But after chatting with an SEO expert, I learned that not all links are created equal. They suggested no-following most of them to keep my site clean and focused.
It made a big difference in how my site performed. I ended up checking out paulgordonseo.co.uk, and his insights really helped me clarify my approach. If you have many site-wide links, it might be worth considering his recommendations. No-following some of those footer links could streamline things for you.