Internal links connect different parts of your website and are integral to your SEO page ranking. These links help search engines like Google to find, index and understand your Web pages. And they are necessary to show your website's authority, relevance, and content quality.
How do you use internal links to build a better presence on Google? And what are some best practices that you should consider when using them? In this short blog post, we'll be covering that and more.
Internal Links vs External Links
There are two main types of links: internal links and external links. External links connect to your website or pages from outside your domain. Internal links, on the other hand, point to pages on the same domain.
In this example, the internal link is "See Our Work", which connects to the Portfolio page of our website.
There are many types of internal links:
Navigational links: links that connect to other parts of a website
Text links: also called anchor text, links found in text blocks or phrases
Image links: links rendered as images
Contextual links: links that provide more information on a related subject/topic
Footer links: links at the bottom of the website
How Internal Links Work
Search engine crawlers use internal links to go from one part of your website to the next. Typically, a Google bot will land on your homepage and then follow the links on that page to understand your website better.
Google uses internal links to evaluate your pages' relevance, connection, and value. And they are crucial to page ranking in SEO. In the simplest terms: the more links connect to a website or a page, the more important Google thinks it is. And the higher it will rank on SERPs.
So, the more internal links you have, the better it is for your website – for search engine crawlers and visitors.
What Internal Links Do for Your Website SEO
Create a Streamlined Site Hierarchy
Internal links act as signposts for search engine bots and website visitors. They essentially say, "Here is where you start, and here is where you go."
As such, they help create a structure that organises your website content. Starting from the homepage, they create a network for site crawlers and visitors to follow to understand your website better.
Let's look at this example. By clicking on Managed Services, users can easily see the other pages that fall under that category.
Deliver a Better User Experience
With internal links, your website visitors get a map to help them get from one part of your website to the next. This creates a simplified and enhanced experience that will help them browse your content more easily.
Lead Visitors to a Specific Action
Internal links can also include direct CTAs or call-to-actions. Some links, for instance, come with obvious "Buy Now" buttons.
In addition, internal links can help facilitate higher conversion by giving website visitors all the information they need to make a decision.
Samsung's internal link, in this example, does exactly that. By asking users to "compare models", it allows them access to knowledge that they need to decide which specific model to buy.
Help You Build Link Equity
Also called link juice, link equity is the flow between different pages that distribute value across these pages.
A high-ranking page like the homepage, for example, can provide equity to the other pages of your website through internal links.
How? When a page with great authority links to another page, it acts like a vote of confidence for that page. Google will then think this other page is worth checking out and assign a relevant page ranking score.
How to Create Internal Links for Your Website
The best thing about internal links is that you have full control over them. And to make sure that your website fully benefits from them, consider these tips.
Know Where to Place Them
Be strategic about where to put your internal links. Placing them in the right spots can help make other pages rank better. They should come from:
Some great examples would be your homepage, your most visited blog, or your most sellable product page. To be sure, assess your website's performance and plot your internal links accordingly.
Create Thematic Clusters
It's also a good idea to group your content according to its themes. For example, when writing a blog about SEO, it's handy to link to other blogs about that topic. This will help website visitors, and search bots discover other relevant pages of your website.
Use Keywords
Using internal links also helps you optimise your web pages for specific keywords. Use these opportunities wisely and create anchor texts that are appropriate to the page's content and context.
Don’t Overdo It
While there is no definite number on how many links Google bots can crawl, it's best not to overdo it. You also don't want to detract your visitors and maintain good readability and user experience.
Do Regular Link Audits
Finally, do routine checks for broken or bad links and replace them with good ones.
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