What you need to know

Serious question: Are internal links a ranking factor?

Many times, the constant chatter surrounding internal links as a ranking factor feels more like a never-ending phone game than a real source, a search engine.

Certain SEO myths about internal links have been passed down through generations of SEO professionals. It is difficult to distinguish fact from fiction.

To clarify the facts, I use our resources to check whether internal links are a confirmed ranking factor. Drumroll, please: You will find the truth about internal links up front.

Disclaimer: Internal links are a ranking factor

An internal link is a hyperlink from a page in a domain to another page in the same domain. Internal links help people navigate the website and create a site structure for the hierarchy.

Okay, but what about more essential questions, such as:

• whether Total number of internal links Point to a page thing?
• whether The quality of these internal links Does pointing to the page have a strong effect?
• about Anchor text for these internal links – Is this another signal of relevance? Will longer anchor text add more value?
• Is there such a thing Too many internal links On one page?

Evidence of internal links as a ranking factor

Since there are still a lot of internal linking questions to answer, and I hope you know all the facts, they are here.

Are internal links a ranking factor?

Google confirms that internal links are their ranking Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Getting Started Guide. Google statement:

Create a naturally flowing hierarchy.

Make it as easy as possible for users to move from general content to more specific content that they want to display on your site. Add navigation pages when it makes sense, and effectively apply these pages to your internal link structure. Make sure that all pages on your website are accessible via links and can be found without the need for an internal “search” function. Link to relevant pages where appropriate to allow users to discover similar content.

Moreover, Google’s “How Search Engines Work” establishes internal links as a ranking factor.

Some pages are known because Google has crawled them before. When Google follows a link from a known page to a new page, other pages will be found.

This is why Google Search Console has “Top Linked Pages” report. It is used to “confirm that the core website pages (homepage, contact page) are correctly linked within your website.”

The SEO Getting Started Guide also recommends using internal links in the breadcrumb structured data markup, stating:

“A breadcrumb is a line of internal links at the top or bottom of a page, allowing visitors to quickly navigate back to the previous section or root page. Many breadcrumbs use the most general page (usually the root page) as the first, leftmost link, and List the more specific parts on the right. We recommend using Breadcrumb structured data markup When the breadcrumbs are displayed. “

This PageRank algorithm It itself and its internal flow depend on internal links.

If you have internal links from high-traffic pages, will your page rank faster?

Since Bill Slavsky shared his opinion Google’s reasonable surfer patent, The SEO community has been arguing whether pages with or without traffic will affect the ranking signals from internal links.

According to Slawski, “…based on the possibility that a person randomly clicking on a link on the Internet may end up on a specific page.”

The patent discusses the location of the link on the page.

Essentially, it’s about giving more weight to the links it thinks people will visit Actually Click to include links placed higher on the page.

Matt Carter confirmed This is PubCon in 2010.

The patent does not quote traffic.

Slavsky In-depth study of page segmentation patents This explains more about placing internal links on the page.And he shared about How search engines use internal links Understand a web page.

Is the anchor text in internal links a ranking factor?

If internal link anchor text is a ranking factor, the SEO Getting Started Guide eliminates confusion because it states:

“Also consider the anchor text of internal links.

You may usually think of links in terms of pointing to external sites, but paying more attention to the anchor text used for internal links can help users and Google better navigate your site. “

Google’s John Mueller also Solved this requirement On Twitter, he said:

“Most links do provide some additional context through their anchor text. At least they should, right?”

And, in 2019, Mueller Talked more about how to internally link Help you rank in Google Webmaster Hangouts.

However, the use of long anchor text in your internal links is currently only speculation. Search engines have yet to confirm this myth.

In fact, the SEO introductory guide clearly recommends avoiding “using too much keyword stuffing or lengthy anchor text only for search engines.”

Landfishkin also sneaked in His anchor text experiment Prove the value of high-quality anchor text.

In addition, Roger Monty of Search Engine Magazine discussed in depth about Mueller’s If anchor text helps improve ranking.

Are internal links used as a ranking signal in the site structure?

Internal links can have positive or negative effects:

• NinjaOutreach increased their website traffic 50% In three months with their internal link structure.
• The Daily Mail failed to surpass its competitors because it Weak internal chain.

Google’s patent Rank documents based on user behavior or characteristic data Explore the site architecture in more depth.

So, what happens if your internal links are broken?

Broken internal links make it difficult for search engines to index your pages, and it also makes it difficult for users to browse your website. Broken links are a sign of low-quality websites and may affect your ranking.

Google’s Web attenuation patent Verify this statement, as it says,

“If a webpage has a relatively large number of dead links, it is assessed as an stale webpage.”

Now, how many internal links are too many?

As early as 2009, Matt Cutts stated that there was a Limit 100 internal links per page.

In the past, Google would not download a single page over 100k (it is no longer the case), so the idea that the link will assign your PageRank makes sense.

year 2013, Matt Katz withdrew this statement Say “keep it to a reasonable amount.” Therefore, the rule of 100 internal links is no longer valid.

Internal links as a ranking factor: our judgment

Yes, there is a bit of truth in the myth that internal links are connected to your ranking in search engines.

Think in this way, as Katz said:

“…If there is a page that is important, or has a high profit margin or conversion rate is very good-then report it. Put a link to that page from your root page, which makes sense.”

Featured image: Paulo Bobita/SearchEngineJournal