Internal links play a decisive role in the structure and functionality of a website and therefore also in search engine optimization (SEO). These are so-called hyperlinks that refer from one page within the same domain to another page on the same website. This type of linking not only serves to guide users and improve the user experience, but also has a significant impact on SEO. Intelligent internal linking can structure content better, increase the visibility of pages and facilitate indexing by search engines. In this article, we at sandbox.one-line.ch will look at the various aspects of internal linking, explain its benefits and provide tips on how to implement it effectively.
Sense and purpose: What are internal links?
Internal links should not be missing on any website. These fulfill numerous purposes at the same time and are very important not only for users, but also for search engines.
For users
Many website visitors use the internal links primarily as navigation and therefore serve to provide better orientation. Furthermore, the internal links of a website offer the opportunity to direct users in one direction and accordingly draw their attention to further content and exciting topics. This should lead to readers staying on the website for longer. This in turn has a positive influence on the classification of a website, so that the ranking is positively influenced.
For search engines
Not all websites have enough natural backlinks. Internal linking is therefore more important than ever. For example, if the Google bot visits the respective website, it will also follow the links found on it. In addition, the anchor text is also read and interpreted here.
The internal links provide the bot with important information about the other content on the website. In addition, it is now also shown that there is a thematic connection between the subpages. This also means that the bot can now recognize why a certain subpage is more important than another. This is done, among other things, by the number of internal links. The search engine can now do this even without external links.
Difference between internal and external links
Search engines such as Google have developed effective spam filters to monitor the quality of backlinks. In contrast to external links, however, there are no comparable restrictions for internal hyperlinks. Nowadays, it is advisable to avoid excessive keyword use in external links in order to avoid possible penalties from Google.
When it comes to internal links, it is important to use relevant keywords in the link text. This allows search engines to better understand the structure and content of the website. Unlike with external links, website operators do not have to worry about problems such as “bad neighborhood” with internal links. Within a domain, it is basically possible to link from any page to any other URL and back again.
How many internal links do I need?
There is no general answer to how many internal links a website should have. Above all, it is important to place them intelligently and appropriately. They must be relevant links that make sense and are not placed randomly. Experts recommend that the internal linking of a website should reflect its structure. However, this also means that you should never place too many links. If you place too many links, readers may quickly become overwhelmed. For a long time, it was assumed that a URL should never have more than 100 internal links, but today there is no longer a limit. Many website operators work according to the rule of thumb of an average of five to six internal links per page.
Important: The so-called crawl budget of a Googlebot is limited by the number of links of a URL.
Internal links: Important for SEO?
It is not uncommon for website operators to think that internal linking is not that important. However, this is wrong. It is not only possible to guide visitors through sensibly placed internal links. It also steers Google crawlers in the right direction. Internal linking gives Google the signal that the individual pages of a website are linked to each other in terms of content.
Important: Set solid linking structures. This makes it easier for the Google bot to navigate through the website. Accordingly, the relevance is also better understood. Relevance for the keywords is the most important factor in Google ranking.
Orphan pages, on the other hand, have no ranking potential. These are pages that do not have any inbound links. However, it is also clear that it is not possible for every page to have external links. Google therefore also sees internal links as an indication of relevance.
Important factors at a glance:
- Internal links from the main content usually pass on more PageRank
- Links that appear in the footer, navigation or sitebar of your website tend to give less PageRank.
- The further down the links are placed, the lower the PageRank. Important pages should therefore always be linked as high up in the text as possible. The first internal links are therefore always the most important
