How Does Internal Linking Help Your SEO?
Most marketers overlook this common yet effective method to improve your SEO — internal linking.
This is not a form of backlinks.
It is not involved in content marketing.
This aspect is entirely different.
At first, it may not seem much. For instance, can linking to other pages on your website actually get you ranking? The reality of internal linking is that it can help Google index your website faster and boost the rankings of low-volume pages.
So, what exactly are internal links? How do you use them properly? And how can they improve your SEO?
Keep reading, and we’ll give you the answers.
What EXACTLY is Internal Linking?
Internal links are hyperlinks you create to link your current page to a relevant page under the same domain. This is one way to direct your viewers to other pages on your website that you deem would provide related and helpful information.
On the other hand, external links are hyperlinks that you use to direct one website to another. This method is best when you’re doing any credits or citation of a certain reference. Internal link, as the name implies, only allows its viewers to navigate through the pages within your website.
Here is an example:
Aside from internal links, there are several essential SEO ranking factors that you should consider for your website.
If you click on the hyperlink, you would see that it is directed to a relevant blog under the same website. It’s that simple and easy to do. Plus! It’s a guaranteed 100% white-hat strategy.
How Does Internal Linking Help Your SEO?
These internal linking strategies benefit your SEO in two ways:
- It spreads the power of your links, which is known as link equity.
- It helps you improve your site architecture.
Let’s talk first about link equity.
Remember how backlinks can boost your website’s authority? Most of those are targeted to major pages of your website. The more quality websites linking back to yours, the more search engines see how valuable your site is. Here’s the thing: you can actually pass on the value through internal linking. You can distribute the link equity throughout the various pages on your website. That way, your hard-earned SEO value on one page won’t just stop there.
The second thing is about site architecture.
It might sound technical at first, but it’s just another term of navigation or sitemap. This refers to how you structure your pages so that visitors can easily navigate through your services.
Internal links are an important aspect when it comes to site architecture since they help both search engines and users to get around your website. The easier it is to navigate, the more valuable it becomes, and the better chances of ranking.
How To Create the Ideal Internal Link Structure
Now that you know the significant benefits of internal linking, you might be tempted to put those links everywhere. But don’t do that.
Linking every word to various pages will only get you penalised by Google. Instead, you need to research and create the right strategy that can spread the authority to pages with a few or no links at all. To check the backlinks present on a page, you may use SEMRush‘s Backlink Analytics tool or the Backlink Checker by Ahref.
Is There a Thing Such As Too Many Links?
There is no definite number as to how many links you should have per page. Generally, three to four internal links are considered a suitable number. Some marketers would say you can go up to 10 or 20 links if you have a lengthy post. Either way, what matters is how you properly placed your internal links that can help the users navigate through your site easily.
Start Linking Your Pages
Internal linking is an easy task to accomplish that can have significant results. You might not see it in an instant. However, once your home page has built enough authority, you’ll thank yourself you did some internal linking now that other pages can benefit from it too.
Still a little confused? Talk to an expert. Tailored SEO is a digital marketing agency packed with experts who know SEO like the back of their hand. This includes putting those internal links in the right places. Contact the team to learn more about their services.
Richard is the owner and head of digital at Tailored SEO. He has worked in the digital marketing space for over 10 years and has worked with a wide range of clients.