Internal Page Links Help Your Readers and Search Engines

I’ve coached attorneys on blogging tips and techniques for several years. One issue that seems to resurface is fairly important for both your readers and the search engines. Once you’ve written your blog post or website content page, don’t forget internal page links.

We’ve all seen them. An internal page link is that word or phrase which allows you to click to another page of related content. Here’s a quick example:

“One tip that I’ve offered in the past is to simply listen to the questions your clients ask during their initial meetings with you.  If the person sitting across from you has a specific question, you can be sure that many others are wondering the same thing.  Here’s a link to some tips for identifying blog topics.”

In the above example, “tips for identifying blog topics” is an internal page link. If you click on it, you’ll go to another blog post I wrote.

There are a few important reasons for using internal page links in your blog posts:

1. These links allow your viewers to explore additional information related to your topic.
2. The links are followed by search engines when they are actively crawling and indexing your content.
3. Internal page links enable other pages on your blog and/or site to be found by Google and the other search engines. This increases the number of pages, which could show up in a relevant search query by your next prospective client.

I advise my clients to use a 2:1 ratio – at a minimum – when it comes to adding internal page links to a new blog post. The idea is to have at least 2 links connecting the post with separate website pages (e.g. a general practice area page and your attorney profile page). Then, make sure you link this new blog post to at least 1 other blog post you’ve already added. You may want to increase it to 2:2 or 3:2.

In reality, this establishes a web of inter-related pages within your site, as well as your individual blog posts.

Recently, I audited a client’s website. I made a spreadsheet containing each of website page. I listed the names of the pages down the left margin and across the top. I placed an “X” in each intersection where the content from a specific page in the left-margin connected to a related page listed at the top of the spreadsheet (reading left to right on the spreadsheet).

I wanted to make sure that each page complied with my 2:1 (minimum) internal page links rule. I actually found a few instances in which the vendor neglected to include sufficient links. In a couple of situations, the links were incorrectly linked back to the same page. That particular mistake adds absolutely no benefit for the reader or search engines. I also found one page that didn’t have a link to another topical page.

Here are a few helpful tips to remember when you’re creating internal page links:

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Adding a LinkedIn Post can help your Google Ranking.  I’ve blogged about the advantages social media can have on your overall campaign. This weekend, I saw a strong example. Google pays attention to LinkedIn posts. This article will provide a couple of tips and examples to help you increase your online visibility.

I uploaded a video to my YouTube channel a month ago. The next day, I uploaded a LinkedIn post to my profile. The video made it to Google’s 1st page in 2 days. A month later, I now see both the video AND my LinkedIn post on the 1st page. This proves what I’ve been saying all along. There are definite advantages to implementing social media into your overall marketing campaign.

LinkedIn Post Appearing on Google’s 1st Page

Creating effective, insightful content takes effort.  It can be disheartening to see all of that work yield poor results. One way to avoid that is to systematically re-publish your content on other online channels. Blog posts are a great way to drive visibility for your website. However, if your competition is high, you may find it tough to break through. When you publish your content across multiple channels (e.g. a LinkedIn post, a YouTube video, etc.) you increase the likelihood that it’ll be seen by a broader audience.

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Did you know YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine in the world?  According to Search Metrics, “65% of Google’s keyword searches return videos in the results.”  More and more small businesses are figuring this out.  In fact, law firms are realizing video provides a competitive advantage in marketing.  Using online video for business development leads to increased visibility and improved conversion.

I gave a presentation to the Evansville Bar Association in February.  One of my segments focused on trends in online video.  If you’re on the fence about incorporating online video for business development, you should spend time watching the below excerpt from my presentation.

The video clip at the bottom of this post is the just the segment summary.  However, you’ll see prompts to click to the full segment.  Those prompts are called “annotations.”

Video annotations enable you to link from one video to others, similar to a hyperlink on a text-based content page.  

I inserted these annotations to let interested people click to view the longer video.  It also illustrates a simple tactic you could employ in your own online videos.
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Someone convinced you to launch a website and blog.  Everything’s up and running, so now what?  You may need content ideas.

Finding Content Ideas is Easier Than You Think

One of the best things you can do to make your site show up on Google and other search engines is to consistently add content.  Finding enough topics to write about is a challenge many professionals fear.  Unfortunately that usually leads to a lack of interest and eventually the whole idea may seem like a huge waste of time and money.  The solution may be much easier than you think.

I have 2 blogs, a couple of YouTube channels, draft articles for professional organizations and create content for a number of clients.  I’ll admit, sometimes you simply run out of things to say.  So yeah, I get it.  Here are 3 simple ways I’ve found to easily find content ideas:

1)  Listen to the questions asked by your new clients.  Generally speaking, you know a lot about your specific area of business, be that law, medicine, therapy, etc.  After all, you’re the Subject Matter Expert (the “Schmee”), right?  While you may know it, the person sitting across from you doesn’t.  When they ask even basic questions, remember many other people probably have the exact same questions.  Make a list of those questions and add to it whenever possible.  Use your blog and social media properties to provide answers.  Google views that as topically relevant content.  The more authoritative your site appears, the better it’ll perform for related searches.  Listen to your clients.  They’ll tell you exactly what write about today.

2)  Is there a story in the news involving your area of expertise?  Add to the conversation by blogging or making a quick video about it.  When topics are covered by the media, it always leads to people looking for additional information.  If you join the dialog, you can literally ride the wave that’s already been created.  Google wants to serve up information that’s related to a particular issue.  If you post about it on your blog, it’s quite possible your content can quickly gain visibility and actually be linked to by others.  Take a few minutes to look at the local and national media.  What’s currently trending?  If it’s a topic you know, jump in…the water’s fine.

3)  Most of us read “industry” publications.  You may read articles online, have a few print subscriptions, or subscribe to newsletters from trade organizations.  These are great sources of content ideas.  The important thing to do make a habit of scanning for articles you could comment about on your own blog.  By the way, here’s a ProTip:  Put it on your calendar.  If you don’t add these activities to your calendar, they probably won’t get done.

Content creation doesn’t have to be as difficult as it might seem.  By incorporating one or more of the above 3 content ideas, you’ll find more topics that you originally realized.  Remember, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel.  Add perceived value based on your personal experience and knowledge.  The key is to simply be consistent.  The results are going to surprise you.