Do Internal Links Help SEO?
How important are internal links for SEO?
Do internal links help SEO?
What is an internal link?
When it comes to SEO, the importance of internal linking can’t be overlooked. Internal links affect how Google:
Understands your website’s hierarchy
Ranks each page on search engine results pages (SERPs)
Assigns a value to the content on your website
Ultimately, the better your internal linking strategy, the better your website will perform and rank on Google.
So, what is internal link building? How do you build internal links?
If you have questions about SEO and internal links, then you’ll want to keep reading.
In this article, we’re going to talk about internal link optimization. We’ll explore topics like:
WordPress SEO internal links
SEO link anchor text
How to create internal links
The benefits of internal linking
And more!
Let’s get started on our conversation about internal links and their importance for SEO.
What Is an Internal Link?
Internal links are hyperlinks on your website that go to other pages on your website.
For example, most homepages have a navigation bar at the top with links to other pages (products/services, blog, about, etc.) on the website. Those links in the navigation bar (see photo below) that link to other pages on the website are considered internal links.
Internal links can also be embedded into body text (often used in blogs) or take the form of call to action (CTA) buttons. Anything that someone on your website can click that takes them to another page on your website is considered an internal link.
How Important Are Internal Links for SEO?
Internal links aren’t as powerful as backlinks (another website linking to your website) but they can still positively impact your SEO and help improve other pages on your website.
Here are three of the top benefits of internal linking.
1. Helps Google Understand Your Site’s Structure
When you build internal links, you help Google find and index pages on your website. This is especially true in regards to new pages that haven’t been found or crawled yet. Placing an internal link on an existing page to a new page allows Google to find that new page faster.
In addition, internal link optimization can show Google that there’s a relationship between the linked pieces of content. Weaving together pages with similar content shows Google that you’re a thought leader in this space, which in turn increases the ability for these pages to rank.
2. Passes Along Page Authority
How else do internal links help SEO?
A page that internally links to another page can pass along its authority score to the page it links to. Giving authority to another page is a great way to help new content rank faster and higher on Google.
Hypothetically, let’s say you have some older blogs that:
Are SEO-optimized
Have some backlinks
Rank on Google’s first page
Now, let’s assume you’ve just written a new blog on a similar topic to these older blogs. If you go into the old blogs and internally link to the new blog, the new blog will receive some of the old blogs’ authority. The new blog’s authority score will immediately be increased and it will have a better chance of ranking faster.
3. Increases the Value and Rank of a Page
Another one of the top benefits of internal linking is that the more internal links a page receives, the greater its value becomes. Pages that receive lots of internal links are often called “Cornerstone Content” and are usually the most important pages on your website.
For example, at Veivos, we’re an SEM company that helps businesses rank higher on Google through holistic SEO strategies and pay-per-click campaigns. We believe that our SEO services page is one of our most important pages. So, anytime we mention “SEO services” in a blog, we link to our SEO services page (like we just did in the previous sentence). By linking to it often, we’re telling Google that it’s a valuable page and we want it to rank higher.
We do this same thing with our Google Ads page and will make internal linking a priority anytime we create other valuable pages in the future. The ability to internally link to yourself and increase a page’s value is one more factor that highlights the SEO importance of internal linking.
4. Gives You Control Over the Entire Internal Linking Process
Lastly, unlike generating backlinks, building an internal linking strategy is something that you can control entirely. As the owner of your content, you can build out a linking strategy yourself and internally link whenever and to wherever you want.
Anytime you create a new blog or piece of content, you can internally link to it from previous, high-performing blogs. If you have a high-buyer intent service page, then you can internally link to it from any blog you write—driving up its link count and page authority.
You don’t have to wait on anyone or anything else to reap the benefits of internal linking, you can start linking your content today.
How to Create Internal Links
Creating an internal link is as simple as hyperlinking one page to another page. But practically, internal links require two things:
Two existing pages: You can choose any two pages that are already live on your website. One will include an internal link that sends a reader to the page you’re linking to (e.g., an older blog includes an internal link to a new blog).
Anchor text: Anchor text is the phrase that, when someone clicks it, sends them to the linked page. For best SEO, link anchor text should be relevant to the page it’s linking to. For example, if you want to link to a blog that’s about the importance of blogging, good anchor text would be “why blogging is important” instead of “this article on blogging.”
Once you’ve chosen two pages, you simply:
Copy the URL of the page you want to internally link to
Highlight the anchor text in your second article that’s linking to the first article
Hyperlink your SEO link anchor text and paste the URL
Now, you’ve got an internal link on one page that sends readers to another page. You can do this for as many blogs, service pages, etc. as you want.
Work With the Experts to Execute Internal Link Optimization Today
Building internal links is the process of connecting one page on your website to another. These links may not be as valuable as backlinks, but implementing an internal linking strategy can still improve your SEO by:
Helping Google understand your website’s structure
Passing along page authority
Increasing the value and rank of your pages
Giving you control over the entire internal linking process
These four benefits of internal linking are available to anyone who simply starts connecting their website with internal links. Whether you have a Webflow or WordPress site, SEO internal links can increase your website’s ranking.
However, internal link optimization can be a tedious and time-consuming process that takes you away from other business priorities. Fortunately, we’re here to handle it for you.
At Veivos, we help companies improve their online presence and connect with more customers through holistic digital marketing strategies. Our search engine optimization process ensures that your website:
Is optimized with quality keywords
Publishes valuable content regularly
Receives backlinks every month
Has an internal linking structure that Google understands
We also connect with you every month to collaborate on new initiatives and report on progress.
Schedule a discovery call to learn how you can improve your Google ranking and outpace your competitors.
