Why Internal Linking Matters More Than You Think
Most businesses think about SEO as including keywords, getting backlinks, and optimizing their Google Business Profile. Don’t get me wrong, all of this stuff is super great, but there’s another piece that plays a big role behind the scenes: internal linking.
Internal linking helps search engines crawl and understand how your website is structured. They tell search engines what pages are most important, they pass link equity, and they relate topics together. Having strong internal linking will only boost your other current SEO endeavors.
This page will break down how internal linking impacts SEO, why it matters, and why you probably need to be doing more of it.
If you want an insight into some of the other SEO strategies we use along side internal linking, see some of the professional SEO services we offer.
What Is Internal Linking?
Internal links are just links that point from one page of your website to another page on the same website. These are different from external links, which come from other website.
Internal links serve two main purposes:
- They help users navigate your site
- They help search engines crawl, understand, and prioritize pages
Internal links are essentially how you make it easier for Google and other search engines to understand how everything on your site fits together. They create a path between pages so nothing gets overlooked.
How Internal Linking Impacts Local SEO
Internal Links Help Google Understand Your Site Structure
Search engines don’t just look at one individual page at a time. They follow links, analyze how pages connect together, and discover how your site is structured.
An example of this would be, if you were linking from a blog post to a commercial/service page on your site, you’re giving Google context:
- What the service page is about
- How it relates to the ret of the site
- Where it fits within your overall topic coverage
For local SEO, this matters because your rankings rely heavily on relevance. Internal links are going to help reinforce your relevance, build topical authority, and tell Google, hey, this content matters.
Internal Linking Distributes Link Equity
Naturally, you’re going to drive most of your backlinks to your home page. However, you want to distribute this link authority across your website. The way you do this is with internal linking
Internal linking allows you to pass authority and some of that backlink value to other pages on your site. For example, say you got a backlink to a great blog post you wrote, but you want to pass that authority to other parts of the site, that’s where internal linking comes in.
Doing this will strengthen the position of whatever page you’re linking to.
Internal Links Improve Crawlability
Google find and indexes pages by following links. If a page has zero links pointing to it, or zero pointing out, there’s a high possibility it will never get indexed. A lack of internal links will result in a page getting:
- Crawled less frequently
- Indexed more slowly
- Treated as less important
Internal links ensure that your key pages are easy for search engines to find. Search engines are robots, not people, they need extra help. Tell the search engines where you want them to go.
Better Internal Linking Supports User Experience
Internal linkings isn’t all about the search engines. Don’t forget, people are reading your page too. When somebody lands on a blog post or informational page, they need to be able to easily move through your site. Use internal links to guide people to related commercial/service pages, more detailed explanations, and/or the next logical step.
This will improve engagement, keep visitors on your site, and help people find what they’re ultimately looking for. Strong user experience signals can also boost SEO performance.
Use Them To Support Your Local Service Pages
We’ve already touched on this briefly, but I really want to emphasize this point. Service pages are where your conversion happen. Internally linking to them won’t only help them rank, but it’ll help customers find them.
Doing this can:
-
Reinforcing the topic and service focus of the page
-
Connecting informational content to commercial intent
-
Showing Google that the page is central to the site’s purpose
Link blog posts to service pages, service pages to helpful resources, and link related articles together.
Some Best Practices
Don’t overcomplicate, but make sure you link intentionally.
- Use clear and descriptive anchor text
- Link where it makes sense
- Prioritize important pages
- Avoid overloading pages with links
- Update older content
Internal Linking Is Part Of A Bigger SEO Strategy
Internal links work best when paired with other larger SEO strategies. It’s not a standalone tactic that will magically make your site rank overnight.
It supports:
- On-Page SEO efforts
- Content structure
- Topic relevance
- Long-term authority building
When done correctly, intentionally, and consistently, it will boost your rankings and help you generate leads.
Final Thoughts
Internal linking may not be the most talked about SEO topic, but I think it plays a much more important role than people like to give it credit for. Sometimes, and internal link can carry more value than a backlink. For service businesses, internal linking is one of the simplest and fastest ways to boost your rankings. When done correctly, it will reinforce all your other efforts. To see how we use internal linking to help your business, check out our SEO service page.
