Search Engine Optimization also includes competent work with links both on third-party resources and on the site being promoted. This allows not only attracts a large amount of traffic to the site but also makes it as convenient as possible for interaction with potential customers.
So, for example, broken internal links (broken) can leave a bad impression about the resource and prevent the site visitor from taking the necessary action. As a result, the user may not complete the purchase or not use the service; the promotion will be ineffective.
To correctly place all the necessary links on the pages and make the interface as convenient as possible for the target audience, you need to clearly understand the nuances of this topic. We will talk about this in the article.
What are internal links?
Unlike an external link that goes to a page on another site, an internal link goes to a page on the same site that hosts it. As a rule, internal links are intended for navigation within site, but they can (and should) be used for SEO as well.
Internal links on a site can be placed in the main content of a page, an article, or in separate navigation elements.
What is internal linking for?
A lot of links inside the page do not mean that they all benefit the resource. It is necessary to analyze regularly, namely, as often as possible to check their clickability and relevance from the point of view of the site visitor.
Properly executed internal linking of the site is of great importance for SEO:
- The page is indexed (it is included in the search engine databases);
- Incoming internal links are an indication of the importance of this resource page for search engines (the greater the number of working links, the greater its weight will be);
- The keys placed in the text of the link are used by search engines to assess the compliance of the main or any other page of the resource with requests from users (this is taken into account when ranking in the received search results);
- Correctly done linking ensures the convenience of the site for its visitors, as a result of which its behavioral factors are significantly improved (and this also affects the place of the resource in search results);
- A sufficient amount of working internal links increases the chance that even a random user who first appeared on this page will still make a purchase or use the offered service because of relinking, the content of the page is more useful, and the right products are found faster.
Too many internal links
A whole bunch of links can also negatively affect the SEO of a web resource:
- The link weight of each of them will decrease since it is equally distributed among all links placed on the page;
- The page will be inconvenient (from the point of view of visitors);
- There is a risk of spam for key phrases (their overabundance), which is already fraught with serious sanctions from Google and other search engines.
A large number of internal links is typical, as a rule, for large resources, such as Internet hypermarkets (Ozon, Yoox, AlieExpress, etc.). And in this case, it does not negatively affect them.
You just need to carefully consider the anchors and the structure of the links themselves. It is extremely important to optimize them correctly so that the names of categories and subcategories do not contain repeated repetition of the same words.
Not enough internal links
This will also not bring anything good for the Internet resource itself:
- The link weight of the web page, in this case, will be too low. Therefore, the position in the search results for key queries of the site will be an order of magnitude lower compared to its closest competitors;
- It will be difficult for search robots to detect and index this page, so its update in the index is quite expected to slow down (a page that does not lead to outgoing links is called an orphan page);
- The chances that users interested in the goods or services posted on this page will land on it will be relatively small (this reduces traffic, the total time spent on the site, and the depth of transitions, which may result in sales).
Internal links help improve the position that a resource occupies in search results for a particular key query. However, it is clearly not worth abusing them, as well as completely losing sight of them.
Too few or too many internal links on a page negatively affects its optimization and worsens performance. To obtain the required weight of pages, fast indexing of the site, and improving behavioral factors, the number of links should be optimal.
To get the perfect link analysis and internal and external link building, you should get help the professionals like Trophius. They will provide you a link-building strategy that will help you to rank faster.
Tips for Building Internal Links
It is important not only how many of them will be on your resource but also what quality they are. For internal links to work for the benefit of the site, you need to understand the intricacies of their proper creation.
1. Add weight to conversion pages
This is done through links placed among quality content on pages with relatively high traffic and backlinks.
2. Don’t forget relevancy
The topics of the pages and links placed on them must necessarily match. Groups of pages linked by linking must be united by a common direction.
3. Pay attention to optimizing anchors
Insert keywords into anchors as naturally as possible, and take only relevant content. Fight over spam and use different texts to form links. Be sure to build a natural link profile that includes different types of links. All this will help users and search engines better navigate the site.
4. Make breadcrumbs
This is the name of the navigation chain of internal links, correctly reflecting the sequence of pages from the main page to the current one. This increases the site’s usability, as the user sees where he is now and can easily move to the level of interest.
5. Combine single-level and hierarchical pages by linking
For example, you can take the following link as a basis: product categories with their subcategories and then directly with cards of products offered.
It is also recommended to relink products that may interest the user (mutually complementary or similar to each other in some properties).
Final Words
Now you know all the most important things about internal links: their impact on SEO and options for fixing a lack or excess of links.
Do not forget to use the services of professionals on both internal links and external links and correctly optimize the resource.