Did you know that internal linking is one of the most important aspects of your website? Do you have pages that aren’t getting enough traffic, or aren’t ranking high enough?
The answer is almost always yes. It’s easy for your website to wind up with orphaned pages that readers can’t find, and Google sees them as disconnected and unimportant.
Simply put, internal linking is the answer your looking for.
In this post, you’ll learn what internal linking is, why these links are important, how to use them, and how to incorporate them into your site structure for SEO and readers.
What is Internal Linking?
Internal linking is the practice of linking from one page to other pages within the same website. It is an important aspect of SEO (search engine optimization) because it helps search engines understand the structure and hierarchy of a website, and it helps users navigate the website more easily.
There’s always a lot of discussion about the importance of back links, but the truth is that internal links are equally important. Maybe even more important.
Why? Because internal linking not only helps search engines understand your website’s hierarchy and what is about, but they can keep your readers stay on site longer.
Why Are Internal Links Important for SEO?
One of the main benefits of internal linking is that it helps search engines discover and index new pages on your website. When you link to a page within your own website, you are essentially telling search engines that the linked page is important and should be included in their index.
This is especially helpful for smaller websites or websites with a lot of deep-level pages, as it can be more difficult for search engines to discover and index these pages without the help of internal links.
Internal linking also helps to distribute the “link juice,” or authority, of a website to other pages. When a page on your website has a lot of high-quality external links pointing to it, it will have a higher page authority and will rank higher in search engine results.
By linking to this high-authority page from other pages within your website, you can pass some of that authority on to those pages, which can help them rank higher as well.
Benefits of internal linking for website navigation and user experience
First and foremost, internal linking helps users navigate a website more easily. By linking to related pages within your own website, you can help users find more information on a particular topic and keep them on your website longer.
This can lead to lower bounce rates and higher engagement, which can have a positive impact on your search engine rankings.
Internal linking can also improve the overall organization and structure of a website. By linking to pages within your website, you can create a clear hierarchy and make it easier for users to find what they are looking for.
This is especially useful for larger websites with a lot of content, as it can be difficult for users to find specific information without a clear navigation structure.
How to Use Internal Links?
- Create inbound links from your current articles to other relevant content on your site. This not only encourages site visitors to stick around, but also provides them with a framework for discovering additional facts about the areas of interest covered by your site. Having content that is interesting, compelling, and includes calls to action also helps direct customers to your sales offer. A customer’s willingness to buy from you grows with every minute they spend reading your content on your site.
- Please don’t use the phrase “click here” when referring to your links on your website. You should link to relevant pages so that search engines will recognize the terms you use in your links and reward you with a higher page rank. There is no value to be gained from using the words “click here” in a search because they are not descriptive.
- Improve the effectiveness of your site’s links by including more of them. Rather than just using the article’s name as a hyperlink on a content page, which may not carry much weight with search engines, use a more descriptive phrase. If you’re linking to a page about pet collars, incorporate the Use all four words, “how to make soap,” in a hyperlink to direct readers to a page explaining the process.
Main Benefits of Internal Linking
- Increase your site’s page rank by incorporating internal links.
- As was previously mentioned, internal links provide visitors with a taste of what they can expect to find on other pages throughout your site. This makes your site more user- and search engine-friendly, which ultimately benefits your readership.
- Websites with well-structured internal linking structures are more easily crawled and indexed by search engines. More of your site’s content will be indexed by search engines thanks to the improved navigation provided by the new links.