By Shad Super in Questions —

How Can I Leverage Internal Linking to Increase the Ranking Potential of Cornerstone Content on My Website?

Summary

Internal linking is an effective SEO strategy for boosting the ranking potential of cornerstone content on your website. By interconnecting your content in a meaningful, hierarchical structure, your site becomes easier to navigate and crawl for search engine bots, which improves your ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs). Here is a comprehensive guide on how to leverage internal linking for increased ranking potential.

Understanding Internal Linking

Internal linking refers to any links from one page on a website that lead to another page on the same website. They help in defining the architecture and hierarchy of a website, distributing page authority and ranking power throughout the site [Internal Linking, Moz].

Establishing a Hierarchical Structure

Creating Cornerstone Content

Cornerstone content is the heart of your website. These are the most important and valuable pieces of content you want to rank well in the SERPs. Typically these are long, informative pieces that broadly cover the main topics of your website [Cornerstone Content to Help You Rank, Yoast].

Creating Supporting Content

Supporting content is other articles or pages on your site that are in the same topic cluster as your cornerstone content but cover subtopics or narrower aspects. They should be linked back to the respective cornerstone content, creating a topic-cluster internal linking model [Building Effective Topic Clusters, Reliablesoft.net].

Implementing an Effective Internal Linking Strategy

Anchor Text

The anchor text, the clickable text of a hyperlink, should be relevant to the page being linked and contain keywords if possible. The right anchor text can provide context and value for both users and search engines [Anchor Text Guide, Ahrefs].

Links should connect similar or relevant pieces of content. Irrelevant links can confuse users and harm your site's credibility [Understanding Link Relevancy, Search Engine Journal].

There isn't a definitive rule about the number of internal links on a page, but linking should be done in moderation. Too many links can dilute the value of each link and may lead to poorer user experience [Internal Linking Best Practices, ContentKing].

Conclusion

Effectively leveraging internal linking can greatly enhance the ranking potential of your website's cornerstone content. Ensure you establish a logical hierarchical structure with your content and implement a well-thought-out internal linkage system. The end goal is to create a beneficial navigational experience for your users and for the search engine bots.

References