In part one of this two-part blog series, we went over some of the basics on internal links within the world of search engine optimization (SEO). Vital for allowing internal navigation, but also very important for ranking quality and information hierarchy, internal links are a key SEO concept that must be considered for any digital marketing effort.
At Be Locally, we're happy to assist with internal links and numerous other specifics as part of our comprehensive SEO services, which include everything from local SEO to organic SEO and other specific themes. Today's part two of our series will go over a few more of the general tips we tend to offer clients when it comes to maintaining strong internal linkage in ways that will not only make your pages easy for users to navigate, but will also improve your visibility and rankings with search engines.
One of the key factors that determines the success of internal links: Their topical relevance, which you should be focusing on as heavily as possible. Anytime you are creating links for a new page, think about which other pages already on your site are most closely-related to it – these are the top options you should be considering for internal links.
This theme has value in both user functionality and Google rankings. Specifically, Google has a metric known as Topical PageRank, which evaluates which links have the most relevance given the other content on your site; however, this metric is not public, meaning you will have to work to find the pages that have the best indicators. These are often those that do well in Domain Authority, for example.
Success in internal links isn't just about creating the right links – it's about avoiding the wrong ones, which will actually penalize you in many cases. If you have too many links on a given page, for instance, Google's trackers will become diluted and will give a lower overall value to the entire page. But if you eliminate some of the lower-value links here, such as those that are not engaging or relevant given the page content and aren't likely to be clicked, the sample will not be diluted and Google will assign the proper weight to your quality links.
Finally, do your best to make every single link on your site unique. Links should be natural, organic ways of allowing visitors to navigate to other related pages, using simple language that makes them very easy to understand. Google will detect attempts to manipulate link titles or similar areas, and will drop rankings if so – so don't even worry about that angle, and simply make your links simple and unique.
For more on how to optimize internal links within SEO, or to learn about any of our SEO, PPC or other online marketing services, speak to the staff at Be Locally today.