Internal linking is an important and often overlooked part of search engine optimization (SEO). In its simplest form, internal linking is the practice of linking from one page on a website to another page on the same website. It’s a helpful way to connect content and improve search engine rankings.
The benefits of internal linking are two-fold: first, it can help search engines understand the structure of your website and figure out which pieces of content are most important; and second, it can help drive more traffic to key pieces of content on the site. However, most people simply use internal linking to connect different pages and call it a day.
If you’re serious about improving your SEO, you’ll want to take internal linking to the next level with advanced strategies. These strategies can be used to increase traffic to your top performing pages, improve the user experience and boost the overall quality of your website. In this post, we’ll cover some of the more advanced internal linking strategies that can help you get the most out of your site.
Keyword Directional Internal Linking
Keyword directional internal linking means setting up links using specific keywords or keyword phrases. To make the most of this strategy, you need to identify your main keywords and phrases, which are the words and phrases that people are most likely to use when they’re searching for your content or your product.
To do this, you’ll want to use a keyword research tool to find out which keywords and phrases are the most popular and relevant to your site. Once you have identified your main keywords, you can use them to create links between related pages.
For example, if you have a blog post that’s optimized for “advanced internal linking strategies,” you can create a link to it from another page with the term “SEO.” This will help search engines and users understand that there is a connection between your main page and the linked page.
Link Page Authority and Trust
Linking from a page with high domain authority (DA) and trust to a page with lower DA or trust can also be a useful internal linking strategy. This can help the page with lower DA and trust to gain some of the credibility of the linking page. This can be especially useful if your site has a few pages with lower DA and trust that you’d really like to rank higher in search results.
To implement this strategy, you’ll want to identify pages with high DA and trust on your site. You’ll then want to look for pages with lower DA and trust and link them to the higher DA and trust pages. This will help push some of that authority and trust up to the linked pages.
Anchor Text
Anchor text is the text that’s used to link from one page to another. While anchor text is often overlooked and taken for granted, you can use it as an advanced internal linking strategy to increase the relevance and value of the linked-to pages. When linking to a page, you’ll want to use keywords or phrases in the anchor text that are relevant to the page. This not only helps search engines understand the context of the link, but it also helps users understand where they’re being taken.
You’ll also want to make sure that the anchor text is varied and not overly repetitive. Using the same anchor text excessively can give the appearance of over-optimization and can be penalized by search engines. Instead, you’ll want to use a mix of keyword-rich anchor text, brand name anchor text and natural anchor text that explains where the link is taking the user.
Link to Older Posts
It’s easy to get lost in the world of internal linking and forget about the older posts on your site. However, it can be very beneficial to link to older posts as part of an internal linking strategy. This can help keep those older posts relevant and bring in new traffic to them.
Think about it this way: when you use keywords in new content, your older content doesn’t change to reflect those keywords. By linking to those older pages from newer pages with the same or similar keywords, you’re making it easier for search engines and users to find them when they’re searching.
Establish a Hub and Spoke System
A hub and spoke system is a strategy that can be useful for structuring the internal links of larger websites. This system involves creating a central “hub” page that links to all related “spoke” pages. This helps create a more organized and easily navigable site structure, which makes it easier for users and search engine bots to understand and find content.
You can create a hub page for a particular topic or category and link to it from all relevant pages on your site. From the hub page, you’ll want to make sure that you link out to all the “spoke” pages. This will help ensure that users can easily navigate between related pages while also providing search engine bots with a clear roadmap of the site.
The Bottom Line
Internal linking is a crucial part of any SEO strategy, and advanced internal linking strategies can take your website to the next level. By using keyword directional linking, linking to high DA and trust pages, using varied anchor text, linking to older posts and establishing a hub and spoke system, you can improve the overall quality and relevance of your website. So get started with these advanced internal linking strategies and see the results for yourself.