Internal Linking for Affiliates

Internal linking might sound too basic if you’re well versed in SEO strategy, but to make the most out of this overlooked SEO method, you need to get to know all of its benefits.

Webmasters who run their own blogs might be familiar with the “write, publish, and repeat” routine, but this isn’t all there is to blogging. Blogs are treasure troves for SEO-savvy marketers because they pull in new visitors with their relevant keywords and valuable insight. Blogs also create an illusion of dialogue between the writer and the reader, when truly, it’s a monologue. Bloggers have the freedom to inform, encourage, or even entice their visitors through their writing. As a result, the blogs that create the most value earn the most repeat visitors.

However, blogs shouldn’t just be about writing, publishing, and repeating the process all over again. Those who enjoy creating valuable content might agree. If you put in an average of 2-3 hours per blog post, it’s natural to want people to stick around your website and discover more of your content. That’s where internal linking comes in handy.

Affiliate Tips: What is Internal Linking?

When you link one of your website pages to another, you’ve created an internal link. Here is a straightforward demonstration of internal linking. By connecting one page of your website to another, you create a map of relevant links that (hopefully) keeps your visitors clicking around on your website for a longer period of time.

Aside from creating an intentional map for your visitors to follow, internal links also have SEO value. That means that web crawlers will be able to find your pages easier, index them faster, and make your rankings even higher.

Affiliate Tips: Strength Distribution of Internal Links

Of course, all of this sounds very simple and attractive, but the art of internal linking is that you must do it on a consistent basis and in a structured way. Don’t get us wrong—your internal links should be organic, not forced and spammed throughout the page, but it has to be done with some intentionality. For example, pay attention to the pages that earn the most backlinks and engagements. As your engagement grows, use that page to link to the lesser-known pages. This creates a system of crawl priority for the web crawlers to follow. It has been shown, time and time again, that the more tightly-knit a website’s pages tend to be, the higher they seem to rank on search engines.

Affiliate Tips: Internal Link Values

There are several ways to create internal links. Each method holds different SEO values. The weightiest method is by using relevant anchor texts. Anchor texts are words or phrases that are hyperlinked. For example, the anchor text in this sentence is, “example.” The more keywords you use in your anchor text, the more value it will hold. That doesn’t mean you should stuff your anchor texts with long, incoherent keywords. It just means that you should be intentional about what you should link to those anchor texts. The best internal links route visitors to valuable information that’s directly related to what they’re currently reading. At the end of the day, internal links should provide more value for the visitor.

Affiliate Tips: Going Forward

To make the most out of internal links, you’ve got to do it often. Each time you upload a new article, link to 4-5 older articles. Also, it would benefit both you and your readers to update old articles with links to newer ones. This strategy is often ignored because it’s easy to forget about old content, but links to fresh pages add fresh value to your old articles.

To update older articles with new links, simply add a paragraph or two explaining the new updates that you have. Try not to stick it carelessly at the end of the article, but find places in the article where the subject overlaps and then casually mention your newly updated information.

We’re certain that if you apply these guidelines religiously, your articles will start ranking higher and your visitors will spend more time exploring your website.

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