When it comes to link building, most marketers focus on backlinks so much that they forget about internal linking. In reality, internal links play a critical role in SEO success.
Every website has internal links, but most people do not know that they offer great SEO opportunities. If you use them strategically, they can boost your site’s search engine performance significantly. For instance, in a Ninja Outreach case study, there was a 40% organic traffic boost, thanks to internal linking.
Now, you might wonder what internal links are and why they are essential for SEO. In this post, we will explain everything you need to learn about making your web pages more discoverable by Google.
What Are Internal Links
Internal links are hyperlinks that lead from one page to another within the same domain. They are different from external links in the sense that they don’t link from one website to another website. Let’s say you’re writing a blog post. The links within that post can point to other pages or articles on your site.
What Role do Internal Links Play on SEO?
Google discovers new content through internal links. Let’s say you post a web page, and you overlooked linking it to another page on your site. Now, if that page is not included in your sitemap and doesn’t have backlinks, Google’s web crawlers won’t find it. If a page doesn’t have internal links, it becomes an orphan page that search engines won’t index.
It’s also worth noting that internal links help rank the pages around your site, which can be a serious matter. In general, the amount and quality of internal links help to determine its PageRank.
Can Internal Linking Help Your SEO Strategy?
Using internal linking strategies is essential because it helps you to establish your site architecture. No matter what field you’re in, your goal is to have a website that brings value to your audience or consumers. Now, for your site to be relevant, you need to ensure that its structure is easy to navigate.
Your site architecture or IA will establish how you structure information. Think of it as your navigation bar or sitemap. In this area, internal links play a critical role because they help users and Google find their way through your website. After all, a search engine does not automatically know all the content on your site.
Internal links function like the string that leads spiders or crawlers to other pages on your site. Without them, the crawlers can’t get from one page to the next. In a sense, Google won’t know that a page exists because the crawlers missed it. As such, your IA must deliver a user-friendly experience for the crawlers and your users. With internal links, you can decrease your site’s bounce rate and even improve engagement. Of course, these are factors that help your site rank higher in search results.
Spreading Link Equity
Internal linking also helps to spread your site’s link juice. To understand the concept of link equity, we need to look at Google’s goal. The search engine aims to provide the most relevant and useful results for users. Now, Google determines the rank of a site, depending on its usefulness and credibility. The search engine measures that through links.
Look at it this way; every external link going back to your site is like a vote coming from another domain. The higher the backlinks’ quality, the more Google considers your site as a valuable resource. Consequently, the search engine pushes your domain to a higher rank. That concept naturally makes sense. However, what most people don’t know is that internal links can also pass link value.
For example, if a blog article ranks high on the search engine results pages, linking it to another page will help in spreading link equity. In this way, more pages will get a boost in authority. When you don’t use internal links, all your efforts for improving link value will stop at a single page.
Internal Linking Can Be a Lot of Work
As you can see, internal linking is not rocket science. You simply need to develop a hierarchical, user-friendly site structure which the links can follow easily. That is the basics of internal linking. However, if you want a strategic approach in linking from your performing pages, you’ll need the help of professionals.
Here at Lollipop Digital, we have a team of seasoned digital marketers who can deliver well-rounded SEO services. From the planning stages to execution and maintenance, our SEO plans drive results for businesses. Indeed, internal linking isn’t rocket science, but it still takes a lot of work. Rest assured, we’ll get down to the nitty-gritty of improving your domain authority.
Get in touch with Lollipop Digital today and get a free website analysis!
