Internal linking is about linking pages of your own site within your site. Over the years, internal linking has become a significant factor in terms of guiding users to access more and better information while helping the sites rank better in the search results. As easy as it seems, most people struggle with internal linking. They probably ignore using their SEO rank report and best practices for internal linking. So, let’s take a look at some tips that will help you make the most of internal linking.

Link To Relevant Content

The first thing you need to keep in mind when it comes to internal linking is linking to relevant content. Users visiting your website will surely look for answers and useful information. This means, if you have links that are linked to relevant content, they will surely click on them.

At the same time, it should be known that users on the internet don’t want to spend too much time finding the information they want. This means the attention span is going to be around two minutes at max. If the links included on a page do not guide the user to relevant information, they are most likely to prefer some other site.

Use Links That Add Value

A common mistake made by website owners using internal linking just for the sake of it. One thing to keep in mind is that internal linking is always done to achieve a purpose. You should only add links that add value to your site or page. For instance, if you have a page that provides information about a particular part of a vehicle, the internal links should share information about the installation process.

Furthermore, the links you add should go with the flow of the content. Some people tend to force the links on a page or site only to make it appear artificial but also irrelevant. Plus, the links should always be relevant to the subject.

Moreover, if you want to include a particular link, you should build up the content. If the link does not have anything to do with the information in the sentence, the user won’t click on it.

Use Descriptive Anchor Text

Including links on a page or site is one thing but provoking users to click on them is another. You need a way to inform the users there is something valuable lying ahead. This is where descriptive anchor text comes in. Google recommends that you use descriptive anchor text so that it’s easier for both users and crawlers to know what the link will be about.

In addition to that, descriptive anchor text needs to be on point and concise. You might have come across many that are unnecessarily long and do not have any value. If the search engines and users struggle to read the anchor text or the anchor text doesn’t give the right information about the link, they are most likely to forget the context along the way.

So, your efforts are going to go in vain. If you still struggle to find the perfect balance, observe your competitors and see how it is working out for them.

Use A Variety Of Different Anchor Texts

While using descriptive anchor texts, be careful about using the same phrases each time. Always opt for different varieties of anchor texts especially when you are linking different pages to a pillar page. This is only to make the search engines understand that the context of your page’s content is natural.

The best way to do that is by using synonyms and variations of the keywords. The key is to use the variations naturally. If they appear to be forced as well, your site is going to rank lower since the search engines can struggle to understand the context.

Link To Low-Authority Pages From High-Authority Pages

With internal linking, you can direct the users to pages that have relatively less traffic. Some pages tend to have more traffic than others even if everything was done right. If you have some pages that rank higher and experience impressive traffic, you can add links to lower authority pages to guide the users to those pages.

In other words, the high-authority pages will help your low-authority pages with visibility. Nevertheless, keep in mind that you should only add relevant links. Link stuffing will only make things worse. Check website ranking on Google to see if your strategy is good enough.

Add Important Links At The Top

While the relevance and variety of using descriptive anchor texts are important, the placement of the internal links is equally significant. You might have seen some sites that have important links added at the top. This is because the top of your page should have the most important information or content.

Users will filter or scroll through the page beginning from the top and making their way down. This means the most amount of time spent is going to be at the top. That said, it is only logical that you add links at the top as well so that the possibility of users accessing the links is more likely.

But this does not mean that you add loads of links. This could lead to link saturation or dilute link equity. Forcing the links even at the top can have consequences. Therefore, keep the natural flow and make sure the content is relevant.

Link From Your Homepage

There is no doubt that a homepage is the most important page of any website. It helps users navigate and develop an idea of what the site has to offer without going into the details. That said, you can add internal links to your homepage as well to direct or guide the users to important pages.

Google recommends that you should give links of your important pages on the homepage. Moreover, it also makes it easier for the users to discover pages they never knew existed. As a result, you will have a chance to convert some users into customers.

Keep The Links Sounding Natural

While Google offers many tools, features, and services to help website owners rank their sites better, there are certain restrictions as well. For instance, the anchor text is a great place to add some keywords but not if you are forcefully stuffing them. This makes the anchor text look spammy.

Keep in mind that stuffing keywords is a violation of Google’s spam policies and you need to be careful. This is why we have been stressing on keyword stuffing earlier as it will directly impact the site’s ranking and reputation. In addition to that, do not add multiple links close to each other.

Users simply do not like that. Links should flow naturally and match the subject, context, and content. If the users come across multiple links in the same sentence, they are most likely to get irritated.

Conclusion

You must have realized the power and importance of internal linking. Remember to always stick to the basics and not force anything. It might take a while for any benefits to show but will surely offer a return in the long run. All you need to do is to keep the tips mentioned above in mind and use various SEO tools like a search rank checker.