and conditions, a few main categories. A link farm footer tries to make search engines believe something. These two goals rarely go together.
How can you tell if things are in order at your site
Scroll to the very bottom of your own site and count the links you see. If there are more than eight or ten, and most of them go to variations of the same keyword with a different place after it, then you likely need to do something about this.
Also look at the text of the links themselves. Do they contain words you would never say out loud to a customer, such as cheap plumber Amsterdam or plumber 24 hour emergency Rotterdam, then that's a sign the links were written for a search engine and not for a human.
Ask yourself about each link: would a visitor miss this link if it weren't there. If not, then the link adds nothing and doesn't belong there. This aligns with what we write about structuring your site, such as with the indexation matrix per page type: every page and every link must have a clear reason to exist.
If you're unsure whether your footer is technically read properly by search engines, also look at how your core content is visible, as explained in the accessibility of content without JavaScript. A footer that is technically invisible can never be recognised as a link farm, but it won't help your visitor either.
What does it cost if this is not in order
The direct risk is that search engines view your entire site with more suspicion. Not just the footer, but also your good, honest pages may score lower as a result. A link farm in the footer is therefore not an isolated problem, it can spread to the rest of your visibility.
There is also a human cost. A visitor who sees a wall of keywords at the bottom of your page doesn't think: what an expert entrepreneur. He thinks: this feels like a site trying to cheat. That is precisely the distrust you don't want to raise with someone who is about to call you.
Moreover, an overcrowded footer dilutes the value of the links that do matter. If you put a hundred links on every page, none of them carries much weight anymore. Whereas a few well-chosen links, for example to your most important services, actually do carry weight.
It's not a matter of a fine or a warning you receive somewhere. It works more insidiously: your site is gradually taken less seriously, without you receiving a clear signal why. That makes it harder to recognise, but no less real.
What needs to happen to put this right
Start by cutting. Remove all links in the footer that exist only as search keyword variants. Keep what a visitor actually needs: contact, address, perhaps a link to your main pages or to a terms page.
Replace quantity with choice. Instead of thirty place names, you can, if it suits your business, create one page that explains which regions you work in. That page can then be accessible from the main menu, not from a stacked footer.
Also look at how the rest of your site is structured. A tidy footer works better together with a clear structure elsewhere, as we discuss in robots.txt and access for search engines. Separate parts of your site affect each other; a link farm in the footer is rarely the only thing that deserves attention.
Leave the new footer in place for a while and look at it with fresh eyes, for example after a week. If you still wonder why a particular link is there, remove it anyway. Doubt is usually a sign that the link is not there for the visitor.
Frequently asked questions
Can I still put a link to my other locations in the footer
Yes, you can, as long as there are a few of them and they are clearly written differently from keyword links. A link with the text 'our office in Utrecht' is functional. A row of twenty place names in a row, all pointing to the same kind of page, is not. It's about number and tone: help the visitor, don't try to convince the search engine.
How many links are allowed in a footer
There is no fixed number that applies everywhere. Think in terms of function: address, contact, possibly a few main categories or legally required pages such as terms. For most small business sites, this means somewhere between five and fifteen links, well below the dozens you see in a link farm.
Can I check this myself or do I need help
You can assess it yourself by looking at the bottom of your own pages and asking yourself whether each link belongs there for the visitor. If you have doubts about the technical side, for example whether search engines can read your footer properly, that is a moment to have someone with know-how take a look.
Further reading
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