Have you ever clicked a link on a website and ended up on another page with relevant information on someone else's site? That's linking at work! Linking connects web pages together through clickable hyperlinks. It's not only helpful for users to navigate between pages, but also plays a vital role in search engine optimisation (SEO).
Search engines use links to understand the structure of a website and how different pages are related to each other. A well-linked website is more likely to be ranked higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). So, if you're building a website, understanding linking is crucial to improving your website's visibility and accessibility.
What are all the types of links that could be on your website?
Internal links: These are links that connect different pages within the same website.
External links: These links point to pages on other websites.
Navigation links: These are links that help users move between different pages on a website.
Anchor links: Anchor links allow users to jump to specific sections of a page.
Backlinks: Backlinks, also known as inbound links, are links from other websites that point to your website.
So how can you improve the quality of the links on your website?
Internal links: Make sure that your internal links are relevant and add value to your content. Use descriptive anchor text that clearly describes the content of the page that you're linking to.
What you can do now : Regularly go through your site and check each page to make sure all the links are working and current or if there is additional content you can be linking
Link to high-quality, relevant content: One of the most important factors in linking for SEO is to ensure that the links you use are relevant and high-quality.
What you can do now : It’s okay to link to other sites if you need to and the site is reputable. Check out each page of your site and see if you can add a valuable link that helps people find what they need.
Use descriptive anchor text: Anchor text is the clickable text that appears in a hyperlink, and it's important to use descriptive, keyword-rich anchor text to help search engines understand what the linked page is about. For example, instead of using "click here" as anchor text, use something like "learn more about SEO best practices".
What you can do now : If you have links in your page that are text, go through and apply this technique above as though you are explaining to Google and your user what is on the page they are going to in words. Please note this doesn't apply to buttons only anchor text.
Monitor your backlink profile: Backlinks are links from other websites that point to your own, and they can have a significant impact on your website's ranking in search results.
What you can do now : So how does the 'average Jill' create quality backlinks for their website? There are a few methods that are best practice. Some legit techniques are guest blogging, broken link building, social media sharing, directory submissions and infographics. We will put up a new blog about creating backlinks soon.
Avoid black hat linking tactics:
Finally, it's important to avoid any black hat linking tactics that can result in penalties from search engines. This includes tactics like buying links or using link farms to artificially inflate your website's link profile. Instead, focus on building a natural, high-quality link profile over time.
Why is linking important on your website?
Here are a few statistics that you may find useful about your on-page SEO and linking!
See real data on the importance of creating quality linking on your website - These studies have been conducted on the impact of optimised links on website rankings:
Ahrefs study: https://ahrefs.com/blog/organic-search-traffic-study/
Moz study: https://moz.com/blog/which-pages-rank-best
Backlinko study: https://backlinko.com/search-engine-ranking
Search Engine Journal survey: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/state-of-digital-marketing/link-building-strategy/
Contact us about your website linking