Internal links are an essential part of SEO because it keeps all of your web pages connected. Think of it as a hallway on your website. No matter where you go, there is a path that connects one “room” to the other. Simple but smart, they give search engines an idea of what your website is about and how you can help your readers. The problem is that only 54 percent of websites have working internal links, the others being completely in the dark.
A good internal linking strategy can keep readers on your website for longer, directing them exactly where you want them to go. It can also put you higher on the search engine results, as the crawlers have an easier time indexing your content. If you wish to master internal linking but don’t know where to start, this article should give you some insight.
What Are Internal Links?
Internal links, as the name suggests, are hyperlinks that direct from one page on your website to another one on the same domain. They are different from external links, which lead to different pages on your website (e.g., an authority journal or a statistic that supports your claim).
Internal links are generally added to relevant keywords (anchors), leading to pages such as your homepage, different blog posts, or even a service page. They help readers familiarize themselves with your platform while helping search engines index you better.
Why Do Internal Links Matter?
Internal links matter for a variety of different reasons, elevating your SEO and increasing your visibility to online users. This is why website owners and managers should consider adding them to their websites.
They Help Search Engines Index Your Website
Internal links are like a pathway that helps search engine crawlers go from one of your pages to another. This is very important for you because those crawlers are what pull your content forward, creating something akin to a table of contents for search engines. Once the website has been “crawled,” search engines will have your data stored and show your content to those who input the appropriate keywords.
They Improve Website Navigation
Crawling is not the only thing that internal links help you with; they aid internal website navigation as well. Even if you have a menu or a search bar, users may not know exactly what to look for when seeking relevant content. Internal linking makes it easily available to them, helping their exploration and keeping them on your website for longer. Google usually rewards this type of positive page experience.
They Suggest Authority
Very often, writers use external links to suggest that they know what they are talking about. However, internal links can be just as useful for this purpose. If you have multiple well-researched blogs on the website, interlinking can show that you already have knowledge on the matter and improve your credibility. If you link to relevant websites that catch on to your readers, search engines will also notice you and pinpoint you as someone with authority.
They Boost Your Ranking
Above everything else, internal linking is something you should do because it gives your SERP ranking a boost. The more people “walk” through your website, the more your traffic increases. This positive activity can help even the older posts rank higher, putting your content high on the search results.
Best Practices for Internal Linking
Internal linking can help improve your SEO significantly, but only when it’s done right. Here are some of the best practices to keep in mind.
1. Use Descriptive Anchor Texts
Anchor texts and internal links go hand in hand, so you should make sure to choose them well. Go for descriptive anchor texts that are relevant to both the link and the context you are putting them in. Otherwise, you’ll just send the readers on wild goose chases, creating a negative browsing experience. Descriptive anchors also help search engines understand your content better, which can further elevate your position on search results.
2. Hyperlink to Relevant Content
Readers are looking for value with each link they click on, so ensure that every page you link to is relevant to the topic. It doesn’t have to be the same thing you are writing about now. For instance, you may be writing a travel blog and link to a blog on the best shoes to take with you while sightseeing. Use a relevant topic for your current context, but take them to a place where they can actually gain value.
3. Put the Important Links at the Top
Around 55 percent of website visitors read a blog post for no more than 15 seconds until they move on to something more interesting. This is why you should post your important links as close to the top as possible. While you don’t have to put them in the first sentence, they should still be somewhere within the first 100 words. This will give you more visibility if the readers merely scan your content.
4. Keep the Anchors and Links Natural-Sounding
While the links should be descriptive, they should also be natural-sounding. You may be tempted to put a bunch of awkward-sounding keywords there that are popular, but in the long run, it can damage your SEO. Google doesn’t like keyword stuffing, nor does it like a high bounce rate. That’s exactly what your readers will do when they see a bunch of anchors that look thrown there: they’ll bounce because they won’t take your content seriously anymore.
5. Constantly Check for Broken Links
An average of 66 percent of links will “break” if you have your website for more than a couple of years. Perhaps you redesigned your website or took down some blogs or categories that were no longer relevant. This is why you should perform regular audits, to make sure that your links are still standing. Otherwise, search engines won’t be able to crawl them, which can affect your SEO.
6. Make the Links Dofollow
When adding internal links, you should mark them as dofollow because the nofollow has no impact on how the destination page is ranked. Google won’t even crawl through nofollow links, so make sure to add that setting. Only use nofollow links for external content, on a guest post, for instance, as they can drive traffic to your website.
7. Add an Appropriate Link Number
Having internal links within your content is important, but remember that there is such a thing as “too many.” For the most part, Google recommends having less than 100 internal links per page, but this also depends on the length of your content. Even half that number could dilute that traffic. A good idea is to add about 2-3 internal links per 1000 words, spread naturally throughout the content.
Things to Avoid when Adding Internal Links
Alongside practices that you should consider adopting, there are also those that you should avoid. This could include the following:
1. Don’t Stuff the Content with Links
Overloading the page with an excessive number of links is also something that should be avoided. While Google does not have a limit, it does recommend keeping their numbers on the lower side. Failing to do so can overwhelm the users and affect your link equity, causing you to lose traffic.
2. Don’t Leave Orphan Pages
Orphan pages are those that have no dofollow links, only providing content for the readers. While Google can still eventually find them based on keywords, they are difficult to crawl, and this can affect their visibility. Make sure that you update the pages so they have at least one internal link leading to somewhere else.
3. Don’t Use Links in Headers
Adding links in headers is also a practice that should be avoided, as it signals spam activity to Google. Many do so because the headers have the largest words and therefore have the highest visibility, but search engines don’t see it as natural. It’s best to keep it in the actual text underneath the heading, as this won’t negatively affect your SEO.
4. Don’t Neglect Mobile Users
Mobile devices hold about 58.67 percent of the traffic, so make sure to optimize your linking for mobile users. The content should be easy to tap and the layout of the overall website should be mobile-friendly. Avoid putting the links too close together or on very short keywords, as this could lead to frustration among mobile users.
5. Don’t Ignore User Experience
Lastly, you should not ignore user experience when inserting internal links. Remember that you are not placing the links for yourself (despite the benefit you reap), but you do it for them. As a result, you should place them where they are most relevant and helpful, a good position preventing high bounce rates.
The Bottom Line
Link building is an essential part of your SEO strategy, but you should do it right if you want it to work. By following the rules we just outlined, you should be able to improve the SEO performance of your website and enhance its crawlability.