Importance of Internal Links on your Website

What are the internal links?

Internal links or "internal linking" are links whose function is to redirect the user, not to an external site, but to the pages of the same site or elsewhere on the same page. Not only do they contribute to the SEO of the site, but they also contribute to improving accessibility and user experience by facilitating navigation. These links allow you to navigate from the home page to the different pages of the website. When the site does not have optimized internal links that provide users with smoother browsing, the content they are looking for will be hard to find. As a result, the site's rebound rate increases. In other words, the journey of visitors to the site is limited to one page. For information, the links are said external when they point to the pages of another site. If these two kinds of links are all useful for ranking, it is recommended to start a SEO strategy by optimizing internal links.

Why use internal links?

The use of internal links makes it possible to identify the links between the content of the pages of the site, to disseminate the value of the link to its pages, to improve the indexing of the web pages, and also serves as a guide for the navigation of the users.

Establish content relationships

Building connections between pages on your site is key to allowing Google to better explore it. The search engine uses content relationships to rank the site.

Distribute link authority

Internal links are important because they help build the authority of your web pages. Thus, when the content does not have links, it is considered by the search engines as less relevant.

Increase the chances of ranking on search engines

Content relationships allow search engines like Google to determine the value to assign to a link. The creation of several internal links allows maximizing the chances for a better ranking of your content.

Improve the user experience

When you arrive on your website, users must be able to navigate easily through the different pages of the site. Internal links help to guide them in a logical way, which helps to improve the user experience.

Good internal liaison practices

Cornerstone content or "cornerstone content"

The basis of your content must be solid, that's in a nutshell what sums up the cornerstone content. The "cornerstone content" will allow visitors to become more familiar with your website, the offers you offer and the different topics you cover.

Use logical links

You do not have to link each content item that contains a similar keyword. The links you use should always be related to the subject, so descriptive and relevant. You must then include links that inform and entertain the user.

Anchor text of the internal link or "anchor text"

For neophytes, an anchor text is a link embedded in a keyword or phrase. It should be used as naturally as possible in the same way as your link structure.

Avoid link stuffing

Like the misuse of keywords, filling in the content of internal links are considered spam, so avoid it absolutely. You only need to link when relevant in the content.

Create links to content other than the home page

As a reminder, the homepage has the most authority. Some will tend to build several links pointing it. However, you should also consider linking your other content to direct users to other pages of your site: FAQ page, About page, Video content, etc.

 Internal links: essential for the success of your site

It is clear that the use of internal links contributes to the success of a website. With these key links, the content of your site will get a good ranking on the search engines, and users can easily navigate through the pages of the site. Internal links play a key role in the optimization of SEO and allow a better user experience.