Is Internal Linking the easiest SEO strategy?

Internal linking is simply setting up a hyper link from one of your web pages to another web page.

It is very often ignored on most websites we are asked to audit or review. It is always surprising to me as it is such an easy and effective strategy to set up. And it is very important as it guides the user towards the most relevant content for them – keeping them more engaged.

However, the key is having keyword targets for each web page. Without keyword targets on each web page it is much less effective. Let’s say there is a web page on an Accountants website that focuses on business tax returns. The keyword target for that web page will be “business tax returns” so whenever there is copy on any web page that mentions business tax returns then it makes sense to include a hyper link with the text “business tax returns” to the “business tax returns” web page.

In this example, not only will it boost the rankings of the Business Tax returns web page for the keyword search “Business Tax Returns”, it will help users find the most relevant pages – which means a better user experience – which means an increased conversion rate.

There are exceptions when we would not add in internal links: for example, on a landing page that is purely set up to convert users (eg from a specific Google AdWords campaign). We don’t want visitors distracted when they land on the landing page so we stick to focusing them on converting (eg leave their email address to receive your newsletter).

The diagram above highlights how you can use internal linking to boost the rankings of the web page of a featured product or the web page that features your most profitable service or clearly highlights your target market – ensuring you gain high quality clients!

Hopefully, this all sounds like common sense however a lack of internal linking is probably the most common on page SEO factor we see ignored.