Effective link building throughout your business blog will increase website traffic, help users navigate between pages, and keep your growing site organized.
Internal links are a key component of link-building. Read on to learn more about what internal links are, why they are important, and how to use them.
Jump Ahead
What Are Internal Links?
Internal links connect pages within your website. In a blog post, this looks like text that links to another page on your own site.
Internal Links vs. External Links
Internal links connect two pages on the same website. In contrast, external links connect pages that are part of different websites.
Both types of links help your blog in different ways. Internal link building helps you build a well-organized and easy-to-navigate website. External link building helps you build authority and connect your readers to other valuable information.
Why Are Internal Links Important?
We love internal links because they:
organize your website
direct readers to other useful pages on your website
keep people on your site longer
help search engines understand how to navigate your website
Internal Links Organize Your Website
Your website becomes more complex as it grows over time. With every new blog post, your website gains a brand new page for your potential customers and search engines to find.
Your ever-growing website is a wonderful thing! You are building a quality blog filled with information your readers will love.
However, a website with so many pages and features can also be overwhelming to readers or search engines looking for a specific piece of information.
Internal links connect your blog posts to other relevant information on your website, creating an organized structure that is easy to navigate.
Internal Links Direct Readers to Other Useful Pages On Your Website
Internal links are a simple (but effective) way to send your audience to other pages on your website they might be interested in reading.
For example, there is an internal link in this blog post to our blog post about external links. We included this because if you have questions about internal links, there is a good chance you are also interested in learning about external links. (Missed the link? Check out our post on external links.)
Internal links not only encourage people to visit more pages on your website, but also stop readers from leaving to search Google to research a term they just saw in your blog post. Once they leave, they might never return to your website.
Internal Links Keep People On Your Site Longer
We want to keep people on our websites as long as possible. The longer someone spends on your site, the more likely it is that you will convert them to a subscriber or a customer.
Business blogs exist to provide potential customers with valuable information that encourages them to start a working professional relationship with the business producing the blog.
You are much more likely to convert your readers to customers if you show them your entire website is filled with great information - not just the page they are currently reading.
Internal Links Help Search Engines Understand How To Navigate Your Website
Internal links boost your SEO, helping you rank higher on search results pages for your targeted keywords.
Just as internal links help your readers understand how to navigate your website, it also helps search engines figure out how your website is structured. This helps search engines crawl and index your page more effectively, making it more likely that they share your pages with users.
Internal links boost your page views and other metrics that can improve your SEO. Each time someone clicks on an internal link, your website stats go up! Search engines use these metrics to decide if your website is valuable enough to share with their users, so you want to keep them looking as good as possible.
What Internal Links Should I Include in My Blog Posts?
Internal links should help your readers find valuable and relevant information on your own website. They can also provide opportunities for readers to become customers.
Here are a few suggestions for internal links to include in your blog posts:
Links to other blog posts with related information
Links to your products or services related to the blog post topic
Links to a contact page for additional questions or to request a quote
Links to general product or service information pages related to the blog post topic
Links to reviews, testimonials, or other pages that show your expertise in the topic you are writing about
Our Recommendation: Set Up A Content Pillar Page
One way to start internal linking is to set up a content pillar page. A content pillar page is a page on your site that contains a large amount of information about a broad topic.
Once your content pillar page is completed, add internal links throughout the page to send readers to places with more specific information about relevant sub-topics.
For example, we have a free guide to content marketing for small businesses on our website. The content marketing guide includes information on everything from the definition of content marketing to specific methods and techniques to use, such as link building.
Throughout the content marketing guide, we included links to various blog posts that elaborate on sub-topics mentioned in the guide. These internal links help direct readers to important information and allow them to view specific pages without sifting through the many posts on our blog.
Once you set up your pillar page, update it periodically to add internal links to new posts published on your blog.
Wrapping Up
Internal links are links that connect two pages within your website.
Internal links are an excellent way to organize your website, increase page views, and boost your SEO.
Include internal links to other posts with relevant information, products and services, and other pages on your website you want readers to see.
If you're looking for help with your blog, or someone to do the job for you, check out our blog services page to learn more about how we can help. We create blogs that are customized for your small business (and your budget).
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