Hi there! You good? Awesome! We all know the grind. You pour your heart and soul into creating amazing content, but getting those coveted top spots in Google feels like an uphill battle. You’ve been told that backlinks are the holy grail, and while they’re definitely important, there’s a powerful tool you might be overlooking: internal linking. Yes, that’s right! The answer to your SEO woes might be hiding right under your nose. It’s like having a 100% success rate strategy to boost your Google rankings
The “Middleman Method”: Your Shortcut to SEO Glory
Forget complex strategies, let’s talk about the “middleman method”. It’s an internal linking tactic that’s so simple, it’s genius. Here’s the deal: you focus on getting lots of links to one specific page, boosting its “authority”. Think of it as building a power base. Then, from that authoritative page, you strategically place internal links to your “money pages”—the ones you’re desperate to rank higher. This sends a surge of Google juice to those pages, improving their ranking.
The Three Pillars of Internal Linking that Guarantee Success!
Okay, so you’re intrigued. But how do you make this strategy work? Here are three essential ingredients that can’t be ignored:
- Backlinks to the Linking Page: First, you need to build the authority of the page you’re linking from. This is done with backlinks. Think of it like fuel. Backlinks power a page’s “authority” or PageRank. When a page has quality backlinks, it can then pass some of its PageRank to other pages it links to. If the page doesn’t have authority it can’t pass any benefits along.
- Matching Searcher Intent: Google’s goal is to provide relevant results. That means your page has to match what a user is looking for when they click on the search result. If the content is not relevant, then the internal and external links are not as helpful.
- Know Your Competition: You need to be realistic about the pages you’re competing against. If you have a new website in a competitive niche, you won’t be able to compete against the giants that have hundreds of backlinks. Find pages that are on a similar level and playing field.
Step-by-Step Guide: Finding Your Golden Internal Linking Opportunities
Let’s cut to the chase, how do you find these internal linking opportunities? Here is the step-by-step process to follow:
- Prioritize Your Pages: Start by making a list of important pages on your website that you want to see higher in Google. This is subjective and depends on your business. Look for pages with a combination of business value and traffic potential where you’re not already ranking number one. If you’re product-led, you may consider looking at your current rankings to prioritize your pages.
- Identify Pages That Need a Boost: To identify which pages need a boost, you can use tools like Ahrefs’ Site Explorer. Find pages that are currently ranking between positions 2 and 10.
- Analyze the SERP: Don’t just assume your content is perfect, make sure your page matches user intent. Look at what your competitors are doing in the Search Engine Results Page.
- Find Relevant Pages to Link From: Now comes the fun part. It’s ideal to link from pages that have PageRank to pass, but it’s also fine to link from almost any page on your site, as long as it’s relevant. Here are three ways to find those link opportunities:
- Google Site Search: Use the “site:” search operator in Google, combined with keywords related to your target page to find linking opportunities. To know if the pages have PR to pass, you can use tools like Ahref’s SEO toolbar to see referring domains or URL rating.
- Ahrefs’ Site Audit: This tool can help you find internal linking opportunities, whether you have a free or paid account. After running a crawl, find the Internal Link opportunities report. Filter by the target page, and the tool will recommend pages that you can link from, based on content and keyword rankings.
- Ahrefs’ Best by Links Report: This can also be done with a free webmaster account. Look for the Best by Links report after entering your domain. Set the filters to show live pages. Look at the titles and URLs of the pages to assess their relevance and use referring domains or URL rating to assess page level authority.
Beyond PageRank: The User Experience Factor
While passing PageRank is important, don’t forget that internal links are also a crucial part of user experience. They provide relevant resources to visitors who want to read more. Think of e-commerce sites linking to seasonal categories from the homepage. This helps the site rank higher for seasonal queries, but it also helps shoppers find what they are looking for.
Track Your Progress: Are Your Internal Links Working?
After putting in the work, track your keywords with a rank tracking tool. This will show you whether or not your internal links are helping your site’s SEO. In Ahrefs, you can add the keywords with a specific tag, and add an annotation for when you added the internal links. This will allow you to monitor their effectiveness over time.
When Internal Linking Isn’t Enough
While internal linking is powerful, sometimes it just isn’t enough. There are times when you will need to build backlinks from external sources to boost your page’s authority. It may also be necessary to update your content. The source notes that a few internal links will probably not take you from position 7 to 1, it may take more work such as a content update.
Conclusion
Internal linking is a powerful tool that can help boost your rankings and improve user experience. It might be the easiest way to boost your rankings. By focusing on building authority with backlinks, matching searcher intent, and finding the right opportunities, you can help your important pages get the Google visibility they deserve. This is a strategy you can implement on your own site with 100% success! Don’t wait, start implementing these changes today!
FAQs
Is internal linking really that important? Yes! Internal linking is a powerful tool that helps pass PageRank to your most important pages. It is also a great way to improve user experience by giving them relevant resources. It’s a 100% success rate strategy.
How do I know if my internal linking strategy is working? You can use rank tracking tools to see if your keywords are ranking higher. You may need to be patient as it can take some time to see results.
Can internal links help me rank #1? Internal links can help you rank higher, but it is not a magic bullet. It may also be necessary to build backlinks from external sources and update your content. However, internal links are a crucial component of a successful SEO strategy.