Internal Links in SEO: Their importance and how to do it right

There are two aspects to every major SEO campaign, these are on page and off page SEO. On page SEO involves every effort to optimize the contents of the pages on a website to get a better position in the search rankings while off page SEO includes all efforts done off the website for the same reasons as onpage SEO.

Internal links play a crucial role in on page optimization, in simple speak internal links are links that take users from a page on a website to another page on the same website. Apart from being useful to search engines and crawlers, internal links gives users the opportunity to explore and learn more about a particular topic.

A strong internal link structure will help in the even distribution of ranking power and maximize efforts by creating an avenue for users and search engines to discover new content and rank new pages respectively.

How to come up with a strong internal link structure

When it comes to internal linking, just as it is with any other SEO strategy “there’s a right way to do it”. To get the best outcome from internal linking there are certain “best practices” to keep in mind. These important factors do a lot in shaping the outcome of all internal link building processes.

All pages must be linked one way or another

I kid you not, if you don’t link a single page on your website to other pages (either internal or external), then you be ready to say bye to that page being ranked on any search engine. An unlinked page basically doesn’t exist. And a page that is deemed to be non-existent is useless to say the least.

So what do you do with your "unlinked" pages? Simple, use them as reference on other pages.

The same way you would link to that page you came across while researching your blog post so your readers can find more information on the topic or sub topic.

If you have to make reference to a subtopic or a phrase in your blog post, you should check whether you have content on your own website that dives into that topic or provides the exact info you are trying to share with your readers, and if you do, by all means link to it.

Pillar Pages and Cluster Content

One of the best internal link building strategies you can employ is by creating website content out of pillar pages and cluster contents.

A pillar page/content is the main topic that you are trying to rank for while cluster content are sub topics of that main topic. Pillar and cluster contents work hand in hand to create a durable and strong site architecture that is optimized for SEO.

Pillar pages and SEO is an extensive and worthwhile topic that cannot be delved into fully on this post. I did a detailed post on Pillar pages a while back, you can check that out.

Site navigation and footer links is top priority

Your site navigation is the best place to showcase your internal links.

The great thing about site navigation is that it allows you to group related aspects of your website into different categories and sub categories.

With a clear navigation of your site on the header or side bar, it is easier for users and search engines to discover content which is the primary aim of internal linking.

Your footer links should contain links to core internal pages that establishes the legitimacy of your website. Adding links certain elements in your footer like the “terms and conditions page”, about page, privacy policy page, homepage and contact us page is a reputation booster.