Link Structure: What It Is And Why It’s Important

“Link structure” is one of those buzz phrases you may have heard when talking about the quality of websites.

Today we are going over what it is, why it’s important, and some main points you have to keep in mind when creating an effective link structure on your site.

What Is Link Structure?

There are several kinds of linking that are important to know.

The ones we are focusing on today are “internal links” and external links.

Internal links are links throughout your website to other pages on your website. This would be like a blog post on your site linking to another piece of your content that deals with the same subject.

External links, meanwhile, are links from other pages on the internet back to your own. These act as votes of confidence and are highly important for good SEO.

Check out more information on our post about linking (see, that right there is an external link!).

Why It’s Important

Link structure is important on a website because it creates a clear and easy experience for your user. They know where to go, get more helpful information and overall have a much easier time finding what they want.

Check out part one, two and three of our series on UX for more information!

Link structure on a site is also helpful for search engines that gauge how easy your site is to use. Check out our ultimate guide to SEO for some more background on this, as well as this resource on technical SEO.

Tips For A Good Link Structure

For internal links, don’t overdo it. It’s easy to want to link to everything, but this doesn’t actually help the reader. Like we said before, your internal links should create an easy experience for your site visitor. 

External links, meanwhile, should be relevant. This is a great chance to link to an authoritative piece of content that you yourself can’t offer.

And remember this rule of thumb: if it’s helpful to the reader, a link is probably a good idea.

Are you looking for help growing your online business or nonprofit? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at info@lughstudio.com!