Internal Linking - SEO

[usingh2212]

I wanted to know if there is a definitive guide on how to do internal linking for service area businesses. I want to focus on 1 service and 5 locations to rank higher.

 

[keyserholiday]

I wanted to know if there is a definitive guide on how to do internal linking for service area businesses. I want to focus on 1 service and 5 locations to rank higher.

There is no definitive guide on internal linking. Do whatever feels natural.

 

[fisicx]

As @keyserholiday said there is no definitive guide but you can gain a lot of understanding from the Google SEO guidelines and in particular the Quality Rater Guidelines.

https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2023/11/search-quality-rater-guidelines-update

180 pages long so it's not a quick read but essential to understanding the philosophy behind how Google rates and ranks webpages.

But there are some basics you can put into place:

1. Keep the number of links low in the main menu. Try to avoid dropdowns. Instead link your top level links to content rich pages and from there to deeper and lower level pages.

2. Repeat the key links from the main menu in your footer. In the footer include links to the 'about us', legal, privacy and terms pages.

3. Fill your homepage with links to the important parts of the site. But include explanatory content to give a reason for the links to exist. Never use 'read more'.

4. Link between pages where this fits the information flow. For example, if your page is about cleaning patios a link to a page about the chemical you use is useful but only if it fits in the narrative. Links to examples of patios you have cleaned is even better as it provides evidence.

5. Create location pages and from there links to examples of the service you provided at that location.

6. Link from your case study pages back to the locations pages, other categories, testimonials and reviews. Make it so someone who reached a page deep in the site can easily find their way back. Not via the menu but using links within the content.

Internal linking is all about adding value, information flows and providing logical pathways.

Look at how wikipedia takes you on a journey of discovery.

 

[Shihab Uddin]

Hi,
First, you have to define which page will be ranked in the search results. And then you can give support to that page from the home page, service page, blog post by internal linking.

 

[fisicx]

I’ve seen better results when I use internal links that match what people are actually searching for, rather than just using generic words like “click here” or “read more.”

100% agree. Internal linking is a very powerful SEO tool.

 

[localruler]

If you're only going to have 1 service and five locations, you should create a page for each location that talks about the service you are offering. Link directly from your homepage and service page to the location pages, then link from the location pages back to your homepage and to a specific page about the service you offer (if you have one).

You can also put a menu item (yes, a dropdown is fine) called Locations and have a link to each of the service location pages. Adding the locations in the footer of every page will help as well.

 

[fisicx]

You can also put a menu item (yes, a dropdown is fine) ...

But not very usable. Because a high proportion of local searches is done using a mobile phone your main navigation should be as simple as possible.

However, there are way to make a dropdown/flyout menu both usable and accessible but it's not something you can easily do is using WordPress or similar.

 

[usingh2212]

As @keyserholiday said there is no definitive guide but you can gain a lot of understanding from the Google SEO guidelines and in particular the Quality Rater Guidelines.

https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2023/11/search-quality-rater-guidelines-update

180 pages long so it's not a quick read but essential to understanding the philosophy behind how Google rates and ranks webpages.

But there are some basics you can put into place:

1. Keep the number of links low in the main menu. Try to avoid dropdowns. Instead link your top level links to content rich pages and from there to deeper and lower level pages.

2. Repeat the key links from the main menu in your footer. In the footer include links to the 'about us', legal, privacy and terms pages.

3. Fill your homepage with links to the important parts of the site. But include explanatory content to give a reason for the links to exist. Never use 'read more'.

4. Link between pages where this fits the information flow. For example, if your page is about cleaning patios a link to a page about the chemical you use is useful but only if it fits in the narrative. Links to examples of patios you have cleaned is even better as it provides evidence.

5. Create location pages and from there links to examples of the service you provided at that location.

6. Link from your case study pages back to the locations pages, other categories, testimonials and reviews. Make it so someone who reached a page deep in the site can easily find their way back. Not via the menu but using links within the content.

Internal linking is all about adding value, information flows and providing logical pathways.

Look at how wikipedia takes you on a journey of discovery.

follow up question: So i went back and have done some thing like this. I have servicea area page that needs to rank "Fence Staining Houston Tx". I have made this unique with local content like nebghbourhoods we serve and local reviews that we received and local Recent projects completed and HOA rules for staining.

All the supporting pages are created and is linking back to the service area page:
HOA Rules in Houston for Staining (links back to service area page)
Projects completed in Houston (I keep adding as we completed more projects and link this back to Service area page).
Local Blogs: how staining is beneficial, why staining is required, best stains etc (and link these back to service area page).
I also link to each other for relevance like HOA rules in houston will link to other HOA rules pages for other cities etc, blogs are interlinked and so on.

Question: Is this strategy on teh right track.
Question: Do service area pages needs to have more internal link than home page to rank above the home page for specific enquiry. Currently home page is ranking highest for all local serches and i want service area pages to rank for local searach intent. Will interlinking and some backlinks solve this issue.