What is an internal link?
An internal link refers to a hyperlink on a webpage that points to another page or resource within the same website or domain. These links are used to connect different pages and sections within a website, allowing users to navigate and explore its content more effectively. Internal links play a significant role in website navigation, user experience, and search engine optimization (SEO) strategies. They help users find related information, establish a hierarchical structure within a site, and also assist search engines in understanding the site’s content and how pages are interconnected.
How to build quality internal link?
Building a high-quality internal link begins with selecting a well-crafted article title and ensuring the content is of superior quality. A clear content direction guides the choice of the most appropriate links to incorporate. It’s crucial to maintain relevance between your linked content and the article at hand. This practice leaves a profound impression, as it equips readers with additional resources to address their inquiries and solidify their understanding.
Characteristics of a quality Internal Link.
An internal link holds intrinsic value for a reader. When a reader is redirected, it’s with the intent to fulfill a specific demand or address a particular inquiry. Considering this, it’s important to anticipate the questions they might have or the knowledge they seek to acquire next. Here are 3 key points every content owner should focus on when building internal links
Relevance: Ensuring that the internal link is contextually relevant to the content it’s embedded in is crucial. This means the linked page should provide additional, related information that is valuable to the reader. Relevant internal links enhance the user’s understanding and experience.
Anchor Text: The anchor text is a critical element of a good internal link. It should be descriptive and provide a clear indication of what the linked page is about. This helps both readers and search engines understand the content of the linked page. Using specific, keyword-rich anchor text can also improve SEO.
Natural Integration: A well-placed internal link should seamlessly fit into the content without disrupting the reader’s flow. It should feel like a natural progression in the information provided. This ensures that the link feels purposeful and not forced upon the reader.
Neil Patel makes some good references for quality links here: https://neilpatel.com/blog/the-complete-guide-to-internal-linking/.
Characteristics of a Bad Internal Link.
Bad Internal links pollute the entire content. It gives readers the impression that the content is unreliable and makes the content difficult to trust. This type of internal links might have certain value till search engines realize that the embedding content has more bounce rates than most sites and deranked it altogether, forever. Here are 3 points for every content owner to avoid:
ClickBaits: Clickbaits are links that intentionally sensationalized or misleading to lure viewers into clicking on it. Its primary purpose is to generate high click-through rates and drive traffic to a particular webpage or platform.
Redirect Chains or Loops: Bad internal links may lead users through a series of redirects before reaching the final destination. This can slow down page loading times and negatively impact user experience. You might have experienced this when you click on links that have extreme lots of redirects and slow loading page times. This is the reason why we often encourage our clients to do their linking strategies themselves or engage someone reliable to do it for them.
Excessive Use of Exact Match Keywords: Using the same keyword as anchor text for multiple internal links in a way that feels forced or unnatural can be seen as spammy behavior and may lead to SEO penalties.
Employing bad internal links can undermine the credibility and reliability of your content. Any message or information you aim to convey through your article may be swiftly perceived as less credible and trustworthy.
In summary, a Good Quality Internal link brings a wide range of benefits to your content linking strategy. According to this article from Backlinko, Internal links help Google find, index and understand all of the pages on your site. By using them strategically, internal links can send page authority (also known as PageRank) to important pages.