Why Internal Linking Is Important for Ecommerce SEO
Introduction
Imagine your eCommerce website as a vast net, intricately woven to capture the attention of online shoppers. Within this digital web, there are two types of connections: internal and external linking, both of which play pivotal roles in shaping your eCommerce SEO strategy.
The Power of External Links
External links are akin to the anchors of your net, extending it to distant horizons. These connections tie your website to external sources, broadening your reach and strengthening your online presence.
Table of Contents
It’s evident why backlinks hold such significance in SEO. They broaden the scope of your net, but what happens within it? What ensures that your internal structure remains robust while the outer edges expand?
The Significance of Internal Links
Internal links are the hidden architecture within your net. These links create a resilient network within your website, bridging gaps and preventing your product and content pages from slipping through the cracks. They provide an efficient path for Googlebot to crawl your site and offer added value to your users.
In essence, effective internal linking is your ticket to increased traffic, the distribution of link equity, and enhanced revenue. Today, we’ll guide you through the art of mastering internal linking, covering:
- Understanding the essence of internal linking
- The impact of different internal linking types on your SEO efforts
- Our top 10 recommended strategies for online retailers
Understanding Internal Linking
Internal linking goes beyond placing links in breadcrumbs or sidebars. It’s a deliberate, comprehensive strategy aimed at elevating the organic ranking and traffic of specific pages. This is achieved through enhanced site visibility, the growth of page equity, and precise keyword targeting through anchor text usage.
10 Ecommerce Internal Linking Strategies
Through years of working with dozens of eCommerce sites, we have developed this list of best practices for internal linking.
But, before you jump in, remember this: Without first conducting an internal linking audit, your efforts may be directed toward the wrong solutions.
When reviewing your internal links, an audit should always be the first step. That way, you’ll understand the current state of your linking strategy before you start making changes — ensuring that you’re making only the most effective adjustments for your site.
While these best practices are a good place to start, for the best results, your brand should use a customized strategy built by SEO experts. (The team at Inflow is always happy to help.)
1. Prioritize your pages.
After you audit your internal links, you should have a clear understanding of which pages on your eCommerce website have high authority and which have low authority.
If you have pages with outsized authority, you’ll want to leverage this across other relevant pages. This means you’ll want to build links from these pages.
If you have pages with low or no authority, you want to start building links to them, so that the link equity flows evenly throughout your site. (This is why internal linking is one of the best ways to improve your eCommerce product page SEO.)
Looking at your organic traffic, sessions, and revenue will tell you which pages to prioritize. You can also get this information by looking at the Ahrefs Best by Links report.
2. Choose your first link on a page wisely.
Link equity, or link juice, refers to your website’s authority. It’s a ranking factor that search engines use in their crawl budgets and is dependent on things like topical relevance, HTTP status, and any authority from another linking page.
Link equity can be strategically passed throughout all your website’s pages with effective internal linking.
The first link on any given page passes more equity than subsequent links on the same page. So, when you link to the same URL more than one time on a single page, the first link to that page will be more important (this matters for anchor text, which we’ll touch on next.)
For example, if you have a page with outsized equity and a page with almost zero equity, you’ll want to use that outsized page’s link as your first link in content, instead of the page with no equity.
3. Use the right anchor text.
Capitalizing on the anchor text of internal links helps search engines determine topical relevance.
While your anchor text should be as detailed as possible, this is not a place to force keyword-rich phrases — just as you shouldn’t do anywhere else in your copy. Instead, the anchor text should succinctly explain where the user will go if they click on the link.
We recommend writing the sentence first, and then choosing the text to use for your link. That way, the sentence sounds natural.
Google’s algorithm also takes into account any surrounding text, so there’s no need to over-optimize anchor text. The rest of the sentence around the link will also help Google understand the contextual link’s purpose.
Here’s an example:
Let’s say you’ve written a product guide about the best dog beds for older dogs. You’ll use copy like, “Your pets are part of your family throughout their lives. Get the best dog beds for older dogs so your family member stays comfortable every day.”
Variety is also important when it comes to anchor text. If you’re linking to the same pages in multiple places, do some additional keyword research and use your findings to provide a wider range of anchor text throughout your content.
Anchor text is one of the main signals that triggers a Penguin penalty, so be judicious with your anchor text.
4. Link to and from top-performing pages.
For many eCommerce companies, important pages (like popular product pages) are key to spreading link equity throughout your site.
To decide which high-performing pages to link to, review metrics like organic traffic, conversions, and overall sales performance. We recommend filtering your URLs by organic sessions to see your top pages, then comparing their individual internal link numbers.
From here, you can see which pages have the most authority. You can link to and from these top performers to help spread the link juice across your site.
For example, if you sell specialty dessert products, you may want to link to a top-selling, high-revenue product from an article on “Best Chocolate-covered Treats to Gift Dad this Father’s Day!”
The “why” behind page prioritization will vary. URLs could be Page 2 Opportunities, critical business pages (for SEO or conversion metrics), priorities set by company leadership, etc.
Generally, you’ll want to prioritize pages like:
- High revenue products
- Best-selling products
- Critical product categories
- Great strategic content
- P2 opportunity content
5. Don’t overlink.
Linking is great — but this is not an “if a little is good, a lot is better” situation.
Overlinking is not only viewed as spammy by search engine crawlers, but it also dilutes the power of each link on the page.
The amount of page rank a particular page can pass is finite. Adding a new link to a page will change the distribution of this passed page rank among the linked pages, because you’re now splitting it across more pages.
It’s hard to give a standard for how much linking is too much. The number of internal links a page can handle varies on the type and length of content. “Overlinking” is a bit of a judgment call.
In general, keep the end users in mind. If you think the content is too spammy and unreadable, they will, too.
If you clicked on a blog post that you thought would teach you about the best wireless headphones and every other sentence contained a link, you’d lose a lot of trust in the site and the information it was giving you. Your customers are the same way.
For an article containing a decent word count, shooting for three or four outlinks is usually a good idea, if not a few more. Content with very little copy should have fewer links.
6. Use an HTML sitemap.
Sitemaps can be useful for both your customers and for search engines.
Proper sitemaps will show everything on your website, as well as how every page relates to each other. This helps search engines serve up relevant results to your customers, whether or not your customers knew those products or pages existed.
An HTML sitemap is a simple list of links that helps bots and users navigate your site. We recommend putting in the extra effort to make your HTML sitemap UX-friendly and useful for visitors — because this helps both visitors and search engines see that you’re putting customers first.
Often, these are found at the bottom of a webpage and include broad product categories (but not individual product pages).
For example, here’s the HTML sitemap for our client Mountain House.
7. Remove poor links.
Internal linking errors can undo all of the hard work you’re putting in. One of the biggest factors in effective internal linking is confirming all the links you’re using for your eCommerce site are rich with equity and relevance.
But not all links are created equal. By removing poor links, you can easily improve a page’s equity.
Poor links include:
- Redirected links
- Outdated content
- Low-performing content
- Badly chosen anchor text
- Broken links
Don’t be afraid to remove low-quality links from any of your pages. Less is more; fewer links ensures that each link that remains has more value.
8. Link to hard-to-get-to pages.
Some pages are always going to be easy for the user to find (i.e., the homepage and contact page.) These pages, in particular, do not need to be linked within your content.
There’s a chance that your contact page could be linked if it’s part of your CTA, but we recommend avoiding building outlinks to this page.
Instead, you should provide links deep within the site to related products, landing pages, or articles that may be harder to access — but are still relevant to the context of the page.
9. Think about the user.
Your primary focus for everything on your site — especially internal linking and SEO — should be your customer, not Google’s crawl bots.
Use relevancy as the determining factor for inserting an internal link on a page. Is the link being added to the page because it is relevant to the content and will help the user? Or is it being put on the page just to up the link count?
Be sure to only insert links that are completely connected with the content you are putting on a page.
10. Don’t force an internal link.
Adding an internal link on a page just for the sake of it is not a good idea.
As with everything else on the internet, the number one thing to keep in mind is the user experience. Is the link helpful to the user? Is it something they will want to visit based on the current page they are on?
Inserting a link is a way of telling the user you are okay with them leaving the page to move on to the next page with relevant, valuable information.
Create Your Internal Linking Strategy Now
Once you have customers on your website, you want to be able to keep them there by providing them more value. By concentrating on internal linking structure, you’re building a well-connected net that your users can navigate to find the information and products they came looking for.
Proper internal linking will help share link equity throughout your site, which will help you rank higher and earn more revenue. Ultimately (and most importantly), it will also improve your visitors’ experience.
The strategies outlined above are a great starting point for any eCommerce store. That said, a customized strategy will deliver better results and can be obtained by running an internal linking audit or partnering with an expert eCommerce SEO agency.
Common Internal Linking Mistakes to Avoid
While internal linking can greatly benefit your eCommerce SEO strategy, it’s essential to steer clear of common mistakes that can hinder your efforts and potentially harm your website’s performance. Let’s explore some of these pitfalls:
1. Overlooking Audience Relevance
One of the most significant errors is failing to consider your audience’s needs and preferences when adding internal links. Links should enhance the user experience by providing relevant and valuable content. Avoid inserting links solely for SEO purposes without regard for user relevance.
2. Using Generic Anchor Text
Generic anchor text like “click here” or “read more” offers little context to users and search engines. Instead, use descriptive anchor text that clearly indicates the content the link leads to. Avoid stuffing keywords into anchor text unnaturally.
3. Neglecting Regular Link Audits
Avoid the mistake of failing to conduct regular link audits. Over time, website content evolves, and links may become outdated or broken. Periodically review and update your internal links to ensure they remain functional and relevant.
4. Excessive Internal Linking
While internal linking is essential, excessive linking within a single page or post can overwhelm users and disrupt the reading experience. Balance is key; limit the number of internal links on a page to maintain user engagement.
5. Ignoring Mobile Optimization
In today’s mobile-centric world, overlooking mobile optimization can be a costly mistake. Ensure that your internal links are user-friendly on mobile devices, with appropriate spacing and tap targets for easy navigation.
6. Neglecting Site Structure
Internal linking plays a vital role in shaping your website’s structure. Avoid neglecting the overall architecture of your site. Ensure that your links contribute to a logical and intuitive navigation experience for both users and search engines.
7. Not Tracking Link Performance
Failure to track the performance of your internal links means missing out on valuable insights. Use tools and analytics to monitor how users interact with your links and make data-driven improvements to your linking strategy.
By avoiding these common internal linking mistakes, you can harness the full potential of internal linking for eCommerce SEO while providing a seamless and valuable experience for your website visitors.
How Many Internal Links Are Good for SEO?
Internal linking is a powerful SEO strategy, but the quantity of internal links you should use can vary based on the size and complexity of your website. Here are some key considerations:
Optimal Number of Internal Links
The optimal number of internal links can depend on the size of your website and the depth of your content. In general, aim for a balanced approach that provides value to users without overwhelming them.
Content Relevance
The number of internal links should also be determined by content relevance. Only include links that are contextually relevant to the content, as excessive linking to unrelated pages can confuse both users and search engines.
User Experience
Always prioritize user experience when considering the quantity of internal links. Ensure that the links enhance navigation and provide additional value to users. Too many links on a page can lead to a cluttered and confusing interface.
Monitoring and Testing
Regularly monitor the performance of your internal links using web analytics tools. Conduct A/B testing to assess the impact of different link quantities on user engagement and SEO performance.
Types of Internal Links
Internal links come in various forms, each serving a specific purpose. Understanding these types can help you optimize your internal linking strategy effectively:
Navigational Links
Navigational links are typically found in website menus, sidebars, or footer sections. They help users easily navigate to important pages, such as the homepage, category pages, or contact information.
Contextual Links
Contextual links are embedded within the content of a webpage and provide additional information or context related to the topic. They enhance user experience and guide readers to relevant resources.
Anchor Text
Anchor text links use descriptive text as the clickable link. They are crucial for SEO as they indicate the content’s topic and relevance. Effective anchor text should be concise and relevant to the linked page.
Image Links
Image links use images or graphics as clickable elements. They are valuable for directing users to visual content, product pages, or related articles. Ensure that image alt text provides context for search engines.
Breadcrumb Links
Breadcrumb links display the hierarchical structure of a website. They help users understand their location within the site and provide an easy way to navigate back to previous pages.
What Are the Benefits of Internal Linking?
Internal linking offers several significant benefits for your website’s SEO and user experience:
SEO Impact
Internal linking plays a crucial role in enhancing your website’s SEO. It helps search engines understand your site’s content hierarchy, improves indexation, and distributes link equity across your pages, ultimately boosting search rankings.
User Engagement
Effective internal linking keeps users engaged by guiding them to relevant content. This reduces bounce rates, increases time spent on your site, and encourages users to explore more of your offerings.
Content Discovery
Internal links assist users in discovering additional content and resources on your site. This can lead to increased page views and a deeper exploration of your content, products, or services.
Site Structure
Internal linking contributes to a well-organized site structure. It helps establish content hierarchy, making it easier for both users and search engines to navigate and understand your website’s architecture.
Keyword Optimization
Strategic use of anchor text in internal links allows you to optimize pages for specific keywords. This can improve your rankings for targeted search terms and increase the visibility of your content.
Ready to supercharge your digital marketing efforts and elevate your eCommerce SEO game? We’re here to help!
Reach out to us today for expert guidance and personalized strategies tailored to your business needs. Let’s take your online presence to the next level!
