An internal link is a hyperlink on a website that links to another page on the same website. Internal links show people where to go and it helps website visitors to navigate your site.
Getting internal linking on your site wrong can cause a lot of problems. In terms of SEO, internal links are viewed very differently to external links, but it doesn’t mean that internal links have no power in changing crawling patterns or search results.
Anchor text is something that should be considered. Search engines have generally minimised the importance of anchor text, but it’s still good to get this right. When Google sees manipulation in the internal link structure, such as stuffing anchor text into all the links, it can damage your position in search results. There is an algorithmic penalty for these types of practices, so keyword stuffing in footers, navigation or anchor text should be avoided. The good news is that Google reverses this penalty, so if you notice that your website is losing rankings, fix these issues first.
If a page on your website has a lot of external links to it, then it will gain authority. If you have very well linked to pages on your site, make sure to link out to external pages as well, as this also signals to Google that it is a high-quality page.
A solid internal and external linking strategy is needed as part of your SEO efforts.
Need help with your Search Engine Optimization? Then contact WSI OMS today.