[mybox]This article is a part of weekly post schedule #SEO Sunday.[/mybox]
Internal linking is one of the easiest SEO technique to master it,Yet one of the crucial factor of SEO.
In this article I am going to show you the benfits of internal linking and how to effectively practice this SEO technique in WordPress.
What is Internal Linking
In simple words : internal linking is a act of linking the other pages of the same domain,Similarly internal link is one that points to another page on the same website.
How internal linking can be useful
Some of the benefits of internal links
- Internal links helps to get more pageviews
- It can boost SEO by spreading the link Juice across the website
Some of the best live examples of internal linking are Tech blogs like Techcrunch and Mashable.Lets take this sample article from Lifehacker which is approx. 560 words in length,If we count the number of internal links in it..It ends up with whopping 19.
Thats how big boys are increasing the pageviews as well as doing good SEO.
Internal Linking in WordPress
First you must understand that Internal linking is not only refers to linking other pages in main content but also through other website elements like Sidebar,Footer,Menu etc.Here is a list of things you can do to build internal links
- Manual Internal linking
- Automatic internal linking using plugins
- Using Breadcrumbs
- Links to related posts using plugins
- Linking through Footer and Sidebar widgets
Lets explore it individually.
Manual Internal linking (Natural Linking)
This method is the most time consuming one but very effective than any other method.In this method you need to manually link other posts in main post content.
WordPress offers best linking tool to aid you in this process.The advanced linking option gives you the ability to search the post and link it easily.
Link only the related articles with right ancor texts and Its better not link the home page since we will be already linking through other elements like Manu,Footer etc.
Also,Dont fill the article with just links,Users may easily get irritated which will eventually cost pageviews and readership.
Automatic Internal linking using Plugins
Manual method involves lot of patient and time,Especially it is very difficult to edit old article for internal linking.In such case we can go for plugins like Ninja affiliate or SEO Smart Links premium.
These plugins can automatically link the keyword in all posts to particular link.For example you can automatically link the keyword “WordPress Tips” to some category or post without editing each post.This can save you ample of time.
Risk of using Free version of SEO Smart Links
Well,You can get free version of SEO Smart Links but its very riskier to do it so.Since it doesn’t come with features like limiting number of links per post.
To understand the gravity of the problem lets take an example.If I link the keyword “WordPress” to some category page then imagine how many times the link appears on each post.These type of activities can get your blog penalized by search engines.
I personally use Ninja affiliate plugin for automatic keyword linking.It also comes with other features like links click count etc.If you use SEO smart links then refer this guide Smartly Interlink Your Blog Content with SEO Smart Links.
Breadcrumbs
Breadcrumbs are simple navigation hierarchy which helps users to keep track of their current location within the website.Breadcrumbs are essential to maintain a neat hierarchy.Google officially recommends webmasters to use breadcrumbs for better SEO.
Breadcrumbs in Genesis Child Themes
All Genesis child themes comes with this feature but you need to enable it in Genesis settings page.Go to Dashboard >> Genesis >> Breadcrumbs and check the boxes appropriately.
Implementing breadcrumbs using WordPress SEO Plugin
If your theme doesn’t comes with breadcrumbs then you can easily implement it using WordPress SEO by Yoast Plugin.After installing the plugin go to Dashboard >> SEO >> Internal links and enable the breadcrumbs option.
Add the following code in your current themes (Wherever you wish to display)
<?php if ( function_exists('yoast_breadcrumb') ) {
yoast_breadcrumb('<p id="breadcrumbs">','</p>');
} ?>
Related Posts using Plugin
Linking the related posts under the article also helps to build inter links.YARP(Yet another related posts) Plugin is the most commonly used related posts plugin,Its very simple and highly efficient.
If you care about the design then go with plugins like WP-Thumbie and nRelate.You can refer my previous article for more details : 3 Best WordPress Plugins to increase pageviews of your blog
Using Footer and Sidebars
Footer and Sidebar widgets can be used to inter link the most popular articles and links to some important pages like About page,Contact page and Privacy policy.The links will be established throughout the website hence it will result in deep interlinking.
For live example you can look after the footer and sidebar of this blog.
Conclusion
Internal linking is the most effective SEO method when it comes to content rich websites,So implement the above methods to place yourself better in Search results.You can easily track your internal links by using services like Google Webmaster tools and Opensiteexplorer.
