Internal Linking

[patchlist]

My boss instructed me to work on the internal links of our website and wanted to boost our main page (homepage) using this method. We basically have a page for each county in new york, and each city of that counties. He wanted the cities to link back to their respective counties, and the counties linking back to our NY page, which is the homepage/mainpage. I do have questions regarding this:

1. are there any other ways to boost the main page via internal links?
2. are there any minimums/maximums/limits when it comes to internal linking?
3. is there anything that i should look out for/ things i should avoid when it comes to internal linking?

Hope you guys can help me. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[atlas_http]

1. Yes, in the Copyright (c) [Company Name] section, you can link [Company Name] to yourdomain.com
2. Not with this method. Otherwise, it would penalize too many websites against a very common practise.
3. Not that I know of, but perhaps avoid doing anything to excess and have some keyword diversity for anything other than your company name.

 

[patchlist]

1. Yes, in the Copyright (c) [Company Name] section, you can link [Company Name] to yourdomain.com
2. Not with this method. Otherwise, it would penalize too many websites against a very common practise.
3. Not that I know of, but perhaps avoid doing anything to excess and have some keyword diversity for anything other than your company name.

to clarify number 3. i should diversify the keyword that contains the link to our homepage?

 

[atlas_http]

No, Google is able to detect branding. You do NOT want to diversify on branding. If your company is "Widget XYZ, Inc." then you should just use that as the anchor text in the copyright. However, if you have other internal pages you're linking, such as a Q&A page, you want the link to look natural because natural links are almost always diversified anyway. For example, if you have a Q&A page that answers a question on how to get started with your company's software, you might have multiple links in the following contexts:

1. To get started with our company's software, try our [link]getting started guide[/link].
2. In our getting started guide, we show you [link]how to use our software[/link].
3. Thanks for downloading our software! Go on to [link]the next steps[/link].

All of the links above are using different anchor text, occur naturally, but they all point to the same page for the product's Getting Started guide.

 

[patchlist]

No, Google is able to detect branding. You do NOT want to diversify on branding. If your company is "Widget XYZ, Inc." then you should just use that as the anchor text in the copyright. However, if you have other internal pages you're linking, such as a Q&A page, you want the link to look natural because natural links are almost always diversified anyway. For example, if you have a Q&A page that answers a question on how to get started with your company's software, you might have multiple links in the following contexts:

1. To get started with our company's software, try our [link]getting started guide[/link].
2. In our getting started guide, we show you [link]how to use our software[/link].
3. Thanks for downloading our software! Go on to [link]the next steps[/link].

All of the links above are using different anchor text, occur naturally, but they all point to the same page for the product's Getting Started guide.

I get it now. so its called anchor text, not keyword. I do have ways for the anchors to come naturally. And we do keep our company name consistent.

 

[patchlist]

No, Google is able to detect branding. You do NOT want to diversify on branding. If your company is "Widget XYZ, Inc." then you should just use that as the anchor text in the copyright. However, if you have other internal pages you're linking, such as a Q&A page, you want the link to look natural because natural links are almost always diversified anyway. For example, if you have a Q&A page that answers a question on how to get started with your company's software, you might have multiple links in the following contexts:

1. To get started with our company's software, try our [link]getting started guide[/link].
2. In our getting started guide, we show you [link]how to use our software[/link].
3. Thanks for downloading our software! Go on to [link]the next steps[/link].

All of the links above are using different anchor text, occur naturally, but they all point to the same page for the product's Getting Started guide.

Does it matter how the anchor text is placed? does it have to be within a paragraph or can it be in a one-sentence paragraph?

this is how i did it right now. is this fine?

 

[NeedMyLink]

There's no hard limit on internal links, but don't overdo it. Too many and you'll dilute the value each link passes. Avoid using exact-match anchor text excessively, as it can look spammy to Google.

 

[JollySEO]

1. You already got some solid advice on this, I would add that something to keep in mind is that implementing a logical internal linking structure, which may include elements like breadcrumbs and related posts sections, helps guide users seamlessly throughout the website and should be something you do.

2. There are no strict minimums or maximums when it comes to internal linking. However, it's important to strike a balance to maintain a natural flow and positive user experience. Avoid over-linking / unnaturally linking, as excessive links can appear spammy and also detract from the user experience. Each internal link should add genuine value to the content and navigation of the website.

3. Stick to best practices to get the most out of internal linking. Avoid linking excessively or to irrelevant content, as this can harm your main page's authority. Use descriptive anchor text to provide clear context. Ensure that every link is valuable and useful to your audience. Finally, avoid overusing keywords in your anchor text to avoid penalties from search engines.

 

[doubledhamal]

Internal links help in ranking because they make user experience better. That does not mean that you should create so many internal links, as it can cause penalty as well.

 

[tylero]

2. are there any minimums/maximums/limits when it comes to internal linking?

There are no minima or maxima for link count internally, just be on the lookout for the tipping point of user experience and interaction. That's just it

 

[blackbeans]

This is a very spammy approach to SEO.

I would make sure that the internal county page has enough original information and is actually useful for you to pull this off.

Generally speaking, if you're just going to be targeting the same page, which is your home page, this should just be part of the navigation of the site.

The best way to boost the main page through internal links is contextual backlinks.

Each page talks about something different about the areas covered by the main page.

Focus on that because the higher the value of the content in these contextual pages, the more link value they can pass on to the home page.

 

[Skratch2k]

According to some SEO (who was on the Niche Pursuits podcast - but don't ask me which episode) who ran extensive tests about internal linking, the benefit of internal links increases up to about 10-15 internal links per page (don't remember the actual number). Further internal links do not provide any benefit. So I guess, if you place around 10 internal links per page, you should have the optimal outcome. Of course, you can very that a bit, it is maybe better to place only 5 internal links on a page if you don't have more valid link targets than to just come up with 5 more random links that don't offer any value.

 

[njbox]

For internal links, try to use long tail keyword anchor text.

Focus on how many internal links each page should give out rather than thinking about how many internal links each page should receive.

Are you using any templates for your website or a wordpress directory to create the city, county structure?

 

[MF Group]

Make it natural cause Google always likes natural things as well as visitors.

 

[CSRDP]

I think you should ask those who write news to insert a link to your site in their articles, Google does not like bots, there must be real people

 

[KalseoAgency]

You have external backlink options to boost these pages, rather than doing internal linking

 

[Deleted member 752298]

For internal links, try to use long tail keyword anchor text.

Focus on how many internal links each page should give out rather than thinking about how many internal links each page should receive.

Are you using any templates for your website or a wordpress directory to create the city, county structure?

As @njbox already suggested, its good to think about your internal link strategy.

A helpful plugin to assist you is Link Whisper:

https://linkwhisper.com/

 

[Dototoro]

Yup, there are plenty of ways to beef up internal linking. Consider linking from blog posts, related services pages, or even product pages back to your main page. It's all about creating a web of interconnectedness.As for limits, there's no hard and fast rule, but too many links can clutter things up. Aim for relevance and natural linking, rather than quantity.When it comes to internal linking, watch out for over-optimization. Keep it natural and user-friendly. And hey, have you heard of CrawlSpider? It's a nifty tool that can help you analyze and optimize your internal linking structure.

 

[backz12]

Internal linking is good but should not be used too much because it can lead to penalties

 

[search$$]

My boss instructed me to work on the internal links of our website and wanted to boost our main page (homepage) using this method. We basically have a page for each county in new york, and each city of that counties. He wanted the cities to link back to their respective counties, and the counties linking back to our NY page, which is the homepage/mainpage. I do have questions regarding this:

1. are there any other ways to boost the main page via internal links?
2. are there any minimums/maximums/limits when it comes to internal linking?
3. is there anything that i should look out for/ things i should avoid when it comes to internal linking?

Hope you guys can help me. Any help is greatly appreciated.

2) I remembered reading an article saying not to have more than 200 internal links on any single page, which is fair enough.
3) Aim to avoid having more than one internal link from the same page using different anchor texts. For example, if you have "black shoes" and "shoes" both linking back from XZY page, Google will only see the first anchor text.