Have you ever thought about how search engines decide which pages on your website are most important? You see why some links can benefit your site and others can damage it. What’s the magic trick to create a web of links that both benefits the user experience and the search engines’ ranking? Worry, no more! In this blog, you will know about everything related to internal links. In a world full of Search Engine Optimization, links play a very crucial role in guiding search engines and users via a large expanse of content.
To make your content rank on Google it should contain links. Google finds your posts and pages best when they are linked properly on the web.
To get your website to rank on the search engines, it should have proper internal and external linking in it. In simpler words, think of internal and external links as necessary pathways to your digital map. Internal links direct traffic within your website; indeed, external links connect your site to the broader internet ecosystem.
Of course, these links aren’t just about navigation-they are big elements in determining your site’s authority and user experience, leading down to search engine rankings.
Let’s move forward to discuss the internal links in detail.
An internal link is the type of hyperlink that leads to the page or resource on the same website.
It becomes easier for users and search engines to find your content on the website. The users navigate through your site and find out the content they want to find out. They will face difficulty in finding a page if there are no links. For example, you have different types of pages on your website such as About Us, home, shop, blog, etc. All the pages have their links so if they are linked systematically users may find it easily. They connect two pages on the same domain. Know about the types of internal links.
There are various types of internal links in SEO. Below is an infographic explaining every type of internal link:-
Internal Links play a crucial role in allowing users to navigate from one website to another. If your website does not contain a menu or text links it would be quite difficult for them to explore different pages on your website. Search engine crawlers such as Google make use of internal links in SEO to explore new pages on your website. Google uses site links and external incoming links to discover other sources. However, internal links tell Google the page is important and hence might change a page’s ranking and recrawl frequency.
Not only do they help move users and crawlers about your website, but internal links also transfer PageRank (link equity) to any other page from which they are coming. So, every time Page A links to Page B, that means some of PageRank is passed to Page B, thus helping it to get to higher Search Engine Result Pages (SERP) rankings. That is why internal links cannot be ignored as an element in your total On-page SEO strategy.
Let’s understand it with the help of an example, if you link your new blog post from the home page of your blog, you will also facilitate users and crawlers access to that particular post quickly, and PageRank will be also sent from a page with high authority to a newly created one; it will help increase its place in search results.
Now that you have learned about what is internal links, their types, and why it is important to Google let’s move forward with discussing the internal linking best practices.
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Anchor text refers to the text that was clicked on in a hyperlink and the use of descriptive relevant words for both users and the search engines is vital. Instead of generic phrases such as “click here,” use words that describe the content of the linked page-for example, “SEO optimization tips” or “guide to small business accounting“. This makes it easier for Google to determine what a linked page is all about and also ensures that users know what to expect when they click on it.
Although navigation links in your menu are very important, this is not the only way of doing internal linking. Contextual links within your content can nudge readers down deeper and more specific pages. Content links are more natural for users to follow and add additional SEO benefits by connecting them to relevant pages.
Internal links can clutter up a page and are overwhelming to users. Eventually, this may also degrade the value of each link in terms of SEO. Stick to a reasonable amount of internal links per page—generally, 3-5 links within the body content is enough to provide value without being overwhelming for the reader. There’s quality before quantity.
Over time your website may change and could be old, outdated, or even have broken links. At regular SEO audit each link so you can be positive that everything is working okay and taking visitors to the best fitting and relevant information so that the user will have a better experience. Additionally, search engines will be able to crawl through your site more easily. For this, you can use a variety of tools: Google Search Console, and third-party checking software, for example.
As you create new content or edit pages, always look for the chance to add internal links. Think about older, high-value pages that may need more visibility and also connect pages that relate to the topic you are writing about. Internal links distribute traffic and link equity across your site, ensuring that no page goes unrewarded or underutilized.
There are various benefits of internal links. All of them are mentioned in the form of an infographic, so go through the infographic in detail to understand the benefits of internal links.
There are several common mistakes that you should avoid while doing internal linking. Let’s proceed further explaining the mistakes that need to be avoided.
Anchor texts are clickable hyperlinks that take users to other pages within your website. If you make use of descriptive anchor text it will surely help in improving the user experience. For example, if the user clicks on the link below, they would probably be taken to a resource that describes different sorts of internal links.
Broken internal links are those hyperlinks that redirect users to the pages that either cannot be found or do not exist on the website. This is one of the most common mistakes to avoid in internal linking. There are some reasons for which this issue may arise:-
Have you observed when you click on the broken link, you often receive a “404 Page Not Found” message? If yes, then it is called broken links.
Finding busted links on any given page is a major turn-off for users since they ruin the user experience. The bigger frustrated users often mean higher bounce rates or lower overall user engagement.
Internal broken links will lead to dead ends for your web crawlers. Thus, it is challenging for search engines to follow the link structure and hierarchy of your website.
When you move or delete a page, you often end up with dead ends for both the users and crawlers in case proper 301 redirects are not set up. This impacts the flow of link equity, which thus translates to lost SEO value. Always ensure that old links point to relevant, live pages with the proper redirects in place.
Internal linking is a great idea, but stuffing too many links on one page is not a good idea. Overlinking denudes the value of each link and overwhelms the visitor with too many links. Where possible, only include links to essential pages that are highly relevant to their content.
No-following internal links means no equity or crawling. Believe it or not, this is a dangerous approach, since the “nofollow” tag is sometimes useful when linking out, but not helpful for internal links unless there is a specific reason to not pass link equity within your site. Ensure that all of your internal links are “dofollow” so link equity can flow throughout your site.
An orphan page is one that, unbeknownst to you or your website designer, has not been linked from another page. This makes it relatively difficult for the search engines and users to find. Create at least one internal link leading to every page of your site so they’re accessible and valuable to the search engines.
Internal links should be to link appropriate content. Linking non-relevant pages just for the sake of it can confuse both the user as well as search engines. The primary objective should always be relevance while building the internal link to have a seamless user journey and proper site structure.
Click-depth is the number of clicks it takes for a user to get to any given page from the homepage. When these pages are buried deep in the site structure, they tend to be less accessible for both the user and the search engines, as well as fewer crawls and accesses of the pages in less than three clicks from the homepage.
Pages with no external backlinks are deemed as less valuable by the search engines. You’ll be less effective in passing link equity if you build internal links from pages like these. Focus more on linking from authoritative pages, which already have external backlinks, so that that equity flows into your internal pages.
When applying images as anchors, do not forget to include the anchor text. Do not ever utilize alt tags as anchor text because alt tags are there for the description of the image, not for the description of the clickable link. Always provide the image links with descriptive anchor text.
In the case of internal linking within headings, it is a no-brainer but an utter pain for users and search engines alike. Heading tags organize the content hierarchically, and that cluttered with links ruins their readability as well as value in the context of search engine optimization, so keep your internal links in the body text for better clarity.
Some use footer links as part of the site’s general navigation. However, using them solely in the footer is not necessarily a good idea because many users will only scroll to the bottom if necessary, and search engines do place a higher premium on links included within the body of your content.
Proper and useful internal linking distinguishes a well-planned, reader-friendly, and SEO-friendly website. Follow the best practices as described in this article with absolute confidence that the content on your site will be readily navigable with a higher rank in search results. Tools like the Website Link Counter Tool help keep an eye on internal links and make sure you don’t miss great SEO opportunities or overlook broken links.
Internal linking may help support the navigation and usability of users; but more critically, they are a crucial part of building linkable assets for effective link building. Assets like infographics, online tools, ebooks, case studies, etc. let other sites find and link to your content organically, boosting your authority. So, with a smooth internal linking strategy, you will not only enhance the user experience but also the overall SEO value of the site.
At W3era, we are fully aware of the intricacies involved in the construction of an internal linking strategy that works. Talk to us today and ensure your internal linking best benefits your business!
Daily Search Marketing tidbits for savvy pros.
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