How to implement internal linking

Internal linking plays a crucial, yet often overlooked, role in enhancing both user experience and SEO performance of brand websites. Internal linking is more than just a navigation tool, it’s a powerful method for optimising authority flow, distributing link equity, and guiding visitors through your content seamlessly.

What is internal linking?

Internal linking is the strategic practice of connecting pages within your website through hyperlinks. This includes links within the main content, navigation menus, and header or footer sections.

Why is internal linking important?

Internal linking is not only crucial for improving your website navigation, but it also has several other benefits for enhancing user experience, and optimising SEO activity.

• User experience: helps users more easily find the information they need
• Crawler indexing: allows search engines how to better understand and rank your websites content
• Domain authority (DA): linking from high-authority pages to other relevant pages, can help boost the authority of the entire domain.
• Page authority (PA): when many internal links relevant pages link to a particular page, it signals to search engines that the page is important and valuable.
• Website conversions: internal links on your website are better able to guide users towards engaging in desired actions, such as leading them to specific product pages, or easier navigation to the checkout page

Building an internal linking strategy

Where to start

If you have access to your initial site plan or architecture, that’s an excellent place to begin. It provides a clear overview of how your site was originally intended to be structured and linked. However, if a formal site plan isn’t available, don’t worry. Start with focusing on your current on-page links; this means meticulously reviewing the links that are already present within your content, navigation menus, and footer.

Once you have a grasp of the existing links, the next critical step is to conduct a thorough audit. Focus specifically on the links that lead from your homepage to your most important product or service pages. This audit will help you identify any gaps in your linking structure.

Consider:

• Are there key pages that are difficult to reach from the homepage?
• Are there relevant pages that aren’t linked to at all?

Identifying the above gaps can pinpoint areas where adding or revising internal links can significantly improve both user navigation and the flow of link equity throughout your site.

Leveraging analytics to optimise your strategy

Site search analysis: Ensure site search tracking is correctly set up for your website. In GA4, navigate to ‘reports’ > ‘engagement’ > ‘search terms’. This report reveals the search queries users enter on your site, providing valuable insights into what they are looking for and where internal links might be beneficial.

GA4’s Exploration feature allows for deeper analysis beyond standard reports. Here’s how to use it for internal linking:

Free form exploration:

• Create a ‘free form’ exploration.
• Set ‘search term’ as the dimension.
• Add metrics such as ‘sessions’, ‘event count’, or ‘conversions’.
• Apply filters to narrow down the data (e.g., focus on searches within specific pages).
• This helps identify popular search terms, those leading to conversions, and the pages from which users are searching.

Path exploration:

• Navigate to ‘explore’ > ‘path exploration’ in the left-hand menu.
• Set a starting point (e.g., ‘page view’) and observe the subsequent steps users take.
• This reveals common user journeys and potential points where internal links could improve navigation. It also highlights where users are dropping off or navigating to unexpected pages.

Identifying ‘desire paths’:

‘Desire paths’ are the routes users naturally take, which may differ from the intended site structure. In GA4, identify them through:

• Path exploration (see above): Look for common paths that deviate from your planned site structure.
• Search terms: Frequent searches for hard-to-find information indicate a ‘desire path’ for easier access.
• Page reporting: High exit rates or low engagement on specific pages suggest users are struggling to find what they want.

How to optimise for authority flow

Brands can leverage site diagrams and content reports from marketing tools such as Search Console and Ahrefs to identify their most externally linked-to pages, and strategically plan organic internal links from them.

While your website likely has hundreds of pages, it is not necessary for you to do this for all of them. Start by looking at your top-performing 20 pages initially, and focus on pages that have a high number of backlinks, as these pages are already recognised as valuable by external sources. Strategically linking from these high-authority pages to other relevant pages within your site, allows brands to boost the visibility and ranking potential of those other pages. This process helps distribute link equity across your website, strengthening its overall authority.

What is crucial to remember is that each internal link should naturally fit within the context of the page it’s on. Avoid forcing links where they don’t belong, as this can confuse users and search engines. Instead, focus on linking to pages that provide additional information or context related to the topic being discussed.

Keywords

When incorporating keywords into your internal linking strategy, it’s crucial to link the first mention of other relevant products or services on a page to their corresponding pages. This practice signals to search engine crawlers the importance and interconnectedness of those pages, aiding in their indexing and understanding of your site’s structure and content hierarchy.

Ongoing maintenance

Maintaining an effective internal linking strategy is an ongoing process. It’s essential to develop a plan to ensure that all future content and pages align with your established linking strategy. Regular updates and adaptations are crucial. As your website evolves and new content is added, you’ll need to revisit and refine your internal links to maintain optimal performance and relevance.

Partnering with a marketing agency specialising in SEO can provide you with dedicated expertise and resources to consistently monitor, update, and optimise your internal linking strategy, ensuring it remains effective and aligns with best practices.

Summary & final remarks

Internal linking is a critical component of a robust SEO strategy and a seamless user experience. Strategically connecting pages within a website, enhances navigation, distributes link equity, and guides visitors along their desired journey. Maintaining and refining a well-planned internal linking strategy can significantly improve a website’s visibility, user engagement, and overall online success.

Technical SEO

Technical SEO is a critical component of optimising product page performance:

• Page speed: Making improvements to page speed and loading times is crucial for providing a smooth user experience and enhancing search engine rankings.
• Mobile friendly design: Mobile optimisation and responsiveness are also essential to reach a broader audience and align with mobile-first indexing practices.
• Schema markup: Implementing schema markup for product pages enables search engines to better understand the content and context, potentially resulting in rich snippets in search results and increased visibility.

User experience (UX) and conversion optimisation

To effectively convert visitors into customers, user experience (UX) and conversion optimisation are crucial for product pages. Providing clear and concise product information enables users to quickly grasp the value proposition. The use of high-quality images and videos also effectively showcase the product, while intuitive navigation and clear call-to-actions (CTAs) facilitate a seamless purchasing process.

Brands should also consider incorporating customer reviews and ratings to build trust and credibility, influencing purchasing decisions and ultimately driving conversions.

Internal linking

Internal linking plays a crucial role in enhancing both product page SEO and the overall user experience. Strategically linking to related products and categories guides users through to other pages of your website, encouraging further exploration of your brand. Descriptive and relevant anchor text within these links further improves navigation and provides valuable context for search engines.

This practice significantly enhances site navigation and crawlability, facilitating easier indexing for search engines and a clearer understanding of your site’s structure.

Conclusion

Optimising product pages for search engines is crucial to the success of any eCommerce store, or brand selling products online. Effective optimisation involves several key elements, from thorough keyword research and compelling content creation to technical SEO considerations. When combined, these elements significantly enhance product page visibility, attract a larger audience, and ultimately drive increased conversions and sales.

It’s crucial for brands, however, to remember that SEO is an ongoing process, requiring continuous monitoring, performance analysis, and data-driven strategy refinement.