We moved links from the sidebar into the body text and passed 4x more equity. Position matters.

We moved links from the sidebar into the body text and passed 4x more equity. Position matters.

A publisher linked to their pillar pages exclusively from a 'Popular Posts' sidebar — same 8 links on every article, boilerplate, sitewide.

We added in-body contextual links to those same pillars from within relevant article text. Same destinations, different placement.

Over 9 weeks the pillar pages climbed an average of 4 positions. The kicker: we A/B-tracked it — articles that got a body link moved; articles where the pillar stayed sidebar-only barely budged.

Google has said for years that links in main content carry more weight than boilerplate. A sitewide sidebar link gets discounted as a template element. A link embedded in a sentence is an editorial vote.

Still stuffing your money links in the sidebar? That's a boilerplate link wearing a costume.