How should I be linking to my site..

essex14 · 01-22-2012, 05:30 PM

I have a site ranked on the first page.. I was linkinging to it as

mysite.com/blog

in google it looks like... mysite.com/blog/

When I went to wbmaster tools and fetched my site as a googlebot it comes back as mysite.com/blog redirecting to mysite.com/blog/

So should I start linking using the / sign or continue not using it...

I am confused because google bot fetches mysite.com/blog/ as ok... but I have been linking mysit.com/blog...

Thanks

dburk · 01-22-2012, 05:50 PM

Hi essex14,

Go with the trailing slash as a best practice.

essex14 · 01-22-2012, 06:00 PM

So you're saying start linking as mysite.com/blog/

My rankings shouldn't change not using the slash like I was?

dburk · 01-22-2012, 06:05 PM

Hi essex14,

Canonicalization issues can have serious repercussions on your SEO efforts.

Google can handle the redirect to the proper URL, but there is a cost due to the decay factor. A properly formatted URL will contain a trailing slash or a valid file name (with extension). Google is indexing the proper URL, you need to backlink the proper URL to get maximum link juice from your backlinks.

essex14 · 01-23-2012, 12:17 AM

Ok thanks dburk, how would I in the future know right off the bat which url to link to..
and if I should use the slash..?

01-22-2012, 05:30 PM	#1
essex14 Active Warrior Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 86 Thanks: 7 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	How should I be linking to my site.. I have a site ranked on the first page.. I was linkinging to it as mysite.com/blog in google it looks like... mysite.com/blog/ When I went to wbmaster tools and fetched my site as a googlebot it comes back as mysite.com/blog redirecting to mysite.com/blog/ So should I start linking using the / sign or continue not using it... I am confused because google bot fetches mysite.com/blog/ as ok... but I have been linking mysit.com/blog... Thanks

01-22-2012, 05:50 PM	#2
dburk Senior Warrior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Tampa, Florida Posts: 4,647 Thanks: 163 Thanked 673 Times in 583 Posts Contact Info	Re: How should I be linking to my site.. Hi essex14, Go with the trailing slash as a best practice.
	Don Burk * Get Results - Outsource Your PPC Management * Get a Keyword Domain Name - www.SeriousNames.com

01-22-2012, 06:00 PM	#3
essex14 Active Warrior Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 86 Thanks: 7 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	Re: How should I be linking to my site.. So you're saying start linking as mysite.com/blog/ My rankings shouldn't change not using the slash like I was?

01-22-2012, 06:05 PM	#4
dburk Senior Warrior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Tampa, Florida Posts: 4,647 Thanks: 163 Thanked 673 Times in 583 Posts Contact Info	Re: How should I be linking to my site.. Hi essex14, Canonicalization issues can have serious repercussions on your SEO efforts. Google can handle the redirect to the proper URL, but there is a cost due to the decay factor. A properly formatted URL will contain a trailing slash or a valid file name (with extension). Google is indexing the proper URL, you need to backlink the proper URL to get maximum link juice from your backlinks.
	Don Burk * Get Results - Outsource Your PPC Management * Get a Keyword Domain Name - www.SeriousNames.com

01-23-2012, 12:17 AM	#5
essex14 Active Warrior Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 86 Thanks: 7 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	Re: How should I be linking to my site.. Ok thanks dburk, how would I in the future know right off the bat which url to link to.. and if I should use the slash..?