Is Internal Linking a Part of Your Search Engine Optimization Strategy?

A link connecting one web page to another on the same website is an internal link. Internal linking is one of the easiest search engine optimization strategies you can implement. Of those aware of the technique, too many do it as an afterthought. Some may even allow a plugin or other software to do the job for them. This is a mistake because internal linking is too important a strategy to ignore or leave to a piece of software. It’s ironic that some website owners go to great lengths to get inbound links, yet overlook or undervalue the readily attainable benefits of internal linking. Here are three important benefits:

It Helps Boost Search Traffic to Under-Performing Pages

If you have under-performing web pages, you can “inform” Google of their importance by linking to them from high-ranking pages on your site that get lots of search traffic. When linking to another page, both pages should be related in some way. Use anchor text that makes sense to human readers and gives Google information about the subject matter of the target page. For example, a page about dog care may link to a page about healthy dog food. Good anchor text choices might be “dog food” or “dog nutrition.” Anchor text such as “here” or “this article” tell nothing about the subject matter to Google.

It Reduces Your Page’s Bounce Rate

When a high percentage of search visitors land on a web page and exit without viewing other pages on your website, the page has a high bounce rate. A high bounce rate is a negative SEO ranking factor. Skillful use of internal linking induces your traffic to visit other pages, which reduces bounce rate.

Good web content directs the reader’s thoughts along a path determined by you. Well placed links along this path compel the reader to click through to pages she would never have thought to visit had she not read your content.

It Increases Conversions

Internal linking increases conversions in two ways. First, it can increase the length of the visitor’s stay on your site. The longer his visit, the greater your prospects of a conversion.

Another more direct way of increasing conversions is linking to a product or service offer page from related and highly trafficked web pages. Sales pages are usually written with conversion in mind rather than SEO. This can mean their getting insufficient SEO traffic. Internal linking from popular related pages on your website, solves this problem.

For more information on search engine optimization and how our SEO services can help your business succeed, please contact us.