To Link Or Not To Link?

[YouGotMyMoney]

Okay, You have got it figured out.

not 100% I don't think any agent does, only SEO's who do this full time and have done so for many years will have most of the answers....

however I always take what the top players do in any field and copy them and have always been successful.

 

[CHUMPS FROM OXFORD]

Wouldn't it be best to link to inner pages instead of the main page all of the time? I assume the inner pages are more targeted and give the visitor exactly the information they are searching for.

 

[1manshow]

I wonder if they make chocolate covered pistachios...that sounds good too

link...don't link...follow...no-follow...yada, yada

i think dave's ignoring you until you post something stupid...again

 

[CHUMPS FROM OXFORD]

Having a bad morning Dan?

 

[theinsuranceman]

Wouldn't it be best to link to inner pages instead of the main page all of the time? I assume the inner pages are more targeted and give the visitor exactly the information they are searching for.

That would be correct from my readings.

 

[1manshow]

the "stupid" part ?

don't take that personal...it was more like a "general" statement

Having a bad morning Dan?

no, but thanks for asking ..heading to the lake for a few days of fun and thought I'd stir this place up a bit before I left

 

[CHUMPS FROM OXFORD]

We need more stirring so come back soon!

 

[valdet]

Hi Chumps, great question.

Internal linking is one of the most undervalued types of on-page SEO.

If used correctly, it can be really beneficial. Proper internal linking gives clear indicators to search engines about the value of article/blog post you're writing and the keyword you're targeting through that content.

The plugin that Bob suggest would certainly make things much easier to go, but that can be problematic as well.
Example: In order to rank better for Washington Health Insurance one may set the keyword Washington to always link to your washington-health-insurance.html article. While largely beneficial for making things easier for publishers, you may unknowingly link to that article from a completely different post which may be related to Washington Monument, George Washington or Denzel Washington.Completely different than Washington Health Insurance.

Another potential problem is that excessive internal linking through keyword-rich anchor text can bring problems with Google, as I believe it would trigger penalties. Such links are mostly found on the footer.

I agree on your point that you should focus more on linking to internal pages than homepage, as they are more focused around a particular area of interest.
The homepage is more like a hub, so if you're using clear navigation and breadcrumbs, it is already getting enough (internal) links from your inner pages.

Hope that helps.
Val.

 

[CHUMPS FROM OXFORD]

Big help Val, as always. Quick question...In a typical 500-700 word article on your website...is two links (different anchor text to different pages) to internal pages too much or is it better to stick with one?

 

[valdet]

There should be no problems when you link to different articles through different keyword anchor text. You may use even more than 2-3 links.
But what you need to make sure is that such links are in direct relation to your article and have additional information for your visitors. Don't just throw unrelated links, only because a valuable keyword is found in your article.

This is the best method of content curation you can provide, as it will keep your visitors active, lower the bounce rates and increase the returning visitors count.