Should I remove footer links from old client sites?

What Is Sitewide Links? Definition and Examples

Sitewide links are links that sit in a site's template, so they appear on most or all of its pages. Footer credits, blogroll sidebars and "powered by" lines are the common examples. One sitewide link can show up as thousands of backlinks in tools while counting as a single referring domain. Google's spam policies name widely distributed footer and template links as a form of link spam when they are used to manipulate rankings.

Common sources

Agencies, theme makers and software vendors are the usual sources.

"Website by" credits in the footers of client sites
"Powered by" lines on hosted pages, forms or help centers
Theme or template credits
Partner or sister-company links in a footer
Paid footer links sold as "permanent" placements

What Google says

Google lists "widely distributed links in the footers or templates of various sites" among link spam examples. The concern is links placed across many sites to pass credit, especially with keyword-rich anchors. A plain credit with your brand name, or a nofollowed one, is a much lower risk. Google has not published how it weighs individual footer links, and it is commonly assumed they carry less weight than links in body content.

Footer links in client sites

Agencies and SaaS tools that build or host client sites face the same question: should the credit link be followed? The cautious approach is to use brand-name anchor text, make it nofollow if it is a condition of the contract or a free plan, and let clients remove it. A credit that clients chose to keep, linking with your brand name, is unlikely to be a problem.

<footer>
  <a href="https://studio.example/" rel="nofollow">Site by Example Studio</a>
</footer>

Example

A form builder's free plan

An illustrative form builder, Fieldhollow, shows "Made with Fieldhollow" on forms embedded by free users. Every embed creates a link on a customer's site. Because the badge is a condition of the free plan, Fieldhollow marks it nofollow and uses the brand name only, which keeps the referral traffic and avoids the pattern Google describes.

Common mistakes

Keyword anchors in footer credits

"Best CRM software" in thousands of client footers is the textbook version of template link spam.

Reading thousands of backlinks as thousands of votes

A sitewide link usually counts as one referring domain. Tools that report total backlinks inflate its apparent weight.

Questions

If they use keyword anchors or were part of a paid arrangement, it is worth asking for nofollow or brand anchors. Plain brand credits are usually fine.

Sources

Google Search Central: Spam policies for Google web search

Sitewide Links