Definition
Blogroll links are links displayed in a blog or website's sidebar, usually as a list of recommended sites or partners. Originally, the blogroll was an organic blogosphere practice: bloggers listed their favorite blogs in their sidebar as a sincere recommendation. However, this practice was massively exploited for SEO because, like footer links, blogroll links are sitewide (present on every page). A single link in a 500-article blog's blogroll generated 500 backlinks. Google has progressively reduced the value of these links and now treats them with minimal weight. When blogrolls are clearly used to manipulate rankings (topically irrelevant links, over-optimized anchors, blogrolls with dozens of links), Google may consider them a link scheme and apply penalties. Organic blogrolls with a few relevant links are not penalized but provide almost no SEO benefit.
Key Points
- Blogroll links are sitewide, artificially multiplying the number of backlinks generated
- Google gives very low weight to sidebar and blogroll links since Penguin
- Blogrolls with dozens of links and optimized anchors are considered a link scheme
- An organic blogroll with a few topically close sites is not penalizing but provides little SEO value
Practical Examples
Organic recommendations blogroll
A food blogger lists 5 cooking blogs they enjoy in their sidebar under 'My Favorite Blogs'. These links are topically relevant and in reasonable number: no penalty risk, but SEO value is minimal.
Manipulative blogroll
A network of 50 blogs mutually adds links in their respective blogrolls with optimized anchors. Each blog averaging 200 pages, this generates a 500,000-link cross-network. Google identifies the pattern and devalues everything.
Frequently Asked Questions
Blogrolls are much less common than during the blogosphere era (2005-2012). Most modern blogs no longer use sidebars with link lists. They still appear on some personal or niche blogs, but their SEO impact is negligible. Modern link building strategies prioritize contextual links within content.
If your blogroll contains relevant links in reasonable number (5-10 max), there is no reason to remove it. If it contains dozens of irrelevant links or optimized anchors, it is better to clean it up or add the nofollow attribute to avoid any risk.
Go Further with LemmiLink
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Last updated: 2026-02-07