How to Create an Internal Anchor Map for SEO: Maximise Ranking Gain with Proper Internal Links

Описание: In this video Daniel Foley Carter covers how to build internal anchor maps which can be used to improve internal linking by looking at anchor text utilisation as well as internal link counts.

The sheet in the video can be accessed here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

USE FILE, MAKE A COPY and copy the sheet, then populate as per the video guidance. It also contains the scripts needed.

Some other important notes!

PAGE RANK still exists and has EVOLVED to include things such as "reasonable surfer" which weights links on the probability of a click as well as "seed sets".

Fundamentally - PAGE RANK is there and IF you aren't strategic with your internal linking, you won't see the same benefit from external link building.

Here are some general rules:

1. CONTENT SHOULD NOT BE CLOSE TO BEING ORPHANED

This is fundamentally content with 1 internal link and is more common on sites where they publish blogs where the only accessible route is via pagination over time.

2. EVERY PAGE SHOULD HAVE NO LESS THAN 5 UNIQUE INTERNAL LINKS

This isn't a set in stone rule, it's not arbritary but is a good model to work with. There's no reason for pages to end up with low link counts, so consider bolstering pages with less than 5 unique internal links.

3. YOU SHOULD USE INTERNAL LINKS WITH "PROBABILITY OF ONWARD CLICK IN MIND"

This is key - you work this out by understanding what SUB CONTENT is likely to support a user or be part of a journey. You should focus on internal links creating more interactions per session.

You should use Microsoft Clarity/HotJar to look at tap targets, you can also set up GTM events on link clicks.

4. AVOID INCONSISTENT INTERNAL LINKING

Does your site consistently use trailing slash? ensure no internal links are missing it and vice versa. Ensure all URLS link CONSISTENTLY internally so that redirects are NOT found on your crawls.

Consistency generally covers:

WWW vs NON WWW

HTTPS vs NON HTTPS

TRAILING SLASH VS NON TRAILING SLASH

MIXED URL CASE

URLS with SPACING (%20)


5. TRY TO AVOID LINKING TO CANONICAL CHILD URLS

This can prompt Google to serve a weaker (canonical child URL) over the parent which can exacerbate canonicalisation.


6. USE ANCHOR TEXT PROPERLY

This is originally what this post was going to be about - I've included a video in this post on HOW TO CREATE AN INTERNAL ANCHOR MAP! Use it. Anchor text utilisation is KEY. Internal and external anchors should be closely aligned. Ideally, internal anchors SHOULD be descriptive where possible, you can include the main anchor as part of a SENTENCED HREF - so there's better context on what the target page is.

Avoid sharing the same internal anchors for different pages.

Avoid sharing similar anchors on pages more likely to cannibalise.