Internal linking best practices?

Internal linking is a crucial SEO technique that helps search engines understand your website’s structure, improves user experience, and boosts page authority. Following best practices for internal linking ensures that your most important pages rank higher in search results and that your site is easily navigable. Below are the best practices to follow for effective internal linking.

1. Use Descriptive, Keyword-Rich Anchor Text

The anchor text used in internal links plays a significant role in how search engines interpret the linked page. Using descriptive, keyword-rich anchor text can improve the SEO performance of the linked page by signaling its relevance for specific keywords.

• Best Practice: Use anchor text that naturally includes the primary keyword or topic of the linked page. Avoid generic phrases like “click here” or “read more.”
• Example: Instead of using “learn more,” you could use “learn more about local SEO strategies” if you’re linking to a page focused on local SEO.

2. Link to High-Priority Pages

One of the key objectives of internal linking is to distribute link equity (also known as link juice) to important pages on your website. Linking from high-authority pages to pages that you want to rank higher, such as product pages, service offerings, or pillar content, helps transfer authority and boosts rankings for those pages.

• Best Practice: Identify pages you want to improve in search rankings (like product pages or important blog posts) and ensure that they receive internal links from other authoritative pages.
• Example: If you have a well-performing blog post, link it to key landing pages like your SEO audit service page to boost its visibility.

3. Create Content Hubs with Topic Clusters

A content hub or topic cluster is a highly effective internal linking strategy. It involves creating a pillar page (a broad, comprehensive article on a main topic) and linking it to related cluster pages (more specific subtopics). This structure enhances both user experience and SEO by improving content relevance and navigation.

• Best Practice: Organize your content into clusters with a central pillar page linking to all related subtopics and vice versa. This signals to search engines that these pages are related and provides clear site hierarchy.
• Example: A pillar page about “SEO best practices” could link to cluster pages like “on-page SEO,” “off-page SEO,” and “technical SEO,” creating a well-organized content structure.

4. Limit the Number of Links Per Page

While internal links are beneficial, overloading a page with too many links can dilute their value and negatively impact user experience. Too many internal links on a single page can confuse both users and search engines about which links are the most important.

• Best Practice: Aim for a balanced number of internal links per page, generally no more than 100 links, including navigation links. Ensure that the links you include are highly relevant and provide value to the reader.
• Example: On a product page, focus on linking to related products, relevant blog posts, or service descriptions instead of adding a large number of unrelated internal links.

5. Use Internal Links to Boost Underperforming Pages

If you have pages that are not performing well in search rankings but are important for your business, linking to them from more authoritative pages can help improve their performance. This tactic is useful for new pages that haven’t gained much traction yet or older pages that need a boost.

• Best Practice: Regularly audit your site to identify underperforming pages and add internal links to them from high-authority or high-traffic pages.
• Example: If you launched a new service page that isn’t ranking well, add internal links to it from popular blog posts, product pages, or existing service pages.

6. Place Links Near the Top of the Page

Placing internal links above the fold (near the top of the page) ensures they are noticed by both users and search engines. Links placed near the top are typically given more weight in search engine algorithms because they are likely to be more relevant to the page’s content.

• Best Practice: Add internal links to the main content area or the introduction of your page rather than burying them at the bottom.
• Example: If you’re writing a blog post, place your internal links to related topics in the opening paragraph or first section, where users are most likely to engage with them.

7. Ensure Links Are Dofollow

In most cases, your internal links should be dofollow links, meaning they pass link equity to the linked page. Nofollow links tell search engines not to transfer link equity to the linked page, which is more appropriate for external links to less trusted sources.

• Best Practice: Unless there’s a specific reason to make an internal link nofollow (which is rare), ensure that your internal links are dofollow to maximize the SEO benefit.
• Example: In your internal linking strategy, links to cornerstone content, product pages, or service pages should always be dofollow.

8. Audit Internal Links Regularly

As your website grows, new content will be added, and older content may become outdated. Regularly auditing your internal links ensures that your linking strategy remains effective and helps you spot broken links or pages that are underlinked.

• Best Practice: Use tools like Screaming Frog, Ahrefs, or SEMrush to conduct an internal link audit. Look for opportunities to update links to new or important pages, remove broken links, and ensure that internal links are still relevant.
• Example: During an audit, you may find that a blog post published a few years ago is missing links to newer articles that are relevant to the topic. Adding those links can help distribute link equity to the newer content.

9. Link Deep Within the Site

Don’t just focus on linking to your homepage or category pages. Deep internal linking (linking to deeper pages such as specific blog posts, case studies, or product pages) is an effective way to distribute authority throughout your site and help these deep pages rank better.

• Best Practice: Avoid over-linking to top-level pages like the homepage or category pages. Instead, link to deeper pages that could benefit from improved visibility.
• Example: Instead of only linking to the main “SEO Services” page, link directly to specific sub-pages like “Local SEO Services” or “SEO Audits for E-commerce” to give those deeper pages a ranking boost.

10. Make Links Visible and Easy to Click

Ensure that your internal links are clearly visible and easy for users to interact with. Links should stand out from the rest of the text, typically through underlining or color changes, so users can easily identify them.

• Best Practice: Use a consistent style for internal links across your website, such as using a different color or underlining them. Also, ensure that they are large enough for mobile users to tap easily.
• Example: If your internal links blend into the rest of the text, consider using a color contrast or underline to make them more noticeable, especially on mobile devices.

Internal linking is a vital SEO optimization technique that helps improve website structure, distribute link equity, and enhance user experience. By following these best practices—such as using keyword-rich anchor text, linking to high-priority pages, creating content clusters, and regularly auditing your links—you can ensure that your internal linking strategy contributes to better rankings and a more navigable website.