Stopping PageRank Dilution When Linking to Large Images from Thumbnails

[ianstephens]

We have currently stumbled upon a scenario that means we may have to link to 50+ product images on a products page.

When I mean link to the images, I mean by using anchor A tags, not IMG tags - for example we display 50 thumbnails using IMG wrapped in a A linking to the larger version of the image.

In terms of stopping PageRank dilution (and of course 50 links on one page to "dead-end" images) is of course a little bit unwise... or is it? Your opinions? I know it may help with Image Search, but we are really focusing on normal search as this is where the real customers are going to be coming from.

What happens to the PageRank that's passed to an image in a link? Is it a "dead-end" where the flow stops? Of course, we'd rather keep the PageRank flowing around the internal pages and not having 50 anchors on one page.

Your thoughts, comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[SoupyRik]

Hi, a "dead end" as you're calling it isn't a bad thing, as long as it's relative. Rename the images to relate to your content and alt tag them and all should be gravy. This will reinforce your keywords, not everything has to be in a loop.

Just remember, content is king (as long as it's relative) be it images, text or other.

Hope this helps.