Thread by @chimammeje

This is probably gonna be one the best threads you'll see about internal and external linking

I'll be answering these questions and sharing my strategy 👇

What is the ideal number of internal and external links to add to each blog post?

Who should you link to externally?

What is the thought process that goes into adding internal links to a piece?

How do you determine anchor text for links?

On a recent podcast with Erin Balsa, I said that most of the hard work of creating great content happens in the planning stage and by extension, the content brief.

I like to think of on-page optimization when creating a content brief, and that includes adding suggested internal and external links

To answer the questions I kicked off with...

There is no ideal number of anything in SEO. Wikipedia is proof of this.

I prioritize internal links first by linking to:

✅ The most important pieces in the cluster, especially the pillar page

✅Supporting content outside the cluster that aligns with the message in the current content.

✅CTAs to relevant products and features

✅In-text references to existing content that provide value

Here's how I determine the anchor text:

Wait until Google has indexed a piece of content. Then use the primary keyword and other keywords the page was indexed for as anchor text.

We always want variety.

The thought process for deciding what to link internally is determined by the subheadings in the article.

Right off the bat, I can see what already exists, and add those as suggested internal links. This is besides the obvious choice of linking to other pieces in the cluster

For external links, I NEVER link to direct competitors or websites like Wikipedia where anyone can publish and edit content.

Frase and NeuralText do a decent job of scrapping statistics referenced across the top 20 ranking content for a keyword.

I prioritize linking to statistics from industry sites like Tech Radar, and websites known for publishing peer-reviewed content like Science Direct, Sage Pub, and Frontiers. Also data-led sites like NNGroup and Statista.

I'll also link to quotes from industry experts and thought leaders with great E-A-T on the topic as a way to drive home a point I'm trying to make.

The final stage of internal linking happens after I've written the content. I use the Link Whisper WordPress plugin to find more opportunities for useful internal links.

The worst thing you can do is link arbitrarily.

In all you do, remember that links must provide value as a source of continuous education for the anchor text

#40DaysOfContentLessons - Day 22

I cover more tips on building topic clusters and creating an optimized content brief in the 10x topic authority course

Get it now for only $150
zenithcopy.com/topic-cluster-…

A few other things to remember:
Avoid links in the introduction to reduce bounce rate
Don't use the primary keyword as anchor text on the same page
You only need to link once to a page
The final link should be a CTA telling people what to do next

If you want a way to track when Google indexes a post and the keywords they've picked it up for, Ahrefs has a free webmaster tool that does a great job of sending reports of new keywords ranking position 11-50

Use that keyword information for internal links and link building