While backlinks often grab the SEO spotlight, a powerful tool in your on-page SEO arsenal is the art of internal linking.
An effective internal linking strategy can dramatically improve your website’s search engine visibility and user experience. This post will guide you through the key steps to optimise your internal linking strategy.
Understanding Internal Links
Internal links are hyperlinks that point to another page on the same website. These links create a hierarchy and structure, allowing users and search engines to navigate your website more effectively. Internal links can be tricky and it’s important to link to relevant and related content. It’s best to speak to a SEO specialist and digital marketing agency that can collate and organise content for the best internal linking outcome.
The Role of Internal Links in SEO
Internal links play a critical role in SEO for several reasons:
- Navigation: Internal links help users navigate your website, leading to a better user experience and longer dwell time.
- Link Equity Distribution: Internal links help distribute link equity (also known as ‘link juice’) throughout your website, helping non-linked pages to rank better.
- Indexation: They assist search engine crawlers in discovering new content on your website, improving your site’s indexation.
Effective Internal Linking Strategies
Here are some best practices for implementing an effective internal linking strategy:
- Create Lots of Content: The more content you have, the more opportunities you’ll have for internal linking.
- Use Anchor Text Wisely: The anchor text—the clickable text in a hyperlink—should be descriptive and include relevant keywords.
- Link Deep: Aim to link to deep-level pages (those that aren’t directly accessible from your homepage or main navigation) rather than just linking to your homepage or about us page.
- Ensure Links Are Relevant: Links should be relevant and helpful to your users. Don’t overload your content with unnecessary internal links.
- Use Follow Links: Unless there’s a specific reason not to, all internal links should be ‘follow’ links so that search engines can crawl them.
Applying Internal Linking Strategies Locally
For businesses operating within Australia, consider implementing a localised approach to your internal linking strategy. For instance, if you run a multi-location business, you might have dedicated pages for each of your locations. Linking between these location-specific pages can help improve their visibility in local search results. And as part of your image optimisation, it’s best to change the title of your images for each location for better search engine optimisation and visibility.
Internal linking is an often-underestimated aspect of on-page SEO, but it has the potential to significantly improve your website’s visibility and user experience.
By creating a logical site structure through relevant, deep, and wisely anchored internal links, you can guide your users and search engines through your site, enhancing your SEO efforts.
Remember, like all SEO strategies, effective internal linking is a continuous process of testing, learning, and optimising. Start refining your internal linking strategy today and see the difference it can make to your on-page SEO.
