Understanding the Various Types of Links: Navigational, Breadcrumb, Structural, and More
Imagine you’re throwing a big party on your website. You want your guests (aka users) to have a great time, find what they need easily, and maybe even stay a little longer. That’s where understanding the different types of links comes in. These links are like the helpful signs and pathways at your party, guiding everyone around smoothly and making sure they don’t get lost. Plus, they can help your party (website) get some extra attention from search engines.
In this guide, we’ll explore all the different kinds of links you can use to make your site awesome, including navigational links, breadcrumb links, structural links, footer links, sidebar links, contextual links, and more.
And of course, we’ll share some cool strategies to make sure your internal linking game is on point, so your site not only looks good but performs like a champ!
Navigational Links
Navigational links are essential for guiding users through your website. They are usually found in the header or top section of a webpage and include links to the main sections of your site.
Main Navigation
The main navigation, often referred to as the primary navigation, includes links to the most important pages of your website. These typically consist of:
- Home
- About Us
- Services or Products
- Contact Us
- Blog
Secondary Navigation
Secondary navigation includes links to less critical but still important sections of the site. These might be found in a separate menu or as part of a secondary header and could include:
- Privacy Policy
- Terms of Service
- Careers
- FAQs
Drop-Down Menus
Drop-down menus provide a way to organize and present multiple links under a single navigation item. This is particularly useful for websites with extensive content or multiple product categories.
Breadcrumb Links
Breadcrumb links provide a trail for users to follow back to the starting or entry point of a website. They are typically located at the top of a page, just below the primary navigation, and help improve the user experience by showing the user’s location within the site structure.
For example:
- Home > Blog > SEO > Understanding Different Types of Links
Structural Links
Structural links are embedded within the website’s layout and design to assist with navigation and information architecture. These include:
- Header Links: Links found in the header, usually as part of the main navigation.
- Footer Links: Links found in the footer section, providing quick access to important pages and legal information.
Footer Links
Footer links are typically found at the bottom of a webpage and serve several purposes:
- Accessibility: Quick access to essential pages like Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, and Contact Information.
- SEO: Including additional links in the footer can improve internal linking and distribute link equity.
- User Experience: Providing links to secondary pages and resources that users might need.
Sidebar Links
Sidebar links are found in the side sections of a webpage and can include:
- Category Links: Links to different categories of content or products.
- Recent Posts or Popular Posts: Links to recent or popular blog posts.
- Related Articles: Links to articles related to the current content being viewed.
Contextual Links
Contextual links are hyperlinks within the body of content that link to other relevant pages or articles. These links are important for several reasons:
- Improving User Experience: Guiding readers to additional relevant information.
- Enhancing SEO: Passing link equity to other pages and helping search engines understand the content structure.
Contextual links are the essential ranking factor for Google or any search engine
Internal Linking Strategy
An effective internal linking strategy is essential for both user experience and SEO. Here are key components to consider:
Link Relevance
Ensure that the links you include are relevant to the content. Irrelevant links can confuse users and negatively impact SEO.
Link Placement
Place links where users are most likely to see and click on them. This can be within the main content, in sidebars, or footers.
Anchor Text
Use descriptive and keyword-rich anchor text for your links. This helps search engines understand the context of the linked page and improves SEO. Make sure to use long tail keywords for your anchor text link creation. If you have a brand name then it is reasonable to use it as a single word anchor text. For non-branded links, have atleast two words in your anchor text for your long tail seo to work for your website.
Orphaned Content
Identify and link to orphaned content (pages that are not linked from any other page on the site). This ensures all your content is easily accessible and can be crawled by search engines.
Conclusion
Understanding the various types of links and implementing a robust internal linking strategy is crucial for building a user-friendly and SEO-optimized website. By effectively using navigational links, breadcrumb links, structural links, footer links, sidebar links, and contextual links, you can enhance both user experience and search engine rankings.
Action Item for you
Install CrawlSpider Internal Link builder plugin and automate contextual internal linking for your website. This will save you tons of time and in return gain you search engine rankings and more money in your wallet!
