Why Are External And Internal Links Considered To Be One Of The Most Important Things In Semalt SEO? 


Linking, otherwise known as link building, is commonly used by SEO specialists to raise the position of a given website under specific keywords. Creative linking aimed at acquiring valuable links is one of the most effective methods of positioning websites.

Both internal and external linking contributes to increasing the position of search results and thus has a positive effect on the positioning of the website.

What is internal linking, and what are the benefits?

Internal linking is the placement of site links in different places on one page. Such action is primarily aimed at facilitating navigation - moving around the site and shortening the time of "passing" from one tab to another as much as possible. It is easier not only for people visiting your website, but also for search engine robots, which can index it faster, and thus, it will be visible faster in the search engine.

Well-done internal linking allows you to:

Internal linking - which strategy to choose?


Specialists who carry out positioning and optimization daily indicate three options for choosing an internal linking strategy:
  1. linking focused on search engine robots - the website is prepared in such a way that search engine robots can easily navigate through it. Links placed in this way must be visible in the code of the website in the form of pure HTML, but this solution does not work for large websites. Moreover, overloading the page with such links and keywords may lead to imposing a fine on the page;
  2. linking focused on users - links of this type are dynamic and should be clearly marked so that the person navigating the page can easily find a link to the section of the page they are interested in;
  3. linking as a compromise between the above options - this solution gives the most benefits, as it is a balance between targeting the robots and the user. This allows you to gain in the eyes of Google and at the same time makes it easier for users to navigate the site.

How to properly do internal linking, and what mistakes to avoid?

Here are some of the most important rules for internal linking:
Internal linking can be very useful, but it needs to be done properly. The following mistakes are most often made with this type of activity:

External links - what for?

External Link: What Is An External Link & Its Importance in SEO

External linking, as a link from another portal leading to our website, is an important element supporting the website positioning processes. We can separate external links into incoming and outgoing.
  1. Incoming links are those that are on other websites and lead to our home page or a specific subpage on our website.
  2. Outbound links are those placed on our site. Outgoing external links will lead to other websites, and internal outgoing links to other subpages on our website.

What do you really need external and internal links for?

External and internal links are not only SEO. External links were created so that we could conveniently move between external websites with one click.

Internal links, in turn, allow us to conveniently navigate within a given website. Otherwise, whenever we wanted to go to a different page or change the displayed photo in the gallery, we would have to enter a new address in the search engine, which would make browsing websites extremely tiring.

Many people think that only external links (especially incoming) have an impact on SEO. This is not true. Each properly optimized website should have a well-prepared system of internal links leading to each subpage. What for? All because thanks to it, Google robots will be able to easily navigate through the entire website and will be able to properly index each of its subpages.

Text links and image links

What's the difference between text and image links?

What does a text link look like? These are most often an underlined sentence, word or a few words that change color when you hover the mouse over them. A text link may contain an anchor, i.e. a description of the link, or the address of another website itself. The text link, placed in the text, may look like <a href=( http://www.semalt.comCheck> Link description </a> In the second case, the link contains the " title " attribute and a description of the link.

The graphic link is a colored field, which after pressing, will redirect us to another page. Graphic links are also often used as internal links because they have a positive effect on the visual value of the website. Then the page, instead of the underlined words " read more ", may contain a colored rectangle with the words " go to the next page ". Graphic links are often used when presenting a gallery on the website, consisting of at least a few photos.

Attributes for opening links

By placing links on your website, either outgoing external links or leading to other subpages on the website, you still have the option to set the attributes for opening links. You can set whether the page or subpage to which the link leads will open in the same window or whether it will open in a new, automatically opening browser window.

In the case of internal links, it is possible to open on the same page, and then the reader or client, after clicking the link, remains on our website. For outgoing external links, you'd better set the attribute to open in a new window. What for? So that a visitor to your website can conveniently come back to you in a few moments without having to press back in the search engine.

Thanks to attributes, we can assign specific tasks to links. They also allow you to determine from which source your link is made available. For example, the "sponsored" attribute tells us that the link comes from paid ads. Another link of this type is the UGC link, i.e. content shared by internet users, and specifically our recipients. By using a UGC link, internet users can support your linking processes and share your content. However, not always do portals or users want to forward your content, and this fact may result from various factors.

5 reasons why others won't link to your site

How to Create Anchor Links in WordPress (3 Easy Methods)

1. Your website does not look like a website from the internet era

You created a website a few years ago and maybe you were the first in your industry. You stood out with the design, functionality and intuitiveness of such a website. Have you made any changes since then? Have you checked what your competitors' websites look like, with thousands or even millions of hits every day? If not, your website may be outdated. The Internet is a very dynamic environment. If you don't develop along with its development, you fall behind, and no one will recommend your website.

Check out the websites of other companies that operate in your industry. Try to adapt to the changes that have occurred. Also, pay attention to the trends related to the functionality and layout of the website that will be of great importance soon and create a good website. If you start to stand out from the crowd again, others will be more likely to recommend the link to your site.

2. Image problem on the home page

Imagine that you enter a website, and in place of the graphics, you see a link or an icon of an incorrectly loaded image. You think that the website was made unprofessionally, or there was an error in the code of the website and nobody has updated it so far. Consider if your website has similar errors. The graphics on the home page should load without any major problems. The website becomes a showcase of the company, and it is through it that the customer decides to establish cooperation with your company and recommend your website on the web. You probably wouldn't link to the page on which the errors appear.

3. Your website loading time is too long

The times when users used the internet for tariffs and impulses are over. Now practically everyone uses the Internet, which allows you to achieve decent loading speeds of web content. If a user clicks on a link to a page and it loads for too long, he/she will give up its further loading and certainly will not link to it from his/her site. He/she will rather choose the side of the competitor. So try to optimize your page so that the content loads quickly. You can also use free tools that allow you to analyze the loading time of a website like the Dedicated SEO Dashboard Page speed analyzer.

4. No current content

When you decide to use a more interactive website, i.e., keeping a blog, event log or forum for users, you should update it regularly and systematically. This does not mean that you have to publish a post, article or document every day. However, you should maintain regularity in the content you publish. If you have "accustomed" Internet users to a publication on tips on the use of a specific product every Monday, try to publish such documents every Monday. Too long a break in the publication may suggest to the viewer that the site is not being updated, that you don't have time for it, and that it is, therefore, not worth recommending. You just lost another link to a page.

5. Ads on the site

The last obvious, but often overlooked reason for the lack of page referrals is the fact of ads popping up on your site suddenly. Users are still flooded with advertisements on websites. Do not let too many of them on your site discourage users from visiting it and recommending it.

Conclusion

Now you know why it is so important for you to constantly monitor and analyze your website with a powerful SEO tool. Also, do not forget to build an appropriate link structure on it that will bring you closer to achieving your goals and support SEO processes for your website. Taking care of good internal and external links is an activity that we guarantee thanks to our SEO tool, the Dedicated SEO Dashboard.