Making Important Pages Accessible

The first step in creating an effective link architecture is to ensure that your important pages are easily accessible from the home page. This might seem like a no-brainer, but it's a detail that can easily get overlooked. You might think that users prefer a search box on your site rather than category navigation, but it's uncommon for search engine crawlers to type into search boxes or navigate via pulldown menus. So, it's crucial to make sure your important pages are clickable from the home page and easy for Googlebot to find throughout your site. The goal here is to create a link architecture that's as intuitive for users as it is crawlable for search engines.

Crafting User-friendly Navigation

Another critical aspect of link architecture is user-friendly navigation. One effective way to test your site's navigation is by creating common user scenarios. For instance, if your site revolves around basketball, imagine being a visitor wanting to learn the best dribbling technique. Can they find this information easily through the navigation links? It's also crucial to ensure that users can navigate to the home page and other relevant sections from any page on your site. This is especially important for users who land on a subpage of your site through an external link. They should be able to easily find their way to the home page or other relevant sections without feeling trapped or stuck.

Ensuring Crawlable Links for Search Engines

When it comes to making your site discoverable by search engines, text links are your best friend. They're like breadcrumbs that lead search engines to your content. While it's tempting to experiment with the latest technologies, remember that if your site is easily navigable for users with text-based links, it's likely to be crawlable for search engines too. This doesn't mean you shouldn't try new things, but always ensure that the basics are covered first. Submitting a sitemap can be a helpful addition, but it shouldn't be the sole strategy for ensuring a crawlable link architecture. It's more of a safety net than a primary tool.

Using Descriptive Anchor Text

The anchor text—the clickable words in a link—should be descriptive. This helps both search engines and users to better understand your content. For instance, instead of using a generic "click here," you could make the anchor text more descriptive, like "browse all of our basketball videos." This not only gives users a clear idea of what they're clicking on but also provides search engines with more context about your content.

Verifying Internal Links

For verified site owners, Webmaster Tools offers a feature to ensure that Googlebot finds most of the links you'd expect. This is particularly useful if your site uses navigation involving JavaScript, which Googlebot doesn't always execute. By using this feature, you can verify that Googlebot is finding other internal links as expected, ensuring that your site is being properly indexed.

Addressing Common Questions on Internal Linking

This post also tackles some common queries about internal linking, such as the use of rel="nofollow" for maximizing PageRank flow and the idea of theming your internal linking architecture. The consensus? Focus on creating a robust link architecture that enhances the user experience on your site. Rather than getting caught up in the technicalities of PageRank sculpting or theming, it's far more productive to work on keeping users happy with fresh and compelling content.

That's all for today! Stay tuned for Day 3 of links week, where we'll explore the world of outbound links. If you have any insights or queries about internal links, feel free to share them in the comments below. We're always here to help you navigate the complexities of link architecture and make your website the best!