Are absolute links better than relative links for seo?

Believe it or not, the subject for this post is a query string that keeps showing up in SEO Theory’s search referrals. I think people are reading this post on internal linking technical tips for SEO where I wrote:

Of course, I recommend that you use the traditional HTML structure but I also prefer the use of absolute URLs (where you start the link with http://) for a variety of reasons. First, if you fall into the lazy habit of using relative URLs, you end up with canonicalization issues. Your internal links for your root URL will all end with “index.html” but your external links will in many if not most cases just use your domain name.

That doesn’t really answer the question, however, of whether “absolute links are better than relative links for SEO”.

Technically, it doesn’t matter, and I think I have always said so. A search engine will do it’s level best to resolve all relative links correctly. But there are occasions when a search engine programmer’s resolution logic might fail. For example, suppose you put content on both your secure (https) and unsecure (http) Web URLs. If you’re using relative URLs to link to certain files that are only located on one or the other site, you’ll not only create some Error 404 situations, you’ll find it difficult to track down what is going on with your search indexing.

A lot of people use multiple formats for relative URLs, and those multiple formats can be confusing and create problems if you move content around your site. For example, if you move a page to a higher directory you’ve just broken all your links starting with “../”. That tells the search engines (and Web browsers) to look in the wrong place for related content.

In and of themselves relative URLs work just fine for search engine optimization but they assume an illusory flexibility that actually impedes your ability to manage your internal linkage properly. It’s always easier to update absolute URLs than to update a mixture of relative URL formats.

People are also searching for SEO internal linking. The intent behind that query is not clear, but I would guess that people are looking for “internal linking tips for SEO” or “how to SEO your internal linking” or something along those lines.

Here is a concise list of internal linking rules I usually (but not always) abide by. Consider these the official SEO Theory “SEO Tips for Internal Linking” in bullet point format:

1. Always use absolute URLs to ensure your links are pointing to the right documents regardless of where your pages go
2. Use HTML text links in as many places as possible (especially as alternatives to image, flash, and Javascript links)
3. Always use relevent, descriptive anchor text in your internal navigation
4. Always provide at least TWO internal navigation systems (three is better if you can include site search)
5. Always include cross-promotional (internal) links in your content wherever it is relevant
6. Always use a tiered design for any site larger than 15-20 pages to help emphasize which of your pages are most important
7. It’s a good idea to put rel=nofollow on user-generated content like profile pages and other pages where outbound links you don’t review may be placed by anyone
8. NEVER use rel=nofollow on “About us” and “Contact Us” pages

Can you do more with internal links for search optimization? Sure, but everything else is optional. For the most part, these are the rules I adhere in my own personal Web architecture and these are the strengths (and weaknesses) I look for in other people’s site architectures.

There are a lot of people trying to answer the question “are absolute links better than relative links for SEO” but they don’t really discuss “SEO internal linking” concepts when addressing the first question. As far as I am concerned, the two ideas are closely related. If you want to understanding how to optimize internal linking, you need to understand the advantages and disadvantages of using absolute URLs versus using relative URLs.