Critical Links: Remove or Keep
Cyclic references are a part of a hypertext document that refer back to itself. Simply put, when someone clicks on such a reference, the current tab of the web resource simply refreshes. Cyclic references are encountered everywhere, and there is an opinion that they contradict the principles of usability, as a result of which the user experience of interacting with the site in general may also be affected. Let’s delve deeper into the topic to confirm or refute this given hypothesis.
How do cyclic references form?
We will consider the most typical variations:
- Specificity of the site: for example, in the menu or in headings;
- Specificity of the plugin: modules for client comments or reviews can trigger cyclic references;
- Nested elements in the page’s content: it’s impossible to exclude human factors, as during the styling of the content in a web master it may happen accidentally or intentionally that cyclic references are placed “inside” the page.
Do cyclic references bring benefit or harm?
In many articles devoted to SEO promotion, it’s mentioned that cyclic references are the most dangerous mistakes in the formatting of a web resource, which provoke uncontrolled operations. In support of the claim about the necessity of removing cyclic hyperlinks, authors of such publications usually provide the following arguments:
- Unnecessarily consumes bandwidth: if there are many cyclic references, then when scanning the pages, a large part of the time spent on search will be “walking in circles.” This is taken into account when creating the ranking of values;
- The degree of convenience in interacting with an internet platform decreases: if links lead the user to previously loaded pages, navigation on the site becomes confusing and difficult to comprehend.
If cyclic references are placed literally at every step, the user can indeed find themselves confused and “lost” in the tabs. However, the situation is not as frightening as it seems. The main reasons for the “audience drop-off” typically include not cyclic references, but inactive publications, prolonged page loading, unresponsive mobile versions, the presence of multiple “dead links,” and so on. We can conclude that the threat of cyclic links is often exaggerated. Among hyperlinks of a similar type, there are those that do not hinder user experience, but instead enhance it.
Convenient links
Many users have already formed a habit of clicking on the logo or the website’s title to return to its main page. In many cases, this is conditioned by the fact that large trading corporations like Amazon, eBay, etc., have begun to use clickable logos right after entering the electronic commerce platform.
Similarly, the situation pertains to the menu points of the site. Often users can find themselves set to the point that divisions of the web resource will be active. In this case, when a user clicks on the heading and nothing happens, their expectations will be shattered. Evaluate the overall appropriateness of implementing cyclic references, relying on specific examples. If such links can help make the site more adaptable and intuitively understandable, don’t ignore them out of fear of losing functionality.
Inconvenient links
It’s impossible to exclude that active current links can indeed harm the internet platform, making it less ergonomic in interaction. For instance, if they are placed in:
- Product cards, article headings, specific categories;
- The primary text block;
- Order number of the pages;
- Navigation chain on “breadcrumb.”
Cyclic links in any of the mentioned blocks only confuse the user, as the logic of transitions between the pages will be disrupted.
Cyclic links and SEO promotion – interrelation
The standard factor for the presence/absence of cyclic links is not considered during ranking in an obligatory manner. Search algorithms may pay attention to this moment only if the “cyclic” links on the page become extremely numerous. Then the site is likely to drop in search rankings, as the search engine will find it hard to index all pages quickly.
Methods to identify cyclic links
Identifying cyclic links among the lore of excessive mass can be done in two ways:
- Manually;
Hover the cursor over the element that could potentially be clickable and check if it corresponds to the active URL that is visible on the screen to the left below, with the primary address of the page. The discovered match will indicate a cyclic link.
- Automatically.
Special services and programs that detect similar links in full volume with minimal errors can be utilized. However, one can use any of the programs for parsing links (Hacker Target, Bulk Dachecker, etc.). To check the site for cyclic links, it’s necessary to input the domain address into the relevant field and wait for the server to generate a report on all internal and external links of the page. If the primary URL matches outgoing links, they can be identified as cyclic.
Likewise, identifying “dying” links can be done through browser extensions, for instance, Link Clipper for Google Chrome.
Conclusion
Facts confirm that cyclic links do not complicate the bond between the user and the site nor lead the site to lower ranks. On the contrary, their utilization can extract many users. The main rational approach to the matter is understanding where cyclic link usage is appropriate and where it is not.
