Internal Linking: Search Engine Optimization

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Search engine optimization includes a lot more than simply putting words on your web pages in the right places and frequency. Search engine optimization includes making your web site user friendly so all web pages can be found. A user friendly web site helps your customers find your web pages by using the various navigation structure and link texts.

Types of Internal Linking Navigation Structures

There are three types of internal linking navigation structures:

Lateral Linking Navigation
Hierarchical Linking Navigation
Hybrid Linking Navigation

Internal Lateral Linking Navigation

Merriam-Webster defines "lateral as lying at, or extending toward the side ...." Therefore, lateral linking navigation can be defined as linking to web pages on the same level. Typically web sites with a small number of web pages link all web pages to each other.

When your web site has a small number of web pages your entire set of web pages can be linked to from all web pages. However, this does not make the navigation lateral. Lateral linking requires that web pages being linked to be at the same directory level.

Internal Lateral Linking Navigation Examples

As previously mentioned, you will notice all pages are on the same directory level. This means that each page is directly accessible with a web address such as:

http://www.yourdomain.com/index.html
http://www.yourdomain.com/about-us.html
http://www.yourdomain.com/contact-us.html

Internal Hierarchical Linking Navigation

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing defines a hierarchy as " An organization with few things, or one thing, at the top and with several things below each other thing. An inverted tree structure. Examples in computing include a directory hierarchy where each directory may contain files or other directories; a hierarchical network (see hierarchical routing), a class hierarchy in object-oriented programming."

Clearly, an internal hierarchical linking navigation requires a directory structure that includes subdirectories containing other web pages. Typically not all pages are linked to from all other pages when a hierarchical linking navigation is used. Therefore, some people consider this a disadvantage; however several advantages exist with the hierarchical linking system.

With hierarchical navigation systems remove the need to link to every page on all of your pages. Your web pages can be grouped and categorized making it easier to manage your web site as it grows.

Hierarchical linking allows you to link down into a directory from a higher directory. It allows you to link into directories higher than the current directory. And, it allows you to link from one directory into another directory at the same level.

Internal Hierarchical Linking Navigation Examples

This example assumes you are at the home page and you link to the page about secrets of a successful website. You'll notice the online-marketing-tutorial subdirectory.

<a href="/online-marketing-tutorial/secrets-of-successful-websites.html">secrets of a successful website</a>.

Internal Hybrid Linking Navigation

The hybrid linking navigation schema uses the advantages of the lateral and hierarchical linking navigation system. Not only are you linking down into directories, but you link to pages within the same directory. Shopping cart software typically use the hybrid linking navigation system.

This example assumes you are on the secrets of a successful website page and want to go to the home page. Notice this time we do not have a subdirectory in the URL.

<a href="">home</a>.

The last example assumes you are on the search engine friendly shopping cart page and want to go to the achieving a top ten placement page. You'll notice each web address has a different directory.

Your current URL is <a href="/shopping-cart/search-engine-friendly-shopping-cart.html">search engine friendly shopping cart</a>.

Your end URL will be <a href="/search-engine-optimization/achieving-top-ten-placement.html">achieving a top ten placement</a>.

Some web designers or site owners think they should put each web page within its own directory. This idea is overkill.

Microsoft, IBM, Sun and Red Hat all use the hybrid linking navigation schema. This form of schema allows them to divide their web sites into sections managed by teams of developers. Of course, you, the small business owner don't have all the resources the large companies have, but the hybrid linking navigation system helps you even more ... your pages are grouped into logical directories making administration much easier.

Link Text

As mentioned in the article on outbound linking, link text plays an important part in how search engines look at your web pages and the web pages to which you link. Link text plays a major role in how your internal links can help your own web site.

As you may have noticed in this article, the various links used link text to help the reader and the search engines understand the topic of the linked page. Using links within your own articles, product support and description pages, and customer testimonials actually invites readers to read more pages. The more you entice people to read about your knowledge and products the more you begin to gain their trust.

Visitors that trust you typically end up buying from you.

Internal Linking Navigation Summary

As you begin to build your web site you should be thinking about how you want to group your information. Web sites with a small number of web pages should use the lateral linking navigation system, but plan on moving to the hybrid linking system as soon as possible.

The hierarchical linking navigation system typically gets used for an extremely short time. Or, it is misused. When it is misused all the web pages within the site, except the home page, are in subdirectories. These pages typically name all the files index.html or something very similar.

The internal hybrid linking navigation system provides you with the best of both worlds. Your information is grouped into logical sections and becomes much easier to manage. As your business grows you can assign sections to the appropriate department.

Using your link text to your advantage helps your customers learn more about your business, products and services. Your link texts can also help your web pages perform better in the search engines for the keywords associated to the linked pages.

Your user friendly web site depends upon your internal links and link text. As your site becomes more user friendly it becomes more search engine friendly and much easier to optimize. Plan your web site for success.

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