Internal Linking Strategy: Boost SEO & User Experience (Without the Headache)

Before your content can truly shine and climb the search engine ranks, it needs links. Google finds your posts and pages best when linked to from somewhere on the web. But the links you control, the ones within your own site using an internal linking strategy, are arguably the most important. Internal links connect your content and give Google a clear idea of your website's structure. They can establish a hierarchy on your site, allowing you to provide the most important pages and posts with more link value than other, less valuable pages. So, using the right internal linking strategy can significantly boost your SEO! In this article, we'll explore the importance of internal linking, how to approach it strategically, and how tools can help you optimize your internal linking strategy.

What are Internal Links?

An internal link is simply any hyperlink on your website that points to another page on the same website. Users and search engines use these links to navigate your site and discover new content. For users, internal links create a seamless browsing experience. For search engines, they act as pathways to index your site and understand the relationships between different topics. Think of them as roads connecting different cities within your digital landscape.

There are several types of internal links, each serving a specific purpose:

Navigational Links: These are typically found in your main menu, header, or footer. They help users quickly access core pages like your homepage, about page, or contact page.
Contextual Links: These are embedded within the body of your content, linking to related articles, product pages, or other relevant resources.
Footer Links: Found at the bottom of your pages, footer links often lead to legal pages, sitemaps, or other important but less frequently accessed information.
Sidebar Links: Common on blogs, sidebar links can showcase popular posts, related articles, or calls-to-action.
Image Links: Images can also act as internal links, directing users to relevant pages when clicked.

Contextual links are especially powerful. They point users to interesting and related content, keep them on your site longer, and allow search engines to determine what content on your site is related and its value. The more links a significant page receives, the more important it will seem to search engines. Therefore, good internal links are crucial to your SEO.

Internal Links vs. External Links: What's the Difference?

Every website, whether it's a sprawling e-commerce platform or a personal blog, consists of both internal and external links. Understanding the distinction is crucial for effective SEO.

Internal Links: Connect pages and posts within your website. They keep visitors within your domain and help search engines understand your site structure.
External Links: Connect your pages to other websites. They're useful for citing sources, providing context, or directing users to external resources.

This article focuses primarily on internal links and their significance for SEO. While external links, or backlinks, play a vital role in establishing domain authority, mastering internal linking is a foundation for a successful SEO strategy.

Why are Internal Links Important for SEO?

Internal linking is an essential factor for Google and other search engines. But why? Google follows links to discover content on websites and to rank this content in the search results. If a post or page gets many links, this signals to Google that it’s an essential or high-value article. This counts for internal as well as external links.

Internal linking is something you control as a site owner. You'll guide visitors and Google to your most important pages with the correct internal links.

Improved Crawlability: Search engine bots, like Googlebot, crawl websites by following links. Internal links act as pathways, allowing bots to discover and index all your site's content, including pages that might be buried deep within the site structure.
Enhanced Understanding of Site Structure: Internal links help search engines understand the relationships between your pages and the overall architecture of your website. This clarity allows them to better categorize and rank your content.
Distribution of Link Equity: Think of "link juice" or "link equity" as the authority and value that a page possesses, based on its backlinks and other factors. Internal links help distribute this value across your website. By linking from high-authority pages to less authoritative ones, you can boost their ranking potential.
Increased User Engagement: Well-placed internal links encourage users to explore related content, spend more time on your site, and ultimately, convert.
Improved Keyword Targeting: Strategic anchor text (the clickable text of a link) can help search engines understand the topic of the linked page and improve its ranking for relevant keywords.

In essence, a well-executed internal linking strategy strengthens your website's overall SEO performance by improving crawlability, structuring your site, distributing link equity, engaging users, and refining keyword targeting.

Internal Links Establish Relationships Between Content

Google crawls websites by following internal and external links using a bot called Googlebot. This bot arrives at the website’s homepage, renders the page, and follows the first link. By following the links, Google can work out the relationship between the various pages, posts, and other content. This way, Google finds out which pages on your site cover a similar subject matter.

For example, if you have a blog post about "best hiking boots for beginners," you can link it to related content like "hiking safety tips," "essential hiking gear," and "best hiking trails near me." These links tell Google that these pages are topically related and should be considered together when determining search rankings.

Internal Links Help Search Engines Better Find Your Content

As websites grow in size and complexity, orphaned content becomes an issue for many. Orphaned content refers to pages on your website that have no internal links pointing to them. This issue is because search engines can’t find and index them without any internal link to lead the Googlebot to these pages.

Even though websites nowadays have sitemaps that list the URLs of most pages, search engines may take a long time to reach these pages eventually. This is especially true for very big websites that take a lot of resources to crawl or newly created sites that don’t get visited often by Google. Adding internal links to your newly published pages provides search engines with more ways to reach that content.

Link Value

In addition to understanding the relationship between content, Google divides link value between all links on a web page. Often, a website’s homepage has the most significant link value because it has the most backlinks. That link value will be shared between all the links on that homepage. The link value passed to the following page will be divided between the links on that page, and so on.

Therefore, your newest blog posts will get more link value if you link to them from the homepage instead of only on the category page. And Google will find recent posts quicker if they’re linked to from the homepage.

When you understand that links pass their link value on, you’ll understand that more links to a post mean more value. That’s because Google deems a page with lots of valuable links more important; you’ll increase the chance of that page ranking.

Setting Up an Internal Linking Strategy: A Step-by-Step Guide

It’s crucial for your SEO to evaluate and improve your internal linking strategy regularly. It’s one of the ways to improve the fitness of your website. By adding the right internal links, you make sure Google understands the following:

the relevance of pages
the relationship between pages
the value of pages

When setting up your internal linking strategy, you must consider several things. How you go about it depends on your site and goals, but the following steps are a good rule of thumb.

Determine the Ideal Structure for Your Site:

We always advise website owners to imagine their website as a pyramid. On top of it is your homepage; below are some sections or categories, and further down are individual posts and pages, possibly with subcategories in between.

Your website’s menu should reflect this structure if you do it well.
Decide What Your Most Important Content Is:

It would help if you determined what your most important content is. In short, it’s your best and most complete content about the core of your business. It’s the content you want people to find when searching for topics or products you specialize in.

You must add many links to inform Google that this is your most important content. There are various spots from where you can link to your cornerstone content. Here, we’ll give the most common options, from your post’s copy to your navigation.
Add Contextual Links:

When you’ve written various articles about a certain topic, you should contextually link them. This will show Google – and your users – that those articles are topically related. You can link directly from sentences in your copy or add links at the end of your post.

Moreover, you want to show Google which articles are your cornerstone: your most complete article on this topic. To do so, you must add a link to the cornerstone in all articles on this topic. And don’t forget to link back from the cornerstone to the individual posts.
Link Hierarchical Pages:

If your website has hierarchical pages, link parent pages to their child pages and vice versa. Also, remember to link sibling pages to each other. On a well-organized site, these pages should be related to each other, and connecting them like this makes perfect sense.
Consider Adding a Related Post Section:

You can find many plugins and modules to add complete related post sections to your posts. This is an excellent way to show your posts to more visitors. If you use one, we recommend testing whether the related posts are related. If you’re not sure, linking to posts manually is probably best.
Try Adding Navigational Links:

Besides linking from topically related posts and pages, it’s possible to make your cornerstone content more authoritative by adding links from the homepage or the top navigation menu. It would help if you did this with the posts and pages most important to your business. This will give these posts or pages a lot of link value and strengthen them in Google’s eyes.
Add Links to Your Taxonomies:

Taxonomies, like categories and tags, help you organize your site and help users and Google understand your content. If you have a blog, adding internal links to the taxonomies to which the post belongs could be beneficial. Adding links to the category and tags helps Google understand your blog’s structure and helps visitors navigate related posts more easily.
Add Links to Your Most Recent Posts:

A good practice after you publish a post or page is to link to that newly published post from other content on your site. Of course, the posts or pages that link to the recently published post must be of a similar topic. You shouldn’t just link to this new post from a random post or page on your site.
Consider Adding Links to Popular Posts:

The last option to mention is creating internal links to your website’s most popular posts or pages. Create these sections in your website’s sidebar or footer to appear on all pages and posts. As link value passes to these most popular posts from many different pages, they get a boost. Besides, the posts will be more accessible for visitors, increasing traffic – and more traffic is a positive sign for Google.

Methods/Case Study

Let's look at some real-world examples and studies demonstrating the impact of a solid internal linking strategy:

HubSpot: A 2021 case study by HubSpot found that strategically adding internal links to older blog posts resulted in a 13% increase in traffic to those posts. This highlighted the power of internal linking to revitalize existing content.
Neil Patel: Neil Patel's website is a prime example of effective internal linking. By connecting his in-depth guides and blog posts, he creates a seamless user experience and helps search engines understand the relationships between different topics. A 2022 analysis showed that his site's robust internal linking structure contributed significantly to its high rankings for competitive keywords.
Backlinko: Brian Dean of Backlinko is a proponent of the "skyscraper technique," which involves creating high-quality, in-depth content and then promoting it through internal and external linking. His success demonstrates the combined power of great content and a well-executed linking strategy.
E-commerce Internal Linking Success: A 2023 case study on an e-commerce site found that strategic internal linking between product pages and category pages led to a 20% increase in organic traffic and a 15% increase in sales.
Content Audit and Internal Linking Boost: A 2024 analysis revealed that a content audit, followed by targeted internal linking to underperforming pages, resulted in a 25% increase in organic traffic to those pages within three months.

These examples showcase the tangible benefits of internal linking. Whether you're trying to revive old content, establish topical authority, or boost e-commerce sales, a strategic internal linking strategy can be a powerful tool.

Internal Linking in Action: Real-World Examples

Let's examine specific examples of how internal linking can be implemented effectively:

E-commerce Site: An online retailer selling running shoes could link from a category page like "Trail Running Shoes" to individual product pages for specific shoe models. Within the product descriptions, they could link to blog posts about "How to Choose the Right Trail Running Shoes" or "Best Trail Running Techniques."
Blog: A personal finance blog could link from a cornerstone article on "Investing for Beginners" to related articles on "How to Choose a Brokerage Account," "Understanding Retirement Plans," and "Building a Diversified Portfolio."
SaaS Company: A software company could link from their "Features" page to individual feature description pages. Within those descriptions, they could link to case studies showcasing how customers have used those features to achieve specific results.
Local Business: A local bakery could link from their "Menu" page to blog posts about "The History of Sourdough Bread" or "Our Favorite Cake Recipes." They could also link to customer testimonials or online ordering pages.
News Website: A news website covering technology could link from a news article about a new smartphone to product reviews, comparison guides, and articles about the company that manufactured the phone.

These examples illustrate the versatility of internal linking and how it can be tailored to different types of websites and business goals.

Key Elements for Effective Internal Linking: Anchor Text, Dofollow vs. Nofollow

Once you have decided which links should be on a page and which pages should get link value, using the correct anchor text is essential. The anchor text is the clickable text that visitors see.

Anchor Text: Anchor text is the clickable text of a hyperlink. Use relevant and descriptive anchor text to give users and search engines a clear understanding of the linked page's topic. Avoid generic phrases like "click here" or overly optimized, keyword-stuffed anchor text. Aim for a natural and informative approach.
Dofollow vs. Nofollow: All links, both internal and external, have a "dofollow" or "nofollow" attribute. Dofollow links (the default) pass link equity, while nofollow links do not. For internal links, you almost always want to use dofollow links to distribute value across your site. Only use nofollow for internal links if you specifically don't want a page to be indexed by search engines.

If you over-optimize anchor text, you might hurt your website. By over-optimizing, we mean keyword stuffing. Previously, you could give all anchor texts the same keyword, and Google would rank your site higher for that keyword. Nowadays, Google is smart enough to understand that the content around the anchor text says more about the relevancy of a keyword than the anchor text itself. So please ensure the anchor text looks natural in your copy: it’s OK to use keywords but don’t add the same keywords to every link’s anchor text.

Avoiding Common Internal Linking Mistakes

Orphaned Pages: As websites grow in size and complexity, orphaned content becomes an issue for many. Orphaned content refers to pages on your website that have no internal links pointing to them. This issue is because search engines can’t find and index them without any internal link to lead the Googlebot to these pages.
Excessive Links: There's no magic number, but avoid overwhelming users with too many links on a single page. Focus on quality over quantity. The ideal quantity would be what helps guide the user.
Irrelevant Links: Only link to pages that are relevant to the current content. Arbitrary links can confuse users and dilute the value of your internal linking structure.
Broken Links: Broken internal links direct users and search engine crawlers to pages that don’t exist. Deleted pages and mistyped URLs often cause these errors. This leads to 404 errors, which pass no authority.
Inconsistent Anchor Text: Using the same anchor text for multiple pages can confuse search engines and make it difficult to rank for specific keywords.
Nofollowing Important Internal Links: Adding nofollow attributes to important internal links prevents the passing of link equity and can hinder your SEO efforts.
Ignoring User Experience: Always prioritize user experience when implementing internal links. Make sure your links are easy to find, relevant, and contribute to a seamless browsing experience.

Tools to Streamline Your Internal Linking Efforts

Manually managing internal links can be time-consuming, especially on large websites. Fortunately, several tools can help streamline the process:

Google Search Console: Google Search Console has an AWESOME feature that lets you check your internal links.
Ahrefs/SEMrush: Comprehensive SEO tool suites that offer site audits, backlink analysis, and internal linking analysis features.
Yoast SEO (Premium): This popular WordPress plugin includes internal linking suggestions and a text link counter to help you optimize your site structure.
Screaming Frog SEO Spider: A powerful desktop crawler that can identify broken links, analyze site structure, and provide insights into your internal linking.
SurferSEO: AI-powered content optimization platform that suggests internal linking opportunities based on keyword research and content analysis.

By leveraging these tools, you can automate many aspects of internal linking and gain valuable insights into your website's structure.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about internal linking, addressing actual "People Also Ask" questions found in search results:

Q: What are internal links in SEO?

A: Internal links are hyperlinks on your website that connect one page to another page on the same domain. They help users navigate your site, allow search engines to discover and index your content, and distribute link equity to boost rankings.

Q: Are internal links good for SEO?

A: Yes! Internal links are essential for SEO. They help search engines understand your site's structure, crawl your content, and distribute link equity. They also improve user experience and increase engagement.

Q: How many internal links should I have per page?

A: There's no perfect number. Focus on providing a natural and seamless user experience. Add internal links where they are relevant and helpful to the user. Avoid overwhelming users with too many links, and be mindful of link value declines with every new link. The ideal number of links is what helps guide the user.

Q: Does anchor text matter for internal links?

A: Yes, anchor text is important. Use relevant and descriptive anchor text to give users and search engines a clear understanding of the linked page's topic. Avoid generic phrases like "click here" or overly optimized, keyword-stuffed anchor text. Aim for a natural and informative approach.

Q: How do I find internal linking opportunities?

A: There are several ways to find internal linking opportunities:

Manual Review: Carefully review your existing content and identify pages that are topically related.
Google Search Console: Check your internal links report to see which pages have the most internal links and which pages might be lacking.
SEO Tools: Use tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Yoast SEO to analyze your internal linking structure and identify potential opportunities.
AI Content Tool: Leverage AI tools to auto link the related content based on existing keyword and content.

Q: What are orphaned pages and why are they bad?

A: Orphaned pages are pages on your website that have no internal links pointing to them. This makes it difficult for search engines to discover and index them, and they essentially become invisible to users. Orphaned pages are a missed opportunity for SEO and should be addressed by adding relevant internal links.

Q: Should I use nofollow on internal links?

A: Generally, no. Use dofollow for internal links unless you specifically don't want a page to be indexed by search engines. Nofollow links don't pass link equity and can hinder your SEO efforts.

Conclusion

Mastering internal linking is a fundamental aspect of a successful SEO strategy. By following the guidelines outlined in this article, you can create a robust internal linking structure that improves crawlability, enhances user experience, and boosts your website's search engine rankings. Don't underestimate the power of internal linking – it's a key ingredient for unlocking your website's full SEO potential.