And while getting other, external sites to link back to your content is not always certain, and doing so abusively can get you banned from Google’s index, there is one important SEO technique you can use that’s completely within your control – it’s linking, internally, within your own site’s relevant posts, pages, and content.

There are three important reasons to do this:

• Usability - Linking relevant content internally allows people to get more information, particularly to linked words and concepts that are better explained at greater length on other pages
• Passing Page “Authority“ – Google sees pages that are older, more established, and more linked to as having more equity, and therefore, as worthy of ranking higher for certain keywords. You can pass that “authority” from one page in your site to another by linking to it
• Anchor Linking Keywords for Equity - In Google’s eyes, the specific keywords that are linked, and the page they link to, will also play a large role in how well those pages rank for those keyword phrases

For these reasons and more, internal (also known as “deep”) site linking is a key fundamental tool that any site owner/manager should spend time on a regular basis doing.

Internal Site Linking Strategy

As noted above, when linking internally within your site, your goal will be to link specific keywords to relevant content. This will reinforce those pages as having value and authority for the keywords represented.

Anchor Link Text is Crucial

In our experience with working with clients, we’ve found the most linked-to words throughout the Web are “click here.” Beginners and most corporate people typically relegate the link text itself to a generic “click here,” unaware of the critical importance of the linked “anchor” words.

For example, clients often come to us with page links that look like this:

To read a complete breakdown of content marketing ideas sure to bring large amounts of traffic and recognition, click here.

While Google can read and index your text, the only link authority and clear ranking signal that’s being passed from the current page to the linked page is the text labeled “click here.”

The difference in the value of this anchor link text should be immediately apparent:

Click here to read a complete breakdown of content marketing ideas sure to bring large amounts of traffic and recognition.

The search engines now have a chance to understand that the keywords “breakdown, content marketing, ideas, traffic, recognition” are associated with the linked page.

As with most tools and techniques, it requires balance- you don’t want to link every word. We’ve come up with a rough estimate of around one link per 100 words, or five per 500 words, will improve both your users’ experience, and your search engine optimization. And don’t “spam” by repeatedly linking the same word to the same location many times. Once is enough.

Key takeaway: Internal site linking is one of the main on-site techniques to build internal SEO value. Whenever linking, put some thought into what a user might want more information about, and then crafting a relevant phrase to link from.

Do you regularly go back and link your new pages and posts back to relevant older material? Have you done this, and had success? Let me know in the comments below…

Image: Oslo, Norway subway map via Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/magnetbox/4575030/