SEO is like a puzzle with many pieces. Businesses need to keep updating how they show up online and keep making new stuff to stay visible.
Search engines like Google and Bing reward companies with quality SEO by giving them higher search rankings and optimized rich cards, but the relationship is mutually beneficial. Google favors businesses with highly target oriented SEO because it understands what they do and can deliver a better product to its users.
A top method to make your website great for search engines and get noticed is through blogs, keywords, and the topic of this blog: links inside and outside your site.
Using links that connect to other parts of your website or to other websites can make your content better for people and search engines. But lots of website owners still aren’t sure about these links and how they’re different. Keep reading to find out what makes internal and external links unique, and see how they can change up your website’s SEO game.
SEO Links
| Internal |
|---|
| Directing user from your website to another page on your site |
| Possibility to rank your other pages in Google higher |
| Helps readers to navigate through your website easily |
| External |
|---|
| Directing user away from your website to another website |
| Getting links to your site from other websites can increase your ranking |
| It can help Google understand what your content is about if you link to a trustworthy source |
What are Internal Links?
An internal link, sometimes called a cross-link, is like a special link that guides you to another page on your own website. It’s like when a blog post points you to another blog post or a ‘related items’ section that sends you to a page about a product. These links help people stay on your website more and get interested in what you have. It’s all about keeping them engaged and interested.
Benefits of Internal Links
Ever wonder why it’s good for visitors to stick around on your website? Well, Google pays attention to that. When folks quickly leave your site without checking out your stuff, it’s called a bounce. But if your bounce rate is low, it means your website is authentic and trustable. And Google likes that. It can boost where you show up in searches and make it easier for search engines to understand and list all the quality things on your site, as people keep using those links to explore more pages.
Internal links also improve the user experience on your site. Use an internal link to guide a visitor to other content they might want to see. Maybe you’re writing a blog about the best hotels for a weekend stay in the Bay Area – add an internal link to your blog on must-try restaurants in San Francisco. Internal linking SEO like this can help keep your visitors engaged and even sell your product or service.
What Are External Links?
External links take us to pages on other websites. You’ve likely spotted them in blogs with facts or research, where the link is like a source. When a different website links to yours, it’s called a backlink. Though external links reduce visitors’ time on your site, they are a great tool to improve SEO and credibility.
Benefits of External Links
The use of high-quality external links will increase your domain authority and subsequently improve your search rankings. Search engines will better understand what your blog or article is about if they can relate it to another website with high domain authority.
With external linking for SEO, you don’t need to worry as much about bounce rates. Even though you’re sending readers elsewhere, this can actually make your site seem more reliable and might make them come back. For example, if you’re writing about how websites with higher visitor “time on site” generally rank higher on Google.
Optimizing Your Links for SEO
Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s dig into the nitty-gritty of how to make your external links work their best for SEO:
- Gather info about your links using Google Search Console. It shows your backlinks, links to other sites, and links inside your site.
- Pick links that come from trustworthy sites. Make sure your internal and external links are up-to-date and fit what you’re talking about. Before you link to another site, make sure it’s a reliable one.
- Be super accurate! Before you publish your blog, make sure all your links go where they should.
- Don’t link to bad sources. This means avoiding Wikipedia, competing websites, biased blogs, sites with annoying pop-ups, and similar articles.
- Stick to good sources like official government sites, educational resources, and trustworthy review places like Consumer Reports.
- Top of Form
Let’s check out some top tips for using internal links:
- Add links to pages that make sense. Don’t force a link where it doesn’t fit. If you’re talking about products, it’s smart to link to other ‘related products’.
- Avoid linking to your homepage too much. Usually, it’s not needed and won’t help your readers much.
