Before we go ahead with exploring the topic, let us first know what ‘internal links’ are. Internal links are hyperlinks on a webpage that direct you to another webpage, image, video or document of the same website. Besides, internal linking is very crucial for your website to rank higher in Google searches. Plus, these types of links allow users to navigate a website easily and improve the overall functions of your page.
Why is internal link building important?
Internal link building is both a simple as well as a complicated process. However, it is the best way to uptick your SERPs. When Google crawls a website, it follows both internal and external links using bots. The bot reaches the homepage and starts following the first link it comes across. It helps it to understand the relationship among the different web pages. Usually, the home page carries the bulk of the internal links that adds value to your website. Google crowns higher ranks to websites with more internal links, and so, it is vital to have a robust internal linking strategy.
Benefits of internal links
Internal links help in establishing the architecture of a website. Some of the biggest advantages of internal linking are:
Easy navigation: It helps a user to navigate a website easily.
Noticeable improvement: Spreading the link juice with internal linking, best practices will see an improvement in authority.
Reduce bounce rates: Internal links help to reduce the bounce rate of your website.
Improves website rankings: Internal links help to improve the ranking of web pages and propel overall website rankings.
Best linking practices For 2021
Now that you know about the importance and benefits of internal linking, let us take a closer look at the best practices you can follow to build internal links.
Use natural Links
Internal linking is completely user-focused and should add value to any information. When you are linking, it should make any site visitors pause and read before they move on to the next page. Natural links match the context of the content and users are more likely to click on that link. It helps the visitor to find what they are looking for and also boost your SEO.
Use Relevant Links
Internal links are simpler than one thinks. But you should not use links only because you have to. For example, if you have a page on healthy food, use links that direct users to specific sites about foods rich in vitamins and iron. Since the content overlaps, the link is relevant.
Do not Overdo Your Link Building Strategy
Internal links are valuable, but it does not mean you have to overdo them. While there are no set parameters for the appropriate number of links, it is better to use your judgment while infusing links. Depending on the length of any given page, 5-10 links per page make sense to both your readers and SEO goals.
Use Your Anchor Text
Most SEO professionals do not use exact match anchor text because it can affect external link building. However, with internal links, the story goes differently. You need to be clear about the page you are linking to and match the exact anchor text with natural variations. Besides, these links help search bots understand your website and read the content of the page. For linking anchor texts, use natural sentence fragments to avoid links from looking spammy.
Follow Deep Linking Practise
While building internal links, focus on building links that strengthen the internal pages. Also, avoid linking the ‘contact us’ page unless it is necessary. Generally, your home will already have links that point to the contact us pages. Instead, use links that are present deep within the structure.
Generate Loads Of Content
Develop many internal pages to create lots of internal links for your website. When you have loads of content, you will have ample link building opportunities. Besides, you will not have to worry about complex layers of content to build internal linking structures to your web pages.
Fix The Broken Links
Broken links are part of any SEO, and you cannot avoid them altogether. Now, PageRank evaporates through the ‘no follow’ links. It does not pass through the destination sites and does not redistribute to other links. So, you can use ‘do follow’ links unless you have millions of low-value pages.
Do not Create Crowded Site-Wide Footer Links
Even a few years ago, travel and real estate websites used to include keyword-rich internal links near the footer of their website. When you have a website with thousands of pages, it also generates thousands of spamtastic links. Most search engines will quickly penalize your site for using too many spam links.
By consistently following the internal linking best practices, you will build a strong link profile and improve your overall SEO. That is because SEO is much more than optimizing title tags, adding keywords and building a few links here and there. A planned approach to internal linking can help you to accomplish the goals and amplify the efficiencies.
With the internal link-building strategies, you can reap the best results which are going to take any website way up in the ladder of success. But remembering the ‘don’ts’ of manual link building will keep the websites free from spamming. Just be a little wise and take it slow while building the internal links all by yourself! If this also does not help, seek the help of a manual link-building expert.
