Internal linking is one of the most important on-page SEO factors. It not only helps search engines understand the structure of your website, but also allows users to easily navigate your website.
However, many website owners make the mistake of over-optimizing their internal link structure, which can really hurt your SEO. In this post, we will show you how to do the internal link correctly.
First of all, let's take a look at what internal linking is and why it matters.
What is internal linking?
Internal linking is the process of linking a page on your website to another page on your website. This differs from external links, which are links to a page on another website.
Internal linking is important because it helps search engines understand the structure of your site and how pages are related to each other. It also allows users to easily navigate your site.
When done correctly, internal linking can help improve your site's SEO. However, when done incorrectly, it can really hurt your site's SEO.
Benefits of Internal Links
Internal links can help improve your site's SEO in a number of different ways:
1. Help search engines crawl your site more effectively
When you link to a page on your own website, you are essentially telling the search engine that that page is important and that it should be crawled. This can help the search engine better understand your site and can lead to better rankings.
2. Can help visitors find the content they're looking for
If you have a lot of content on your site, it can be helpful to link to it from other pages on your site. In this way, visitors can quickly and easily find the content they are looking for.
3. Can keep people on your site longer
If you link to relevant and interesting content on your site, visitors are more likely to stick around and explore your site further. This can lead to lower bounce rates and improved SEO.
4. They can make your site easier to use
If your site is easy to navigate and users can find what they're looking for, chances are they'll keep coming back. This can help improve your site's SEO over time.
5. Internal Links Can Help You Get More Backlinks
If you have high quality content on your website, people are more likely to link to it from their own websites. This can help improve your website's SEO and can also lead to more traffic.
Internal linking is a simple and effective way to improve your site's SEO. By linking to your own content, you can help improve your site's crawlability, keep visitors on your site longer, and make your site easier to use.
Should I use Plugins for Internal Linking?
Some people use plugins to do internal linking. I personally don't recommend anything better than manual linking. Even if you have thousands of articles without internal links, we recommend that you do it manually.
There are things that can be done to speed up the internal linking process. You can create links massively using Regex and Search and Replace. See the video below:
It is worth mentioning that in this video I also show you how to filter articles that do not have links. O Rank Math offers an option to filter out orphaned articles, articles that do not receive internal linking.
How to make the internal link correctly
There are a few things you need to keep in mind when making internal calls:
1. Use keyword-rich anchor text
When linking to another page on your website, be sure to use keyword-rich anchor text. This will help search engines understand what the page you are linking to is.
For example, if you are linking to a page about cat beds, your anchor text might be “best cat beds” or “big cat beds”.
Do not link in isolated or generic words that are not the subject of the article.
2. Link to relevant pages
When linking to another page on your website, be sure to link to a relevant page. For example, if you have a page about dogs, you wouldn't want to link to a page about computers.
3. Don't overdo it
One of the most common mistakes website owners make is overdoing it with internal links. They add too many links to your pages and can really hurt your SEO.
If you are going to add internal links to your pages, be sure to do so sparingly. A good rule of thumb is to add no more than two links every 300 words.
4. Don't link to low quality pages
Finally, don't link to low-quality pages on your site. This includes pages with little content, lots of ads, or just plain low quality.
If you link to these types of pages, it will reflect poorly on your website and can really hurt your SEO.
Internal linking is an important part of On Page SEO. By following the tips above, you can be sure that you are doing this correctly.
5. Make sure your links are working.
One last tip is to make sure your links are working. This can be done using a 404 link checking tool or manually checking each link.
If you find a link that is not working, be sure to fix it as soon as possible. A broken link not only hurts your SEO, it also gives your visitors a bad experience.