What is Internal and External Linking in SEO?

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Internal linking is the process of linking between two pages on the same website. External links are links from one website to another. Both internal and external linking is essential for SEO, and they can help your site rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).

SEO relies heavily on link building to boost your website’s rank. Internal links connect pages within your site, while external links point to other websites. Both are crucial for improving search engine visibility.

I’ll cover the basics of both types of links and explain why they’re crucial for your website’s SEO. Thanks for reading!

Internal Linking in SEO

Internal linking means connecting one page of your website to another. It’s crucial because it helps search engines grasp your site’s structure and discover new pages. Additionally, it boosts page rankings by distributing link equity across your site.

To link pages internally on your website, you can either manually add links in your text or use a plugin like LinkWhisper. This tool automatically inserts internal links based on your page keywords.

Creating internal links manually gives you more control over link equity. For instance, to promote a specific page on your site, add more internal links to that page from other pages.

External Linking in SEO

External linking involves adding links from your site to others. This directs readers to additional relevant information. It’s also an excellent method to build relationships with other site owners and helps search engines understand your website better.

Remember a few key points when adding external links to your website. Ensure the links are high-quality and relevant to your readers. Avoid overloading your site with too many links, as this can harm your search engine ranking.

External linking can boost your website’s SEO, but use it wisely. Tools like SemRush can help you find good external linking opportunities.

What are Nofollow and Dofollow Links?

You’ve probably heard “nofollow” and “dofollow” mentioned. These HTML tags guide search engines on how to handle external links.

Nofollow links tell search engines not to follow them, so they don’t count as a vote for the linked website. In contrast, dofollow links tell search engines to follow them and do count as a vote for the linked site.

Most external links are dofollow by default, but you can add the nofollow tag if you want. For example, if it is an affiliate link, you may want to add the nofollow tag so search engines do not count the link as a vote for that website.

Dofollow links are crucial for SEO, boosting your website’s search engine ranking.

What is a Backlink?

A backlink is a link from another website to yours. Backlinks play a key role in SEO and can significantly boost your site’s ranking.

When building backlinks, make sure they come from high-quality websites. Key factors include Domain Authority (DA), Page Authority (PA), and MozRank.

Done right, backlinking can significantly boost your website’s SEO and help it rank higher in search engines.