Got a website, but it’s not visible on Google Page 1?
Well, there might be thousands of reasons for that!
But if you’re not actively linking your webpages internally, you are not at all helping the search engine or the users to discover the most relevant webpages in your domain, leading to poor online visibility, low SEO rankings, and decreasing user engagement.
Hello everyone, welcome to today’s blog, where we’ll be talking about the best SEO internal linking strategy that acts as a ‘roadmap’ to guide the users to relevant webpages within your domain and help Google understand the site structure better, resulting in faster crawling & indexing of webpages.
The Most Effective Internal Linking Structure
After effectively doing internal linking, your site’s webpages should be interconnected, organized, and easy-to-navigate.
For example, the homepage should sit at the top linking down to category, subcategory, about, contact us pages, and finally, specific content pages.
Here Are A Few Things to Consider
✔️Organize your content into silos based on topical relevance
✔️Ensure all pages are 3 clicks away from the homepage
✔️Link up the orphan pages internally for faster indexing and discovery
2 Common Site Structure Models
Pyramid ➡️Homepage>Categories>Blogs/Articles/Product Pages
Silo ➡️Homepage>Category>Subcategory>Posts
However, in Silo structure, one silo doesn’t link to another silo’s content, leaving your internal linking strategies partially ineffective.
Instead, our link-building experts suggest going for a Pyramid or hierarchical structure that passes link equity from high-authority pages to the low-performing ones.
Strategies for Using Different Internal Link Anchor Texts
Once you’ve decided on the internal linking structure, it’s time to select the right anchor texts, as they hint at the topic covered in the linked pages. However, keep it precise so that the readers quickly get an idea of the destination page’s content.
Strategies to Select The Right Anchor Texts
✅Use synonyms/close variations (e.g., “lightweight sneakers” instead of “running shoes”)
✅Use descriptive phrases & long-term keywords that partially match the generic keywords
✅Use your brand name in anchor texts when linking to the homepage
✅Use alt text when planning to link to an image
Most importantly, try to avoid using generic anchor texts to reduce competition and avoid inserting links to unnatural and keyword-stuffed content.
Key Elements of Internal Linking Strategies
Before we discuss the steps to do internal linking, it’s good to get an idea of those aspects that make the process effective.
✔️Placing relevant contextual links within the content
✔️Descriptive anchor text usage
✔️Aiming for a logical site structure using a pillar (main topics) and cluster content (subtopics)
✔️Opt for deep linking that connects the less-visited pages with the landing/home page
✔️The anchor text must fit into the content naturally
Also, make sure that you distribute the link equity from high-authority pages to the low-ranking ones for an effective outcome.
But most importantly, perform regular audits of your internal link profile with Screaming Frog/Ahrefs to identify broken links, find out orphan pages, and discover new internal linking opportunities.
Internal Link Building Strategy by Experts
Efficient internal linking is all about strategically linking the most relevant webpages so that your visitors feel engaged, find the linked content valuable, and stay on your site longer.
So, let’s talk about the best strategy to determine the internal linking structure of a website here.
Plan Your Internal Link Structure
The best ways to structure internal links for SEO now is to decide on the site structure. A logical & hierarchical internal link structure SEO helps the search engine crawl, index, and understand your content’s relevance in a better way.
| According to our experts, it’s always better to opt for the Pyramid site structure for easy link equity distribution, better content relevance, and increased user engagement. |
Also, a well-planned site structure ensures a seamless flow of authority from the top-performing pages to the low-performing ones, resulting in easy user navigation.
Identify Pillar Pages
The most crucial step for strategic internal linking is to identify the pillar pages (the webpage that covers the core topic broadly) because these are authoritative and ensure effective link authority distribution to the cluster pages (webpages that cover the subtopics).
✔️Link up the main pillar page with supporting subtopic articles
✔️Ensure the subtopic blogs link back to the pillar page
✔️Use relevant anchor text for internal links SEO & link up the pillar and cluster pages
Make sure that your pillar page guides your users through table content, encourages them to visit the linked pages, and ensures a structural hierarchy, distributing link equity for improved SEO score, niche authority establishment, enhanced user experience, & increased Google rankings.
Create Topic Clusters
Structuring your website around the pillar content pages and linking them with topic clusters (subtopics) is a great way to establish niche authority.
The best way to create topic clusters is to research long-tail keywords related to the pillar content and cover them one by one.
Also, according to our link-building experts, link from cluster to pillar pages & vice versa, and cross-link your cluster pages using descriptive anchor texts.
Pass Link Equity
This is an integral part of internal linking because it distributes authority from high-performing pages to the lower-performing ones that boosts your site’s overall ranking potential.
✔️Maximizes existing authority
✔️Enhances crawl efficiency
✔️Results in faster indexing
✔️Improves the user journey
The key to success is to use dofollow links within the content body that will directly influence the search engine rankings.
Optimize Your Anchor Text
Choosing the right anchor text is crucial because it helps the search engine get a better grasp of the target page’s topic.
Optimized anchor text:
✔️Enhances SEO ranking
✔️Improves user experience
✔️Results in intuitive site navigation
However, “always use descriptive anchor texts, make them fit into the context naturally, and stay away from using repetitive anchor texts and generic ones”, says one of our link-building specialists.
Add Contextual/Navigational Links
Contextual and navigational links act as a roadmap for the users to navigate through the most important and relevant pages. They also help the search engine facilitate faster crawling, indexing, and link equity distribution.
According to the link-building experts, it’s better to keep the total number of backlinks under 100 per page and typically 3 links per 1000 words.
How to Find Internal Linking Opportunities?
Identifying the best internal linking opportunities involves a thorough and complete website audit, finding out the orphan pages, using tools to identify the high-authority pages, and strategically linking them to the relevant cluster pages.
The Top Methods Include:
✔️Using Google Search Console to find pages with the lowest internal links
✔️Crawling your site using Screaming Frog SEO Spider to identify pages with no links
✔️Finding pages with relevant anchor texts for internal linking
✔️Performing a complete site audit with Ahrefs/SEMRush
This way, you can find out the most relevant webpages that offer real value to the visitors and internally link them for a better user experience.
Grow Your Site with The Right Internal Linking Strategy
Implementing the right internal linking strategy not only results in faster page crawling and indexing, but also leads to organic traffic growth due to easy navigation, a meaningful website browsing experience, and longer stay of the users on your site.
When you ensure passing down your page authority seamlessly from the top-performing ones to the less authoritative ones, you help the search engine understand your site’s content and structure far better, which leads to increased online visibility and higher Google rankings.
Struggling to think of the best internal linking strategy for your website?
Connect with us for a personalized strategy & internal linking service now.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. How to measure internal link strategy effectiveness?
Ans: The best way is to track the SEO metrics like organic traffic, keyword rankings, and other KPIs such as Click Through Rates, Bounce rate, average time spent on the website, etc.
Q2. What are the best practices for Google internal links anchor text guidance search central?
Ans: Google Search Central advises focusing on selecting descriptive, relevant, and concise anchor texts for internal linking.
Also, it recommends staying away from generic phrases and ensuring a natural fit of the anchor text within the context for a better user experience and easy understanding of the site’s content for the search engine.
Q3. How do internal links work?
Ans: Internal links connect one page to another on the same web domain and guide the users and the search engine through the content. They pass link equity from the most authoritative pages to the low-performing ones, resulting in higher search engine rankings for the website.
Q4. How internal linking structure improves site SEO?
Ans: A well-organized site structure and internally linked webpages help the search engine crawl and index a website faster. The more strategically you interlink your webpages, the better it will pass page authority to the cluster pages and bring them under the SEO spotlight.
This not only enhances user engagement but also reduces bounce rates by keeping the audience’s interest alive and making them stay longer on the site.
