In various articles discussing SEO tips, internal links will surely appear there. No wonder because it is an indispensable aspect of the practice of SEO.
However, for those who have a website, this term will cause a lot of question marks in the head. This is why you decided to put the word “internal link” in Google and clicked on this article, right?
Yup, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, all your questions regarding internal links will be answered. We will discuss it thoroughly from AZ so that you not only know what it means but also how to optimize it for SEO.
Well, there are some special steps that you must take to get the full benefits of this internal link, namely:
- Create lots of content
- Insert keywords in anchor text
- Links to relevant pages
- Avoid the exact anchor text on two different pages
- Use the dofollow link
- Links to important pages on the website
- Don’t put too many internal links
Oh yes, as we alluded to above, internal links are a small part of the overall SEO technique. So, before applying the methods above, make sure you learn what SEO is first.
Table of Contents
- What are Internal Links?
- 7 Steps for Optimizing Internal Links on Websites
- Watch Your Internal Links Start Now!
What are Internal Links?
As the name suggests, internal links are links from one page to another on the same website. An example is this:
In the article Full Guide to Optimizing Image SEO for Websites, the fourth step is compressing images. However, instead of writing down how to compress images at that point, we include a link to a separate article that discusses how to compress images in full. Well, that link is called an internal link.
Well, these internal links are important for SEO because they can help Google to index your website and understand its overall structure.
If Google understands your website better, it’s certainly easier to get top rankings in search results, right? (provided you have also applied other SEO techniques ). Vice versa, if Google is confused with your website, the chances of getting top rankings are also getting smaller.
7 Steps for Optimizing Internal Links on Websites
Here are seven steps to optimizing internal links on your website for maximum SEO.
1. Create Rich and Connected Content
You could say this first step is the most important. If you don’t have content, then there are no internal links to post. In other words, the more content you have, the more links you can include.
However, don’t be careless in creating content, OK? Create content that is still related or on one topic so that internal links can be installed. For example, let’s say you create content that discusses cat care tips. Well, it’s not right if there is a link to the article “7+ Good and Correct Wall Painting Techniques.”
Therefore, create quality content regularly on your website. The more new interconnected pages on your website, the easier it will be to install internal links going forward.
2. Entering Keywords in Anchor Text
You must be familiar with this anchor text. Anchor text is a snippet of text containing a clickable link. It differs from plain text and is generally blue.
When you use anchor text for internal links, don’t forget to enter keywords about the page you want to go to. In other words, avoid anchor text like “click here,” or “this page” for your internal links.
Because anchor text with these keywords can help Google and visitors to understand the content of the link before they click on it. In addition, inserting keywords into anchor text is also a best practice recommended by Google itself.
3. Links to Relevant Pages
Put internal links when you feel that other pages are also relevant to that page. Because, if there is nothing to do, the possibility of the link being clicked by visitors will be very small.
Take the example in this article. If we put a link to the article “10+ Tips for Maintaining the Most Effective VPS Server,” you definitely won’t click on it, right?
Well, this low click shows that the level of visitor engagement is low. In effect, Google will assume that the internal links are irrelevant and ultimately have a bad impact on your SEO. So, post relevant links that can encourage visitors to learn more about the topic.
4. Create Varied Anchor Text
Not all anchor text will match the sentence you wrote. So, don’t just enter the same anchor text in every content. You can make it more varied to make it look natural.
After all, repeated anchor text is considered by Google to be unnatural, you know. This method is considered by Google as an attempt to cheat the algorithm. So, you should avoid it so as not to be penalized by Google.
5. Use Dofollow Links
In short, a dofollow link is a type of link that allows Google to follow the link. Maybe this one step looks obvious, but not a few people install nofollow on internal links (usually due to an internal link plugin error) so Google ignores the link.
Therefore, make sure you use dofollow links on all internal links so that Google can follow those links.
6. Links to Important Pages on Your Website
When you install an internal link, the authority of that page is also shared with other pages. The higher the authority that is shared, the better for your SEO. Therefore, try to put a link on a high authority page to another page that wants to get ranked.
To accurately determine the level of authority on the website, you can use paid tools such as Ahrefs or Moz Pro.
7. Install Enough Internal Links
How many internal links should you put on one page? No one knows the exact answer.
Matt Cutts, who has worked on Google’s SEO team for 17 years, suggests that internal links are about 100 links on one page. Then, is posting links that are less or more than 100 prohibited? Oh, of course not.
Matt Cutts only recommends it, so don’t make it the main benchmark. This is because each web page has a different purpose. Sometimes 100 links must be included because it is to support the purpose of the page.
In essence, you must pay attention to the purpose and user experience when entering internal links. If with lots of links can help visitors, you just add as many as needed. But if not, you don’t need to enter the internal link.
Watch Your Internal Links Start Now!
How? Internal links are not as simple as you think, are they? To get maximum SEO results, there are extra steps that must be taken. If you haven’t implemented the internal link optimization steps above, you should do it now, yes!
Oh yes, internal link optimization is still lacking if your website wants to get a top ranking on Google, you know. There are other optimization steps you should do.