What is the Difference Between Internal and External Linking?

Linking is essential to website building, yet it is often overlooked or misunderstood. It is worth noting that internal and external linking play different but equally significant roles in SEO and website navigation.

Key Takeaways:

• Internal links are easy to create and control
• External links bring more value to a website in terms of traffic and authority
• Quality is more important than quantity when it comes to links
• Keep the anchor text between 3-5 words.

Internal links help users and search engines navigate and understand your website\’s structure. External links, on the other hand, bring traffic from other sources and increase your website\’s domain authority.

This guide will cover the basics of internal and external links, their differences, and the best practices for linking.

By the end, you\’ll better understand the importance of internal and external linking and how to use them to boost your SEO and drive more traffic to your website.

So, let\’s dive in and unlock the secrets of effective linking. Shall we?

The key differences between internal and external links

Here is a quick overview of the key differences between internal and external linking;

The best practices for internal and external linking

Properly structuring your internal and external links is crucial for SEO and user experience.

When executed correctly, internal links can help distribute link equity and boost important pages, while external links can bring in valuable traffic and increase domain authority.

Failure to adhere to best practices for linking can harm your website\’s visibility and search engine rankings, ultimately leading to a poor user experience.

So, it is essential to take the time to understand the basics of linking and implement best practices for both internal and external links to ensure the success of your website.

Here are the best practices for internal and external linking:

Internal linking

• Use descriptive and accurate anchor text that reflects the content of the linked page
• Create a clear and consistent website structure and hierarchy
• Use internal links to guide users and search engines through your website
• Use internal links to distribute link equity and boost the ranking of important pages

External linking

• Acquire high-quality and relevant backlinks from reputable websites
• Use descriptive and accurate anchor text
• Use external links to improve your website\’s domain authority
• Use a mix of dofollow and nofollow links
• Avoid buying or exchanging links
• Monitor and maintain your backlink profile

Anchor text and its impact on linking

According to a study by Backlinko, anchor text relevance is a significant ranking factor for Google. Websites with a higher percentage of relevant anchor text tend to rank higher in search results.

Anchor text is the visible and clickable text in a hyperlink. The text is usually underlined and appears in a different color on a web page, indicating that it is a link. Anchor text plays an important role in internal and external linking, and it can significantly impact how search engines understand and rank a website.

Anchor text provides users and search engines context about the linked page\’s content. It helps users understand where the link will take them, and it helps search engines understand the relationship between the linking page and the linked page.

According to some studies, anchor text can account for up to 35% of the ranking factor in Google\’s algorithm.

You should use anchor text when you create an internal or external hyperlink. Use descriptive and accurate anchor text that reflects the linked page\’s content. Use it in the body of your content and any navigational elements, such as menus and sidebars.

For example, if you post about how SEO content can help businesses, link it internally using an anchor text like \”SEO content for business.\” This will send a strong signal to search engines that the linked page is relevant to the topic.

On the other hand, using irrelevant or inaccurate anchor text, such as \”click here\” or \”learn more,\” can dilute the linked page\’s relevance and authority.

How many words should be in the anchor text?

The ideal length for anchor text varies depending on the context of the link and the purpose of the link, but a general rule of thumb is to keep the anchor text between 3-5 words. This provides enough context for both users and search engines to understand the topic of the linked page without being too long or overwhelming.

However, there are exceptions to this rule:

• Using the brand name as the anchor text may be more beneficial for branding purposes.
• For long-tail keywords, it may be more appropriate to use a longer anchor text, up to 7-10 words, to provide more context and specificity.
• Sometimes, a single-word anchor text can be used for internal linking. For instance, if you want to link to your contact page, you can use the word \”Contact\” as the anchor text, which is clear for both the user and the search engine.

Conclusion

Internal and external linking are essential for website navigation, SEO, and driving traffic. Properly structuring your internal and external links, following the best practices, and using relevant and descriptive anchor text can improve your website\’s visibility and search engine rankings.

However, avoid link stuffing, as it can lead to penalties from search engines and harm your website\’s reputation.

Now that you have a better understanding of internal and external linking, you may be interested in learning more about another important aspect of website building, content structure.

The Secret to Crafting the Perfect Content Structure will guide you comprehensively on how to organize and structure your content for maximum impact. Learn more and take your website scaling skills to the next level.