We all know that external links are the cornerstone of SEO. Indeed, the building of external links from trusted, high domain authority sources is the bread and butter of SEO agencies.
But business owners and webmasters keen to scramble upwards on Search Engine Results Pages may not give quite as much thought to their internal links.
After all, broken internal links are a notorious SEO red flag, and the fewer internal links we have, the less propensity there is for something to go wrong if the website needs restructuring. And it’s not like internal links make that much of a difference to rankings, right?
Wrong.
Internal linking is one of the most effective on-page strategies you can implement to boost your SEO. And the real tragedy is that so many people out there don’t know it.
In this post we’ll take a close look at one of the most effective and under-appreciated SEO tactics in the business, why search engines value it so highly and how to make sure you do it right…
In this post you’ll have these questions answered:
- What are internal links?
- Why do search engines (Google) love internal links?
- What are the best SEO practices for internal links?
- What are the best WordPress plugins for internal links?
What Is An Internal Link?
Unlike an external link that goes to another website, an internal link is one that navigates away from the page that the user is currently on to another page in the same domain.
And what is internal linking?
Internal linking is the practice of connecting different pages within a website through hyperlinks. It helps improve website navigation, user experience, and search engine optimization.
By interconnecting relevant content, internal linking enhances website structure and helps search engines understand the website’s hierarchy and importance of various pages.
Blogs use them all the time to navigate users away from a post and towards related content on your website that they might find useful.
So, for example, if we were to link you to this post featuring our Ultimate Link Building Manifesto For SEO Agencies, that’s an example of internal linking unfolding before your very eyes.
Abracadabra!
Internal links are useful for users, helping them to navigate towards relevant content easily and keep moving through your website. And if something improves the User Experience (UX), you can bet search engine crawlers will notice.
This brings us to our next point…
Why Search Engines Love Internal Links
Not only can internal linking help you to propel yourself upwards in SERPS, but it can also help you to do it quickly and easily. As in… really quickly! Don’t believe us? If you have two and a half minutes to spare, take a look at this video to find out how.
[blockquote background=”#fff7dd”]
[/blockquote]
Internal links encourage users to spend more time on the page and move around more within your website as they move from one relevant page to the next.
The increase in results from the engagement metrics is a clear indicator to search engines of the quality of your content.
Not only that, but when a page has a high volume of internal links, it sends a clear signal to search engine crawlers of that page’s relative importance.
What’s more, they’re crucial in helping search engines discover new content.
Whenever you add a new page to your website, you’re likely to link to it somewhere internally, whether it’s your homepage, navigation bar, or elsewhere.
If you don’t, users won’t be able to find your webpage – and neither will Google!
When new internal links are added, it’s a signal to search engines to crawl for new content that spins off from pages they’ve already indexed.
The better search engines understand your content, its importance and its relevance to users the better able they are to rank it.
If search engines properly understand your intenral linking and how your content relates to each other you can increase your semantic SEO.
Best Practices For Internal Linking
Hopefully at this point you’re sold on the power of internal linking. But like all things SEO, it needs to be implemented strategically; there are a number of internal linking best practices that you shoudl follow.
Get it right and you could not only climb rapidly in rankings but you could enjoy a boost in traffic of up to 40%.
Let’s take a look at some best practice tips to ensure that you get the most out of your internal links.
Implement a crawlable link structure
This crosses over into the realms of technical SEO.
Search engine crawlers are clever, but like any automated script, they’re defined by certain operational parameters.
They can go from A to B to C easily enough.
But don’t expect them to find their way from A to D to F to B and back to A again.
As such, your website needs a crawlable link structure that allows crawlers to move back and forth.
Think of your website as a pyramid with your homepage at the highest point.
Internal links should then cascade downwards and outwards to various categories and subcategories. This will help crawlers and users alike to get easy access to the content they need.
[blockquote background=”#fff7dd”]Here are some practical tips on creating a crawlable link structure;
-
- Make sure all your most important pages are accessible from your homepage
- Remember that links that are only available through internal search boxes cannot be accessed by crawlers
- Avoid links that are only accessible by Java, Flash (which is on its way out anyway) and other plugins.
- Remember that crawlers limit the number of internal links they will crawl to. No page should contain more than 150 internal links.
[/blockquote]
Think long and hard about where internal links go
It stands to reason that you want to funnel traffic towards your highest converting pages- the ones that make you the most money or generate the most leads.
These might be opt-in forms or pages with affiliate links or even product pages.
In any case, you’ll want to make these internal links more ubiquitous than, say, a link from one blog post to another.
This means them in your navigation bar, sidebar, or another prominent place.
By making them easier for users to navigate you’ll also demonstrate to search engines that these are the pages that generate the most interest and rank them accordingly.
Use relevant anchor texts
Many are not aware of the importance of anchor text. Your ‘anchor text’ is the keywords you attached your URL to.
Just to clarify, the text you use in your anchor text is an extremely important ranking factor.
The more relevant your anchor text to the content in the URL that it represents, the more likely users are to click on the link, navigate to the page, and actually engage with it rather than bouncing straight back.
Search engine crawlers also understand anchor text and use it to determine what the page content is about.
Choosing the right keywords for your anchor text is essential.
They help to show users and crawlers alike that the page they’re about to navigate to is relevant.
As a result, whenever you add a new page or post to your website, you should add internal links through any relevant keywords on existing pages.
It’s good practice to use Google to find instances of relevant keywords throughout your website which you can use as anchor text on which to use internal links.
You can do this by using the ‘site:’ operator on your own site. Then add a relevant keyword and you’ll find pages that could link to your new content.
So if we were going to search for every time we mentioned ‘internal links’ on the FATJOE website, we’d enter the following into Google:
site:fatjoe.com “internal links”
Repeat this process every time you post new content and your website will be a powerhouse of internal links.
Embrace the power of plugins
While the above process is the best way to keep adding relevant internal links to your website, it can be a time consuming and frustrating process.
Fortunately, if your website is one of the 1.3 billion active WordPress sites on the internet today, plugins can make your life a whole lot easier.
Using an internal link generator plugin like LinkWhisper can make it quicker and easier to insert internal links based on keywords.
The plugin suggests (or whispers) contextual link opportunities and makes it quick and easy to implement.
Master internal linking and you’ll find that your rankings see a speedy and definitive improvement in rankings.
Internal Linking FAQs
What Is An Internal Link?
Unlike an external link that goes to another website, an internal link is one that navigates away from the page that the user is currently on to another page in the same domain.
What Is Internal linking?
Internal linking is the practice of connecting different pages within a website through hyperlinks. It helps improve website navigation, user experience, and search engine optimization.
By interconnecting relevant content, internal linking enhances website structure and helps search engines understand the website’s hierarchy and importance of various pages.
How To Build Internal Links For SEO?
To build effective internal links for SEO, start by mapping out your website’s structure and organizing your content logically. Identify the main pages you want to prioritize and strategically link them within your site’s content. Use descriptive anchor text, focusing on relevant keywords, to assist search engine crawlers in understanding your content. Remember to ensure a balanced link distribution and regularly monitor and update your internal links for optimal SEO performance.
How Many Internal Links Should A Page Have?
The number of internal links a page should have varies based on its content and purpose. There is no specific optimal number, as it depends on the page’s length, structure, and user experience. Instead, focus on providing relevant and helpful internal links that enhance navigation, support information flow, and improve user engagement.
Become a Pro at SEO
Join 65,000 others and learn the secrets to SEO success with our weekly blog posts.
