Mastering Internal Linking: Strategies for Connected Content Across Your Site
Internal linking is a powerhouse for SEO, user experience, and content discoverability. In this post, we’ll unravel the significance of internal linking and share actionable strategies to weave a well-connected content web on your site.
The Importance of Internal Linking
Internal links are more than just navigation aids, they shape your site’s hierarchy. Strategic internal linking can:
Improve User Experience: Guide users through related topics, enhancing their journey on your site. Whether your user needs clear next steps, or more education content to make a decision, internal linking fuels that journey.
Enhance SEO: Distribute link equity, aiding search engines in understanding the relationship between different pieces of content which can positively impact your site’s organic search visibility.
Increase Content Discoverability: Ensure all content is easily accessible, boosting engagement and traffic, ultimately meeting your user where they’re at.
Strategies for Effective Internal Linking
Now that you know internal linking is important, how do you accomplish this on your site?
Create a Hierarchical Structure: Establish a clear hierarchical structure for your website. Identify cornerstone content – high value, comprehensive pieces that cover broad topics and strategically link other related posts to these cornerstone pages. These cornerstone pages often serve as your main navigation items.
Use Descriptive Anchor Text: Use descriptive anchor text when inserting internal links that provides context about the linked page’s content. This helps users understand where they will be directed and also provides valuable information to search engines about the linked page’s topic.
Utilize Topic Clusters: Organize content into topic clusters, with a pillar page serving as the main hub for a specific topic and cluster content linking back to the pillar page. This signals to search engines the authority of your pillar page on a given topic. For more on Pillar pages and topic clusters, check out our guide to content Pillars series.
Regularly Audit and Update Links: Conduct periodic audits to keep links relevant and functional. An SEO tool like SemRush can make this process easier by identifying broken links across your site. But as you publish more relevant content, be sure to link it to older pages.
Avoid Overlinking: While internal linking is beneficial, overlinking can be detrimental. Ensure each link serves a purpose.
Connected Content Types
Now that you know the importance of internal linking, here are some great examples of content types we try to connect across websites for our clients.
Articles and Blog Posts: This is foundational content that most sites offer to provide in depth insights on specific topics. These can be written by your team or by guest writers. At the bottom of each blog, consider adding a previous/next button or a “You May Also Like” section to increase internal linking.
Videos: Watching videos is a great way to educate your user and increase engagement. You could consider making a video library and tagging these assets with categories you sprinkle across your site.
Case Studies: These are real world examples showcasing product or service success stories. Social proof is huge on websites. Whether you have full case studies or just featured testimonials you can add to your service pages, both will enhance your users journey.
FAQs: This content addresses common questions and helps your users get answers to what they are looking for. This is also a great way to increase word count and content on your page without making the page look too cluttered or clunky.
Products and Services: This content displays what your company offers to your clients. You can surface your most popular products on your home page, or include links at the bottom of each service line to encourage users to explore more of what you have to offer.
Mastering internal linking creates an organized and interconnected content hub, boosting user experience, SEO, and content discoverability. Implement these strategies to elevate your site’s success. Explore diverse connected content types to create a well rounded, engaging web presence.