SEO Optimization When we discuss content marketing strategies on websites with search engine optimization or SEO, it will definitely be closely related to the practice of internal linking. This is because internal links support some or even all of the planning and preparation of quality content. Where website content pages are more SEO friendly and can be read easily by Google’s index. So that website content can appear at the top of the first page of Google’s SERP (brand positioning) or even have the opportunity for Google to display it as a featured snippet. That is why a marketer and/or content writer must consider all action plans to optimize internal links as part of important content marketing metrics for SEO. Both in terms of on page SEO and off page SEO.
What are Internal Links?
Quoting from the SEMrush site, internal links are links or hyperlinks that connect one page to another page where the link comes from the same main website. Internal links can be created using buttons, clickable images, and anchor text. This type of link is different from an external link or backlink because it is a link on one web page that leads to another website page. Nevertheless, both internal links and external links are equally useful so that Google bots can crawl or index content and the entire website more easily. As well as increasing user engagement while reducing the bounce rate on the website.
Internal Link Type
To distinguish it, some SEO observers classify internal links into four different types, namely:
- Contextual links or in-text links are links that are in the anchor text of the main content of website pages. Blog posts often feature these types of links to direct readers to relevant, related content. It’s also useful for helping Google understand how your site’s pages relate to one another.
- Navigational links are internal links that must and always be in the website’s main menu because this type forms the main navigational structure of the website. Navigation links are often located in the top menu or sidebar of websites that cover general categories, such as product menus, services, or the website’s main content topics.
- A footer link is a type of navigational link that generally appears at the bottom of a website page which must also lead to other pages on the same website. For example links contact us, about us, FAQ, and other types of reference pages.
- Sidebar links are another type of navigational link which is useful for directing users to related content. This type of internal link is usually implemented by news or recipe websites to encourage visitors to access related pages on the same website.
What is the Importance of Internal Links for SEO?
As explained at the beginning of the article, internal links are a very important part of the SEO strategy. Because, it is useful in:
1. Helping Search Engines Understand Website Structure
When you as a content writer use internal links strategically, then you indirectly show a contextual relationship between two pages. These conditions help Google understand the structure of the SEO context on your web page and how different web pages relate to each other. Apart from that, a solid internal linking structure also helps search engines like Google to find and index your website pages.
2. Break Through Google’s PageRank Authority
Internal links also help pass Google’s authority or PageRank to other pages on your website. In short, PageRank is the algorithm that Google uses to measure the ranking or ranking of web pages on search engine results pages (SERPs). Internal links don’t go through as many links as backlinks and they don’t actually increase your website’s authority. However, internal links can help optimize some website pages in the SERP. Thus, a smart internal linking strategy will help you build the most efficient page hierarchy of your website.
3. Helping Users Navigate the Website More Easily
Another important role of internal links is media that can enhance the website’s user experience or user experience (UX) because it helps users as website visitors find related content more easily. In other words, you have the opportunity to present relevant and useful content to users. Let’s say a user is looking for information about “how to overcome shadowban on social media” by opening an information page on your website. Then, you include internal links to product pages relevant to the shadowban phenomenon or to related content such as an article on “how to reduce bounce rates”.
With internal links, you can retain your users to perform until they complete the actions you might want (customer retention). For example, users fill out forms, download and install products or services, register accounts to try free trial versions of products, subscribe to email newsletters, or make purchases from website landing pages.
How to Make Optimal Internal Links
If you already know the types and benefits of internal links for website SEO, this is the time to understand the strategy for creating good and correct internal links. Check out the following explanation.
1. Identify Website Hub Pages
First make a list of content pillar pages or main pages consisting of broad topics linked to more specific related pages. Content pillar pages will help you build topic groups which are groups of content about a specific topic. Pillar pages should target broad keywords with high search volume rather than specific long-tail keywords. Also, consider your pillar page as part of a business marketing funnel.
2. Determine the Main Content Topics
After you have successfully identified the hub pages related to the content pillar website, continue to develop more specific topic categories for each pillar. Think of pillars as main topics and categories as more specific supporting topics. For example, you create a pillar page about “marketing”. Then the content category group that you might create is “type of marketing” or “marketing technology”. To maximize SEO in each category of content topics, try to create lots of content, OK?
3. Create Anchor Text
After that, proceed to determine the anchor text that contains links or website page links that are most important and relevant to the contents of the content. This is because Google uses anchor text as an information reference to study all web pages and how important the web page is. So, Google can correctly rank websites in keyword searches. That’s a brief explanation of internal links that inMarketing can share with you. In the concept of SEO, make sure that the internal links that you include come from high-authority website addresses and have a good reputation on the Google search engine. Be it product recommendation links, calls to action (CTA), or relevant blog posts.