Many marketers will start the topic of internal linking by saying how important and complicated it is. Yes, it is important but it’s not complicated. You can say it can get advanced sometimes, but it’s a rather simple concept which everyone can learn easily.

Regardless of what anyone thinks of it, if you have a website, you’ll have to implement it. Not randomly, but strategically because it’s an important thing in SEO.

In this article, I’ll talk about internal linking for content marketing. I’ll also talk about 6 internal linking strategies that’ll boost your content marketing. This way, you can implement it on an ongoing basis on your blog posts and other content.

Let’s get started.

Basics of Internal Linking

If you are a beginner, this topic will help you. And if you are an expert, it wouldn’t hurt to brush up on some internal linking basics.

Internal linking is the process of connecting one webpage to another webpage on the same website. The source domain and target domain are the same during this process.

Now let’s look at the purpose of internal linking. Internal linking has three main purposes:

1. It helps in website navigation
2. Defines the architecture and hierarchy of a website
3. Distributes page authority and ranking power throughout the site

Now let’s look at the theory behind internal linking. The solid information about this topic can sound too much sometimes. However, there’s still some explanation available about how Google ranks and values the internal network of linking.

Internal linking improves the SEO value of a site. It does that by giving paths for spiders and users who spend more time on a website.

Now let’s see how you can do it for your website using 6 strategies.

Follow These Internal Linking Strategies

Create Lots of Content

First, you need to create killer content. And for that, you need a killer content marketing strategy.

If you have tons of content, you have linkable content. It’s simple: You want more links to more places.

You might find internal linking strategies online that give you complex layers of pages and organizational spreadsheets. I think you don’t need that.

It should look more like a web than an organizational chart. Just create plenty of links to plenty of content, and you’re good to go.

To get started with creating killer content, you can use tools like Ubersuggest. Go to their main page, enter a keyword in the search bar and click Search. Then click Keyword Ideas in the left sidebar.

Then, choose your keywords based on:

1. Search volume: 1000+ search volume is a good place to start. You don’t want to go too high because big brands may already be targeting them.
2. SEO difficulty (SD): Start with keywords that have low SD.
3. Keyword intent: Select keywords related to your brand that people will be searching for.

Internal linking is a natural process. Still, you can accelerate it by using long-tail keywords in your content.

For example, you create a post on keyword, “How to Get Started With SEO.” And you use a second keyword “Google SEO vs. YouTube SEO” in it. Later, when you create a post on the second keyword, you can interlink the pages.

Use Anchor Text

Sean Work describes it the best:

Write your alt tags like if you had to describe them to someone who is blind…

Use anchor text as opposed to linked images. If the images are not the main source of links, image links work (given the image has a proper alt tag.)

When it comes to the actual text, don’t think too much about it. Let it sound natural. Don’t use any tricks. Highlight it and be done with it.

Link Deep

The more deep you link, the better it is. Avoid these pitfalls:

• Linking to your homepage: Many websites fall for this trap. Instead, you want to links to low-level pages to boost the overall SEO of your site.
• Linking to your homepage: Many new content marketers do that. They will tell users to contact them in case of any queries and link to their contact us page. Don’t link to the contact us page unless it’s absolutely necessary.

Generally, don’t link to top-level pages: They are already covered by the main navigation menu. Instead, go for deep links within the structure of your site.

Use Natural Links

You must take into account the ease of your reader. Focus on providing value and information first. After that, the SEO benefits should come to your mind.

Include links that truly match the context of the content. Think about what the reader may be interested in.

Use relevant links. You are telling search engines that this link is important and relevant. So don’t just link for the sake of linking.

Use Follow Links

Follow links are the best for internal linking. A while ago, people thought that nofollow links work. They don’t work as an SEO strategy.

Use a Reasonable Number of Internal Links

This is Google’s advice on links:

“Keep the links on a given page to a reasonable number.”

You won’t know what the exact magical number is. I’ll give you an estimate. If your post length is 1,500+ and the navigation is not link-heavy, you can throw 10 to 20 internal links easily.

Do you have a special approach to internal linking? Let me know in the comments below.