Backlink to main page or to inner pages?

emerica1184

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I've read several posts on this and it seems the experts in the community are divided. From my understanding there are two viable options for ranking inner pages of a website:

I'll use cars.com for my example.

1) Backlink your main domain. This will pass down link juice to your inner pages and will allow them to rank with much fewer backlinks. (A lot of people say this is unnecessary) So backlink cars.com for a couple keywords like "car parts" "car battery" etc.

2) Backlink each inner page as if it were its own micro-niche site. i'd backlink "car parts" for cars.com/car-parts

In theory, option 1 would save much more money in the long run. Instead of spending $500 worth of backlinking on each inner page, you could spend $800 dollars getting the main page ranking and then only $200 to each subsequent page since the main page passes down link juice. Granted this is taking into account a website with 50+ articles/innerpages.

Would love to hear everyones' findings.
 
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I have the best results firstly link building to the homepage and when that is ranking well for its term then focus on inner pages. It makes the most sense really, trying to rank inner pages first is just more time consuming
 
Inner page backlinking is a good method for smaller keywords
 
If I'm aiming to rank a particular URL, I'd target that URL mostly but will spread a portion of the links to other inner pages as well as the homepage. I wouldn't ever focus solely on the homepage.
 
In my opinion it comes down to diversity. If you are linking almost exclusively to your homepage it is obviously not natural. Naturally, people will find different links on your site (including homepage and inner pages) useful. They pass juice both ways so if you have root domain within the BL you should be okay. IMO that is the way to go.
 
Well it really depends on the type of site you are building. I have sites, which I started before having any clue about link building, and I just splatter the link building across all pages/posts including the homepage. But then I have newer sites in which I have each page/post trying to rank for specific keywords, and therefore I will build links using those keywords to those particular pages.
 
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I would do both. If you silo structure your website the link juice from the inner pages will help push up your homepage/main keyword.
 
you could do 50-50 , main page will pass link juice to the other pages, but an inner page that is linked will pass juice to the main page and the rest of the pages, so you're not loosing anything. And anyway, after the last update i have a feeling that linking inner urls is a good idea as it makes it look more natural( people usually link an article, or an interesting page, not the main site..)
 
Do both. Build a portfolio of links to your main domain as well as to inner pages - do a focused cluster of keyword anchors for each inner page's links.
 
Inner pages.

I have several websites that rank top 3 on Google and Bing just from deep linking. I have never built a backlink to the homepage and focused on inner pages. It is a lot more natural and more powerful. I have had great success with it.

When you boost the presence of your inner pages, your pagerank will grow and your rankings to your homepage. Your inner pages will NEVER get a higher pagerank than your homepage, even if it has more backlinks and "link juice".

It has a tree like effect. The most weight will be given to the root.
 
I think it should be 40/60 in favour of inner pages as most people will link direct to the content and not the home page. Again as said in many threads before test it yourself and see what works for your site :)
 
Personally, I now focus on DOMAIN AUTHORITY. Hence, it doesn't matter where backlinks are being pointed, as long as you interlink properly on your site.
 
I will do both.. You will be surprised how some keywords my main page couldn't rank but my inner page outrank it without much effort..

Looks more natural to google as well..
 
You have to build backlinks to inner pages too. It looks natural that way and you are also increasing the power of your homepage. Make sure your inner pages are interlinked too.
 
I say both but have a bit more focus on the main page, its kinda like your base.
 
When you boost the presence of your inner pages, your pagerank will grow and your rankings to your homepage. Your inner pages will NEVER get a higher pagerank than your homepage, even if it has more backlinks and "link juice".

It has a tree like effect. The most weight will be given to the root.

I agree that this is generally the case, but I have to respectfully disagree. I own a site and the main domain has a PR of 2 but the blog in a subdirectory has a PR of 3.
 
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