In a recent blog post, we discussed internal linking and the many ways it helps with Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Internal links are found on almost every page on the internet and are links that point from one page to another within the same website. Most of the time you don’t even realize you are using them! Internal links also help users navigate through the digital content on your website and give search engine crawlers, like Google, valuable and relevant information on how your website functions. We believe SEO is a must for all businesses to invest in, so read on to learn more about the importance of internal linking for SEO.
How Exactly Does Internal Linking Help With SEO?
First, it’s essential to understand how internal linking helps with SEO before we get into why it’s important. Google’s search algorithm has changed a lot over the years, and no matter how advanced it may seem, there are many ways internal linking can boost SEO.
All websites that have more than one page should connect using internal linking because it’s an important part of your user experience. It allows your users to find the content they need quickly and efficiently. When you think of a typical website structure, most websites have a top navigation with a menu that links to other internal pages, like the About, Contact, or Shop pages. A strong internal linking structure is crucial for SEO because it establishes a site architecture and search engines also use links to navigate to your site.
Google follows links to discover content on websites and ranks them accordingly in search results. If it notices that a post or page gets a lot of links, this is a signal that the content is of high value. A strong internal linking structure will guide your users and Google to the most important pages. The more tightly-weaved a website’s structure is through internal linking, the better the overall site will perform in search engine results. Internal linking also increases the value of your content which ultimately leads to visitors staying on your site longer.
Why Internal Linking is Important
Outside of using basic links on a website to connect specific webpages in a particular way, internal linking is also an opportunity to communicate to Google something more than what the basic navigational links can communicate. Once you determine the most valuable content on your website, internal linking is your chance to guide both Google and your visitors to specific content.
Ultimately, you get to decide what is most important on your website – it can be the areas you earn the most money or unique content that makes you stand out as a strong competitor. Ideally, you should not just have basic navigational links, but rather view internal linking as a strategic way to point Google and your users to the most important topics on your website.
In summary, internal linking is an important part of a strong, ongoing SEO strategy, and when done correctly, can enhance your user experience and help improve search engine ranking. At JSK Marketing, we provide search engine optimization and website enhancement, which work together to position you aggressively on Google search results. One of the greatest benefits of allowing us to take over your SEO and website management tasks is that you get to focus on what matters most – growing your business. Contact us today to get started!
