Internal linking is a powerful tool for improving website SEO, user engagement, and conversion rates. Unfortunately, it’s overlooked too often. Research shows that websites with more diverse anchor text in their internal links have an average SEO ranking of 1.3, —substantially higher than those with less diversity. Also known as “anchor links,” this practice is a key tool for us at Elite Legal Marketing.
Anchor links connect one internal page to another on your website. This creates a web-like structure. It’s the website equivalent of how casinos have no windows and confusing, crazy carpet patterns so patrons are inclined to keep wandering around inside without leaving.
Internal linking is an important search engine optimization (SEO) asset that works by distributing and improving ranking power and specific keywords. The benefits of internal linking extend beyond SEO, however, and include an enhanced user experience, more page views, and boosted conversion rates. Looking back to our earlier analogy, internal links keep people pulling the crank on the slot machine longer!
Google, Bing, Yahoo, and other search engines crawl websites to determine their relevance and ranking in search results. Internal links help search engines discover and index new pages on a website, which can positively impact the organic search rankings. When search engines find multiple internal links pointing to a particular page, they consider that page important and worthy of higher ranking.
A proper internal linking structure improves the user’s experience and navigation of a website. When visitors can easily locate what they are looking for via anchor links, they are more likely to engage with the website and explore different pages. This increased time spent on the website signals to search engines that the content is valuable and relevant, which can result in higher rankings.
Internal linking encourages visitors to navigate through more of your website, increasing the overall number of page views. By strategically placing internal links within the content, visitors are enticed to click and explore related topics or pages, leading to higher page views per session.
Internal linking leads to higher conversion rates. By strategically connecting relevant pages and blog posts to conversion-focused pages, such as contact forms or service sites, you can direct visitors to take desired actions. This is called a “sales funnel,” and we consciously create these funnels on every law firm website web design. For instance, if you have a blog post discussing a specific legal topic, you can include internal links to relevant service pages where visitors can learn more about your firm’s expertise and, ultimately, contact you.
Implementing internal linking the right way requires some planning and consideration. Here are some strategies to help make the most out of your internal links:
Anchor text refers to the visible and clickable part of a hyperlink. When creating internal links the anchor text should accurately describe the website’s content. In this sense, you don’t want the text “went to Harvard Law School” linking to your contact page, but rather to your About page. Utilize keywords or keyword phrases that are both relevant to the source and target page for additional context. To illustrate this, instead of employing “click here” as the anchor text, use a descriptive phrase like “reach out to us now” when linking to a page discussing how to contact your law firm.
Link to High-Quality Pages
When creating internal links, focus on linking to high-quality pages that provide valuable information to the visitors. Again, think sales funnel—which journey do you want a visitor on your site to take to get to the contact form? These can include comprehensive service pages, informative blog posts, client testimonials, or case study pages. By linking to authoritative and helpful content, you enhance the user experience and signal to search engines that your website is reliable.
Contextual links are internal URLs that integrate seamlessly within the wording of a blog post or your web copy (linking the phrase “blog post” to an article on our site about blogging—that is contextual anchor linking magic)! Contextual links help users navigate your site while keeping them engaged.
Be sure to add various link types to keep things dynamic and engaging. You can also experiment with different formatting styles for internal links, like putting the text in bold, a fun color, or underlining, to make them more clickable.
Including a sitemap on your website not only aids in improving search engine crawling and indexing but also assists in identifying the relationships between different pages. A clear and concise sitemap guides search engines towards the important pages on your website, and ensures no one actually gets “lost” in your “casino.” Everyone should be able to find those contact details with ease!
While internal linking benefits SEO and user experience, don’t overdo it. Excessive internal links are perceived as spam by search engines and visitors, negatively impacting the performance. Focus on adding internal links where they provide genuine value.
To ensure the effectiveness of your internal links, track the results and regularly update your anchor links. Monitor key metrics like organic search traffic, page views, bounce rates, and conversion rates to gauge the impact of your strategy. Additionally, review your website regularly and perform updates as needed. Also, don’t forget to fix any broken URLs, as Google will also dock you for those.
No one does SEO for lawyers better than a pro. At Elite Legal Marketing, we know the ins and outs of internal linking for law firm digital marketing. By implementing savvy strategies, we can boost your law firm’s SEO, user engagement, and conversion rates. If your lawyer website needs some SEO TLC, contact Elite Legal Marketing today.
CEO and co-founder Brian Gomez has over 15 years of experience creating and executing winning internet marketing strategies for law firms in hyper-competitive markets. He specializes in digital marketing, SEO, web development, PPC, content marketing and conversion optimization. He is passionate about providing exceptional service and results.
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