To elucidate how the choice of linker affects network microstructure, we computed the colloid-colloid radial distribution function g cc (r) (Fig. ). The quantity N c g cc (r)/V characterizes the average colloid number density a distance r away from a colloid center. Focusing on assemblies with a single linker type, there is stark, qualitative difference between the spacing of colloids when short (M = 2) or longer (M = 5, 8) linkers are employed. The short-linker network's radial distribution function features a sharp colloid-colloid "contact" peak and a nearby second peak corresponding to colloid surfaces separated by the dimer bond. Gels with only longer linkers lacked the contact peak altogether and instead displayed a broader first peak at larger separations, allowing the M = 5 and M = 8 chains to access more configurational degrees of freedom in extended states. Significantly, networks with binary linker mixtures all exhibited the contact peak, the magnitude of which was correlated to the proportion of short linkers present.