Crafting Killer Link Text
When it comes to your webpage, killer link text is crucial for boosting your SEO performance. Link text is basically the fancy term for the clickable words in a hyperlink. These link descriptions not only help users and search engines make sense of your content but also play a key role in defining the structure of your post. Plus, let's face it, people are more likely to click on a link if it straight-up tells them where they're headed.
What makes a lousy link? Well, using generic terms like "click here" or "learn more" just won't cut it. According to Google's link description best practices, it's important to stick to the topic at hand. Avoid using text that has no relevance to the page's content and steer clear of using the page's URL as the link description unless absolutely necessary. Keep it short and sweet with a few words or a brief phrase, and make sure your links are easily visible.
Let's dive into some link descriptions and the page's HTML. Here we have a not-so-great link description with "read more" which doesn't quite fit the topic of "financial management".
Now here we have a stellar link description using the keyword "financial management" to clearly indicate the topic of the link.
By swapping out "learn more" for "about MYOB Advanced Financial Management" you're not only improving the user experience but also boosting your page's ranking and overall performance. It may seem like a small change, but it can make a big impact.
Editing link descriptions is a breeze! You can easily make changes directly in your HTML, just like we did in the examples above. No matter which CMS you use to publish content online, simply hyperlink keywords by pressing "command + k" or clicking the hyperlink icon.
Link description best practices:
- Stick to the point. Avoid using text that doesn't match the page's content.
- Only use the page's URL as the link description if it serves a purpose, like referencing a site's address.
- Keep it short and sweet. Go for a few words or a brief phrase.
By having meta descriptions and well-crafted link descriptions, you'll not only boost your search engine performance but also provide a top-notch experience for your website visitors.
Internal Linking
What exactly is an internal link, you ask? It's simply a link from one page on your website to another page on your website. These internal links play a crucial role in helping users and search engine crawlers navigate your site. When strategically implemented, internal links can work wonders in boosting your site's performance in search engines.
Google loves to dig up your fresh website content. Constantly on the prowl for new pages to add to its collection, Google is like a digital detective, uncovering known pages from past crawls and discovering hidden gems by following links to new pages. As it scours through your site, the crawler eagerly trails along newly added links, unveiling your latest web creations.
Internal linking is key because these links pass on some serious authority from one page to another. By linking to another page on your site, you're basically sending over some much-needed "link juice" to help that linked page climb up the ranks. It's all thanks to Google's trusty PageRank algorithm.
Although internal links may not carry the same weight in boosting authority as backlinks from external sites, they play a crucial role in enriching your SEO strategy.
Internal links offer Google valuable insights into your page's:
- Relevance
- Connections with other pages on your site
- Value
Think of your website's structure like a pyramid, where the most important content sits at the top and less critical information is at the bottom. At the peak of the pyramid is your homepage, acting as a central hub that leads to essential pages like services and products. Below them are pages of slightly lower importance, such as individual product/service pages and blog posts.
By linking these pages together, you're not just connecting them but also highlighting their relevance, significance, and how they are all interconnected. The homepage, as the pinnacle of your site, acts as a gateway to various pages. Similarly, the services page, though lower in the hierarchy, links to multiple pages, perhaps each detailing specific services. On the other hand, blog posts, while less prominent, may only link to a select few related posts.
How can you decide which pages should be best buddies and link to each other?
One cool trick is to group your website pages into topic clusters. With a topic cluster strategy, you organise your website's structure around specific themes relevant to your business. For more insights on implementing topic clusters on your website, check out this blog by HubSpot on Topic Clusters.
Utilise tools like Ahrefs Site Audit to scan your website for broken links that need attention and identify any orphan pages that aren't linked to by any other pages.
Enhance your internal linking strategy with helpful tools that suggest relevant pages to link to or consider adding a "related posts" section to your blog. If you're using WordPress as your CMS, the Yoast SEO plugin is a valuable option.
Ensure that your internal links are "follow" links so that search engines can easily navigate between your pages. Avoid using "nofollow" links.
To nail effective internal linking, serve up some valuable content. Link to resources that guide users through your site, offer up relevant info, or spark their curiosity. Instead of haphazard linking, step into the shoes of your audience and think about what extra info would enhance their experience post-reading. By upping the ante on user engagement with pertinent and valuable content, you'll not only captivate visitors but also supercharge your SEO game.
URL Structure
A URL, short for Uniform Resource Locator, acts as a cyber GPS pinpointing the exact location of a resource on the vast web. Just as you navigate to a physical building with its address, a URL guides you to a specific page on the internet. URLs were crafted to replace the cryptic IP addresses, those lengthy strings of digits that computers use to chat with servers, making the online realm more user-friendly for us humans.
The Nitty-Gritty of URLs
The protocol is like the browser's secret code for fetching web page info. It's usually "http" or "https" (the S is for "secure"). Ever come across "mailto:"? That's the one that fires up your email client.
Next up is the subdomain, which helps to organise different sections of your website. While not always necessary, it depends on your CMS and website structure. The most common subdomain is "www," but you may also come across subdomains like "blog," "store," or "help." Essentially, a subdomain can be almost anything you need. For instance, the Verde Blog website is located on the "blog" subdomain, so its URL is "blog.verde.co.nz."
After the subdomain (if you have one) comes the most crucial part of the URL: the domain name. This is basically the user-friendly version of your website's online address. Ideally, your domain name should align with your business name if you're operating a business website. For instance, if your business is Captivate Consulting, your domain name would be "captivateconsulting." While the choice of domain name is yours, it should accurately reflect the content of your site. Remember, you'll need to purchase your domain name from a registrar, so your options will be limited to what's currently available.
The next part of the URL is the top-level domain or TLD. Think of it as the cherry on top of your domain name sundae. While the most popular choice is ".com," there are a plethora of other options out there, from "co.nz" to ".net" to ".org" to ".edu" and beyond. When combined with your domain name, the top-level domain forms the root domain, giving your website its unique online identity.
The last component of a URL is the path, indicating the location of an asset on the website, whether it be a page, a blog post, or a file. It may also encompass organisational aspects of the website like subfolders or dates. Not all URLs will contain a path, with your homepage being a prime example of a URL without one.
The SEO Influence of URLs
URLs play a vital role in your SEO strategy, impacting user experience, search engine rankings, and the understanding of your content by both users and search engines.
Top Tips for Crafting Effective URLs:
- Incorporate your primary keyword.
- Separate words with hyphens for clarity.
- Opt for short and straightforward URLs.
- Clearly describe the page's content.
- Ensure that your URLs are descriptive.
- Include your target keyword in the URL for optimisation purposes.
While it's not a strict requirement, it's definitely a smart practice to follow. Instead of just cramming keywords wherever possible, focus on showcasing how your page covers a specific topic and communicating that effectively to both readers and search engines. For instance, if your page is all about the best organic cat food, including keywords like "organic," "cat," and "food" in your URL is a great idea. This can improve your page's visibility in search engine results by accurately reflecting what visitors can expect to find.
When crafting your URLs, ditch the jumbled mess and opt for hyphens between words. Forget about using underscores or spaces, as they can lead to a messy link situation. Google backs up this advice, so stick with hyphens to keep things clean.
Most CMS platforms already do this for you, but double-check before hitting publish to avoid any URL mishaps.
Make sure to keep those URLs short and sweet. Google recommends using readable words instead of long strings of numbers. The goal is to create straightforward URLs that are easy for both humans and search engines to understand. Shorter URLs are also more shareable on social media platforms.
Ensure that your URL paints a clear picture of the destination users will reach. This goes hand in hand with the importance of incorporating keywords into your URL. When scanning a URL, both users and search engines should be able to get a good grasp of the page's content. Crafting URLs is a delicate balance between being descriptive yet concise.
