Internal link building is a critical aspect of on-page SEO that is often overlooked. It’s something we’ve written about before, but as it’s possibly my favourite SEO activity, I thought it deserves more attention! Despite it not being on everyone’s radar, it can have a profound impact on your website’s usability, user experience, and search engine rankings. By strategically placing internal links, you can guide visitors through your site, distribute page authority, and help search engines understand your site’s structure. Here’s a comprehensive guide to implementing an effective internal link building strategy and optimising your web pages. But first…
Why Internal Linking is Important
- Improves Navigation and User Experience: Internal links help users find related content easily, keeping them on your site longer, increasing engagement and reducing bounce rates.
- Distributes Page Authority: Internal links pass link equity (or “link juice”) from one page to another, helping important pages rank higher in search engine results.
- Aids Search Engine Crawling and Indexing: Search engines use internal links to discover new content and understand the structure of your site. A well-linked site ensures all pages are indexed properly.
Steps to Implement an Effective Internal Link Building Strategy
Step #1. Create a Site Structure
Start with a solid site structure. Your site should have a clear hierarchy with the homepage at the top, followed by categories, subcategories, and individual pages or posts. A well-organised structure makes it easier to create logical internal links (and makes your website easier to use which can greatly improve conversion rates).
Step #2. Identify Key Pages
Determine which pages are the most important on your site. These could be your high-traffic blog posts, cornerstone content, or product pages. These key pages should receive the most internal links to boost their authority. Use a spreadsheet or make a list of these key pages to keep you on track.
Step #3. Use Descriptive Anchor Text
Anchor text is the clickable text in a hyperlink. Using descriptive, keyword-rich anchor text helps search engines understand what the linked page is about. Avoid using generic phrases like “click here” and instead use specific keywords related to the linked content. The phrases you use as anchor text will be the phrases you’re optimising the target page for, so keep this in mind.
Step #4. Link to Relevant Content
Ensure that your internal links point to relevant content. Irrelevant links can confuse users and disrupt their experience. Always link pages that naturally fit together and provide additional value to the reader. For example, in this post about internal linking, we may include links to other posts about search engine optimisation that you, the reader, may be interested in.
Step #5. Balance Your Internal Links
While it’s essential to link to key pages, ensure a balanced approach. Over-linking to a single page can appear spammy and may not provide the best user experience. Distribute your internal links evenly across your site.
Step #6. Update Old Content
Review your older content and look for opportunities to add internal links to newer pages. This not only refreshes your old content but also helps drive traffic to newer, potentially more relevant pages. Blog posts are a great place to start as they usually contain relevant content that can easily be linked back to your key pages.
Step #7. Use Breadcrumbs
Breadcrumbs are a type of secondary navigation that reveals the user’s location in a website. They improve user experience and SEO by providing clear navigation paths. Implement breadcrumbs to enhance internal linking and site structure.
How to Easily Optimise Web Pages Using Internal Links
1. Conduct a Link Audit
Perform an internal link audit to assess the current state of your internal links. Identify pages with few or no internal links and look for opportunities to improve your internal linking strategy. Tools like Screaming Frog, Ahrefs, and SEMrush can help you conduct a thorough audit.
2. Add Links to New Content Immediately
Now you know about the importance of internal links, when you publish new content, add internal links to it from relevant existing pages right away. This helps search engines discover your new content quickly and ensures it starts receiving link equity from the get-go.
3. Utilise Content Hubs
Something we didn’t cover in our last article on internal linking – content hubs! Content hubs or topic clusters are a great way to organise your internal linking strategy. Create a central hub page around a broad topic and link out to detailed sub-pages. This structure enhances topical relevance and improves your site’s SEO. Use tools like answerthepublic.com for content hub inspiration.
4. Monitor Link Performance
Regularly monitor the performance of your internal links. Use Google Analytics to track user flow and see how visitors navigate through your site. Adjust your internal linking strategy based on these insights to improve user engagement and SEO over the long term. Remember to look at a large data set, not just activity over the last 7 days! This will rule out any seasonality and give a better picture of what’s happening on your site.
5. Maintain a Consistent Linking Strategy
Consistency is key in internal linking. If you have multiple people creating content for your website, it’s important to establish guidelines for your content creators to follow, ensuring they always include relevant internal links in their content. This helps maintain a strong internal linking structure over time.
Tools to Help with Internal Link Building
Google Search Console
Helps you monitor your site’s presence in Google search results and identify linking opportunities.
https://search.google.com/search-console/about
Yoast SEO
A WordPress plugin that provides internal linking suggestions and helps optimise your content.
https://yoast.com/wordpress/plugins/seo/
Ahrefs
Offers comprehensive site audit tools to analyse your internal linking structure and identify areas for improvement.
https://ahrefs.com/
Screaming Frog
A website crawler that allows you to audit your internal links and understand your site’s link structure.
https://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/seo-spider/
Implementing a robust internal link building strategy is essential for improving your website’s SEO and enhancing user experience. By creating a logical site structure, using descriptive anchor text, and regularly updating your content with new links, you can optimise your web pages effectively. Remember, internal linking is an ongoing process that requires regular monitoring and adjustment. Invest the time to get it right, and you’ll see the benefits in higher search engine rankings and happier users!
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