External vs. Internal Linking: Unlocking the Secrets of Effective SEO

Knowing about internal and external links in SEO is important for creating a website that ranks highly and is effective for the user. Most SEO guides touch on linking strategies slightly, but this guide goes into detail about what these links are, how to link them, track their performance, and what to avoid that could be harmful to your ranks.

If you are asking what are internal and external linking in SEO, if you are trying to figure out what is the difference between internal and external links in SEO, or if you need to advance your strategies to be better than the competition, you have come to the right place. Indexed Zone SEO will guide you through the basics and beyond.

What Is Internal Linking?

Internal linking is when you link to another page on your website. This is twofold because it not only helps people find content, but it also helps search engines understand the website better and how it is structured.

Try to understand and familiarize yourself with the basic SEO principles before trying to implement strategies for links.

  • Navigation Links: These are in menus as well as at the tops and bottoms of pages. They help users move between the major areas of your website.
  • Context Links: These are in the content itself and help add more value by linking to similar articles or related pages, resources, or products.
  • Breadcrumb Links: These help users understand where they are in the hierarchy of the website and allow them to easily navigate to their parent categories.
  • Sidebar/Footer Links: These usually link to important site-wide pages or categories or to popular or trending posts.
  • A guide links to and describes multiple posts that focus on individual subtopics
  • Product pages link to and describe related comparison articles or other products and other accessories.
  • Category pages link to and describe individual posts or products in that category.
  • Pillar page content links to and describes cluster content that further defines and describes focused sections.

Benefits of Internal Linking

  • Internal Links Improve the Navigation and User Experience of the Site: Internal links make pathways that lead site visitors to relevant content. They do this by increasing the visitor’s time spent on the site and decreasing the site’s bounce rate. When users find related information more easily, they become more widespread users of your site.
  • Distributes Page Authority (Link Equity): Each page within your website holds a certain level of authority. By utilizing internal links, this authority gets transferred from high-authority pages to more new or underperforming pages, helping them to attain better rankings. This is especially beneficial for improving those pages that do not earn external backlinks.
  • Enhances SEO Crawlability and Indexation: Bots of search engines follow different links to identify different content. A good internal linking structure tends to help your pages get crawled and indexed, and discovered all at the same time. Orphan pages (pages that do not have internal links directed towards them) can get bypassed by search engines and be left undiscovered.
  • Establishes Content Hierarchy and Topic Clusters: Other pages that are also linked can show search engines which pages are the most critical and how content connects across different topics. These help search engines determine the topical authority of your site.
  • Reduces Crawl Depth: Pages that are closer to the homepage tend to be viewed as more significant by the search engine. In fewer clicks, it will be possible to access critical pages.
  • Increases Conversions: A well-defined content pathway can encourage visitors to smoothly transition through the different stages of the sales funnel, utilizing internal links from awareness to consideration and to decision.

An external link is an online connection to content outside your web domain. External links are two-way: you can link to external content (outbound links), or external content can link to your content (inbound links, or backlinks). To put it simply, you might use an external link to send your visitors to a valuable off-site resource, or you might want to receive new visitors and value to your domain via inbound links. To better understand this definition, it is better to compare external links and internal links.

  • Outbound Links: These are links within your content that connect to a different website. Outbound links can also be references, citations, or resources that can improve your content.
  • Inbound Links or Backlinks: These are links from different websites that connect to your content. Backlinks are among the most critical ranking factors to search engines, reflecting the domain’s overall trust and authority.
  • Editorial Links: These are links that you did not have to ask for and come from other websites that mention your content.
  • Relationship-Based Links: These are links that come from industry partnerships, collaborative efforts, or other business affiliations.

Instances of Strategic External Linking

  • Using recent data from reputable research organizations
  • Citing primary research from academic or industry leaders
  • Linking government websites for data verification
  • Referring to software tools or service vendors
  • Trade publications citing your primary research
  • News outlets citing your expert quotes
  • Websites that link to your guides or articles
  • Schools citing your work in their curriculum

Advantages of External Linking

Enhances Content Credibility and Trust

Adding an outbound link to a trustworthy and reputable source shows your work has been fact-checked elsewhere, which builds trust not only with your users but with search engines.

When reputable sites link back to your site, search engines see that as a vote of confidence in your site. A good backlink on your site remains one of the strongest ranking factors for Google.

Increases Topical Authority

Search engines see external links as a way to refine a content’s context, meaning the more outbound links you have, the more authority you gain on a particular subject.

Expands Networking

When you link to other sites, it gives you the potential of growing relationships, partnerships, and visibility in your industry.

Adds Value to User

Providing links to resources tells users you worry more about their needs than keeping them on your page.

Signals Content Quality: Google’s algorithms focus on how many backlinks there are, but also how good these backlinks are. Pages with good backlinks usually outrank similar pages without good backlinks.

Comparison table of internal linking versus external linking in SEO, showing differences in link destination, purpose, control level, user behavior, ranking impact, implementation difficulty, metrics, risk, and scalability.

Best Practices for Internal Linking

Include Rich, Descriptive, and Meaningful Anchor Text

Generic anchor texts like “click here” or “read more” should be avoided. Instead, aim for more descriptive anchor texts, both for users and search engines. Saying “learn how to optimize your content for voice search” is far more valuable than “click here.”

Best Practice: Naturally use your anchor text to target a keyword, however, do not use multiple links to keyword-stuff an exact match.

Avoid Linking Only to Top-Level Pages

Don’t funnel all your internal links into your homepage or major category pages. Instead, help users navigate toward more specific, valuable pieces of content that are further down your site structure. This not only helps to spread authority better, but also helps with discoverability for your best content.

Build an Effective Hierarchical Structure

Utilize the hub-and-spoke model wherein the pillar pages (which are comprehensive guides on big-picture topics) link to the cluster content (which are more focused articles on specific subtopics) and the cluster content links back to the pillar. This exemplifies clear topical authority.

A website’s planned layout includes the groups in which a webpage can be found. This can be illustrated as the pages within a website and the hierarchy of those pages.

Homepage → Category Pages → Subcategory Pages → Individual Posts/Products

From a high level, a website can be structured as follows (for the most part):

  • Pillar Content → Related Cluster Content
  • Recent Posts → Older Related Posts

While there may be no “magic number” for the quantity of links on a page, do your best not to let your page become cluttered with links. Aim for 3-10 internal links per 1000 words.

Too many links = link dilution.

Update Content Regularly With Fresh Links

Every 3-6 months, be in the habit of revisiting older content and linking to newer content that enhances the older content. This helps to keep pages more current and helps to pump up the authority on newer pages.

Get Rid of Orphaned Pages

Without an excess of internal links that are not meant for a reader, there shouldn’t be a page that cannot be reached through a link. Use Screaming Frog or Ahrefs to find orphaned pages and make the internal linking structure of your page better.

Use Breadcrumb Navigation

Ensuring your users can get back to higher-level pages in your website hierarchy can also give you more internal links to play with. For search engines trying to understand the hierarchy of your site, it can also help with that.

Monitor and Fix Broken Internal Links

This frustrates users, and in the crawl budget, your page will lose. It can be a costly 404 to have, and so it is best to keep an eye on internal links to ensure they are not broken.

When placing links in your document, links in the main section are more valuable than those in the sidebar or footer. So, use your most valuable links as contextual links.

A corporate man pointing out the structure and elements of internal and external links in SEO

Best Practices for External Linking

When linking to external sources, choose those that are trustworthy and authoritative in your industry. To evaluate the potential sites you would link to, consider the following:

  • The domain authority and trustworthiness of the site
  • Quality and accuracy of the content provided
  • Relevance to the topic you are covering
  • Reputation of the site in the industry

Avoid linking to low-quality online directories, link farms, spam sites, or sites that have questionable content.

Use Follow and No-Follow Attributes Wisely

  • Do Follow Links (standard Links): Use for references, authoritative sources, and natural citations that you trust and endorse.”
  • No Follow Links: Use for sponsored content, paid links, user-generated content, or links for which you do not want to pass authority. This way, you protect your site from being associated with questionable content.

Example: Sponsored Post

Content That Earns Backlinks Naturally

Creating valuable and shareable content is one way to attract backlinks, including:

  • Original Research and Data Studies
  • Definitive Guidebooks
  • Visuals and Infographics
  • Free Tools and Calculators
  • Expert Roundups and Interviews
  • Timely Commentaries and Breaking News

Buying links, using automated link-building systems, extreme link exchange, and participating in link schemes are all things you should avoid.

It’s a good practice to link to quality, reputable sources, but too many links can dilute your content and your message. Aim for 2-5 external links for every 1000 words, and make sure the links you choose are the most valuable.

You can track your backlinks using Google Search Console, Ahrefs, or SEMrush to:

  • Keep track of your backlinks
  • Track harmful backlinks
  • Analyze competitor backlinks
  • Track backlinks that can increase your domain authority
  • Keep track of spam backlinks
  • Disavow harmful backlinks

Networking in your niche can give you backlinks and also great opportunities for:

  • Guest posting
  • Collaborating with niche influencers
  • Expert roundups
  • Creating resources that are worth linking to
  • Digital PR

A particular link from a relevant niche is worth more than a link from a generalized one. Hence, a backlink from a relevant industry is worth more than one from a common directory.

You can control link behavior using target=”_blank” so users are kept on your domain: External Source

Using rel=”noopener” is recommended for security and performance.

The differences between external and internal linking in HTML are primarily technical.

Internal links are created using relative URLs that point to a page in the same domain.

html

<!-- Relative URL examples -->
<a href="/blog/seo-guide">SEO Guide</a>
<a href="../about">About Us</a>
<a href="contact.html">Contact</a>

External links are created using absolute URLs, which include the domain.

html

<!-- Absolute URL examples -->
<a href="https://example.com/article">External Article</a>
<a href="https://trusted-source.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trusted Source</a>

Best Practice HTML Implementation

html

<!-- Internal link with descriptive anchor text -->
<a href="/services/seo-consulting">Learn about our SEO consulting services</a>

<!-- External link with proper attributes -->
<a href="https://research-institute.edu/study" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to this university study</a>

<!-- External no-follow link for sponsored content -->
<a href="https://sponsored-content.com" rel="nofollow sponsored" target="_blank">Sponsored Partner</a>

A complete SEO strategy does not see internal links vs external links SEO as separate issues but as two sides of the same coin.

  • Internal Links: -Create a cohesive site structure that effectively distributes authority -Increases user engagement and site retention -Builds clear topical authority via content clusters -Makes certain every page is discoverable and indexed
  • External Links: -Increases domain authority via high-quality backlinks -Provides a quality signal to search engines about the trustworthiness of content -Increases the credibility of the content through citations to authoritative sources -Provides networking and relationship opportunities in the industry

The Synergistic Effect: Think about your site as an ecosystem. Internal links are like roots that strengthen the foundation and spread authority (nutrients) around the site. External links are connections to the ecosystem and bring in resources (traffic and backlinks) from outside.

Mistakes That Ruin Your Linking Strategy

Over-Optimizing Anchor Text

Too much exact-match keyword anchor text looks manipulative to search engines. Mix anchor texts with brand names, general terms, and other keyword versions. Linking “[best SEO services]” 15 times from different pages.

Instead, use a mix including “best SEO services”, “our optimization solutions”, “learn more about SEO”, and a brand name.

Ignoring Orphaned Pages

Pages without internal links lead to them being unreached and not crawled. Content should be reachable in your internal linking structure.

Linking to Low-Quality or Broken External Sites

Linking your site to spam, irrelevant, or broken pages loses your credibility and trust. Check regularly to see if your outbound links are still working and if they are still of good quality.

Failing to Audit Links Regularly. Links can be broken, deleted, or the owners can change. Set a quarterly calendar to audit your links to protect the user experience and SEO from your links.

Don’t let Page A link to Page B, then back to Page A without giving any additional value. That can be a trap for users, so it appears manipulative.

Not every page should have the same amount of authority. Strategically distribute link equity to your most critical conversion pages and cornerstone content using internal linking.

Internal links must be do-follow links to distribute authority across the entire site. Save no-follow links for login pages or other non-important utility pages.

Links should be tappable and spaced apart on mobile. Links that are small and crowded frustrate users and lead to higher bounce rates.

Getting hundreds of backlinks in a day is sure to trigger spam filters. Instead, aim for natural link building, as it takes time. Stick to sustainable, white-hat methods that improve authority over time.

SEO Linking Infographic Breakdown

How To Measure the Results of Your Linking Strategies

Internal Linking Metrics

  • Click-Through Rate (CTR): Measure the number of clicks users do on internal links with Google Analytics or heat map tools.
  • Pages Per Session: Higher figures are the result of successful internal linking, as it keeps users engaged.
  • Time on Page: Users spend more time on well-linked websites.
  • Crawling Statistics: Google Search Console provides insights into the crawling and indexing of your site.
  • Distribution of Internal PageRank: Tools such as Screaming Frog can help you visualize internal link authority distribution.

External Linking Metrics

  • Domain Authority/Rating: Use tools such as Moz, Ahrefs, or SEMrush to track domain strength overall.
  • Unique Domains: Contact with different domains pointing to your domain.
  • Quality of Backlinks: Judging links by their importance, relevance, and credibility.
  • Growth of Organic Traffic: Useful backlinks increase traffic from referrals and raise your position.
  • Keyword Rankings: As your backlink portfolio improves, look for position updates on your focus keywords.

Advanced Linking Strategies for Competitive Advantage

1. Implement Topic Clusters and Pillar Pages

Build detailed pillar content on expansive themes, and create cluster content on narrow sub-topics. This way, you can clearly demonstrate topically relevant content by linking cluster pages to the pillar and the other way around.

2. Use Strategic Silo Architecture

Structure your content into distinct, self-contained themed categories. Keep strong internal linking within each silo and limit connective linking across silos. This creates a strong internal structure of relevance.

3. Leverage Historical Optimization

To maintain relevance in your links, regularly update internal links to newer content from older content. Doing so regularly redistributes authority to the linked pages.

4. Create Linkable Assets

Construct the following resources with the intention of acquiring backlinks:

  • Surveys and original research
  • Calculators and interactive tools
  • Data visualizations at a high resolution
  • Complete guides and collections of resources
  • Templates and downloadable components at no cost

Evaluate unlinked brand mentions and citations, and contact the authors to request a link. When asked, a lot of domains add links.

It’s a good idea to look at your competitor’s backlinks to see what link-building opportunities they have taken advantage of.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are internal links more important than external links?

They serve different purposes. Internal links improve a site’s structure while external links improve a site’s authority. The best strategy is to use both according to your goals and what your site currently needs.

How many internal links should each page have?

SEO specialists generally recommend linking 3-10 times internally per page based on how long your content is. Longer content of 2000 words or more may need 15-20 links. It is better to link strategically and avoid linking just to meet a quota.

Will too many external links negatively impact my SEO?

It can negatively impact your SEO if you link to a lot of low-quality or irrelevant websites. It may signal to search engines that your content is of low quality. It is suggested to include 2-5 links for every 1000 words of quality content.

Do external links give link juice?

Yes, external links that are do-follow can give a page authority that positively impacts search rankings. No-follow links do not give this authority, but they can help you get visitors.

How can I earn more quality backlinks?

Focus on creating exceptional, shareable content that attracts backlinks organically. Pair this with strategies like guest posting, outreach to industry influencers, conducting original research, developing free tools, and digital PR.

Should all external links open in new tabs?

This is a user experience choice. Keeping users on your page is helpful, but it can be a hassle on mobile. Think about your users and your content. Use rel=noopener for security with target=”_blank” links.

What is the difference between do-follow and no-follow links?

A do-follow link means that search engines will follow the link (standard HTML links). A no-follow link means that search engines are told not to follow that link using rel=”nofollow. Do-follow links can help a page’s authority. No-follow links do not help a page’s authority, but can still send users to a page. Do-follow links are given for credible editorial links, and no-follow links are provided for sponsored content, user-generated content, or content from unreliable sources.

How often should I perform link audits?

Thorough audits should be done every three months. However, important pages or pages with a lot of views should be monitored more often, ideally every month. Create alerts to notify you about significant drops in backlinks or sudden losses.

What types of backlinks are most valuable?

The most valuable backlinks are editorial links from authoritative and relevant sites in your field. For example, links from respected industry publications, educational (.edu), government (.gov) sites, reputable news sites, and established blogs with high domain authority. The relevance of the site still matters, in addition to authority.

The Building Blocks of a Linking Strategy

SEO linking can be tricky because of how nuanced it can be. Internal links are designed to help guide a user to a specific area of the site. External links help an entire site grow in authority and credibility.

Many people leave out one of these strategies when linking, and this hurts the results.

When Practicing Internal Linking: Develop a more logical site structure, make an information anchor tag, eliminate orphaned pages, refresh outdated content, and make sure to check user engagement.

When Practicing External Linking: Cite reputable sources, Craft worthy content to link to, establish networks in your area of content, keep an eye on the content’s links over time, and don’t argue content to get links, create exceptional content.

The top-ranking websites practice these tips. Does this make you an SEO, content marketer, or even a business owner? Then it would be best to invest in these tips as they will result in a competitive edge.

Apply linking strategies to your site and make sure to provide the necessary work to make it an effective structure. This will improve your page’s ranking and help more users find the content they are looking for, leaving you with increased engagement.

Categories

Related Posts: