Correct internal linking is a thoughtful distribution of link weight within the site. It helps achieve the following goals:

  • Improving site indexing. All important pages are included in the search engine index. New ones are scanned by the search robot as quickly as possible;
  • Transferring weight to promoted pages. Concentration of weight on important pages is perceived by search engines. They highlight them, reflecting them more often in search results;
  • Formation of an effective resource hierarchy;
  • Ease of navigation for users. This allows you to improve behavioral factors, indirectly contributing to promotion. Thanks to the availability of content, users are more likely to take targeted actions.

Types of internal links

Contextual links

More often anchor . Found in the main content. The anchor text should match the theme of the page that opens when clicked.

Contextual links can be considered the most significant. They are convenient for users as they help them find additional information. The anchor functions as a key, so this linking conveys link and anchor weight.

Navigation links

Block of links for page navigation. Increases the comfort of working with information with large volumes of text. Search engines recognize such elements well.

Cross-links

They do not participate in the distribution of weight, as they are placed on all pages. The simplest example of such a block of links is a site navigation menu. Cross-links are recognized by search engines. Their task is indexing and ease of navigation for the user.

"Useful links

A separate block of links to relevant or similar content. Example – feature articles, overlapping products. Their work must be flawless.

“Useful” links should be placed to interesting content. If there are no clicks on the link for a long time (for Google this is 6-12 months) and the content on the page being opened remains unchanged, the link is no longer taken into account when indexing.

"Breadcrumbs"

A chain of links designed to help the user determine their location. The optimal solution for sites with nesting of more than 3-4 levels.

« Breadcrumbs » increase ease of navigation. They can be found in online stores and content collections.

Weight redistribution scheme

Request type ( LF , SC, VC) – the main factor determining the choice of weight redistribution scheme. There are several basic options:

  • Ring. Pages that convey weight have at least 2 links - to the one being promoted and the next one in the circle. Such a closed system has a disadvantage. If one of the pages of the ring falls out, the entire structure is disrupted. Suitable for HF and MF requests;
  • Star. The weight is evenly distributed between the pages (2-3 links for each). Suitable for all levels of requests;
  • Hierarchy. There is a promoted page leading to the hub, from where there are links to pages that transfer weight (all link to the promoted page). If the hub ceases to be available, the scheme will not be able to fully operate. The hierarchy is suitable for high-frequency queries when all the weight needs to be concentrated on certain pages with highly competitive queries.

These diagrams are the basis from which you can build.

Avoid common mistakes:

  • periodically check the functionality of the links;
  • do not forget to transfer weight to new pages for faster promotion;
  • a click on the logo should always lead to the main page;
  • the link in the logo on the main page should not be active. This generates cyclic transitions, worsening indexing;
  • do not place more than 50-150 links from one page (including navigation, breadcrumbs, menus, cross-links).

Use auxiliary tools for analysis, but do not make linking completely automatic. This will worsen the result.