Internal linking is a powerful technique that elevates your website’s SEO and user experience to the next level. And no, we’re not talking about indiscriminate interlinking between web pages. By internal linking, we mean strategically linking contextually relevant web pages together. Doing so improves navigation, distributes link equity, and establishes your topical authority on Google. This, in turn, leads to better SERP rankings, increased traffic, and better engagement. Unfortunately, internal linking is laborious and time-consuming. But armed with the right internal linking tools, you can expedite the process of building internal links. So, which internal linking tools are the best ones? Stay tuned because we’ll take a deep dive into the latest and greatest internal linking tools for WordPress sites in 2024. Before we get into the nitty-gritty of today’s topic, let’s first answer the question: Is Internal Linking Still Relevant in 2024? In a lot of ways, internal linking feels like the black sheep among the types of “links” that are relevant for search engine optimization. With businesses pouring their efforts into inbound and outbound linking, internal linking often gets neglected. So, one might ask, “Why are internal linking tools necessary when internal links in themselves are not that important?” People often overlook that internal linking campaigns hold just as much value to a site’s SEO as other SEO strategies, especially in 2024. Benefits of Internal Links for SEO? Links are one of the pioneer factors of search ranking. While SEOs attribute “links” to authority-building backlinks, internal links can also influence a site’s performance. Below, we’ll take a look at the benefits of internal links for your search engine optimization efforts. Stronger SEO Like users, search engines use internal links as navigation tools to explore a site’s web of pages. They use internal links to understand the structure and content of a website. Strategic internal linking creates a clear path for crawlers to find and index newly published web pages. Without the help of internal links, crawling and indexing your new pages will take time. Throughout that waiting period, unindexed pages will receive no exposure from search engines, heavily limiting the traffic your site receives. Internal linking is especially important for websites with a large number of pages or complex navigation. This can improve your website's ranking in search results for relevant keywords. Improved user experience Well-placed internal links can keep users engaged on your website for a longer period by encouraging them to explore related content. This improves your engagement metrics like page views, session times, and bounce rates. From Google’s standpoint, improved metrics indicate that your website is providing a valuable and engaging user experience. Moreover, with the advent of mobile search, customers are becoming increasingly smarter in their purchase decisions. That means they demand more value and quality from businesses. Good internal linking puts you on a pedestal to articulate your authoritativeness and competitiveness in your industry. Better transfer of link equity Link equity or link juice is considered voting power in search engines’ eyes. Linking from one page to another transfers some of the page authority from the source to the linked page. Why Do You Need an Internal Linking Software? Internal linking software helps expedite the laborious and time-consuming process of internal linking. Instead of going through pages and finding links manually, these tools do the heavy lifting and insert those links for you. As a result, you can focus more on strategic work concerning your internal linking efforts. Top 5 Internal Linking Tools for WordPress in 2024 #1 LinkStorm LinkStorm is arguably the youngest on this list, but its features pack a punch, making it deserving to earn a spot here. LinkStorm is a comprehensive internal linking toolkit perfect for SEOs and publishers. Unlike conventional internal link software, LinkStorm goes beyond finding link opportunities but also helps users optimize their internal links and fix underlying issues. One feature that puts LinkStorm ahead of others is its liberal integration of AI machine learning in one of its three internal linking algorithms. Finding link opportunities using “Semantic Similarity” uses AI to find connections between contextually relevant web pages that would’ve otherwise been missed. The other two algorithms: “Content Matching’ and “GSC Terms” use seed keywords and Google Search Console data to find the internal link opportunities between two web pages. Users can take full advantage of LinkStorm to find opportunities and modify their internal linking efforts based on their SEO goals. LinkStorm Pros Easy-to-use interface Semantic Similarity uses AI to find link opportunities Allows users to fix internal link issues Equipped with three distinct link-finding algorithms All plans come with unlimited projects and websites LinkStorm Cons No free version Yet to build a dedicated WordPress plugin LinkStorm Pricing LinkStorm starts at $30/month #2 Yoast SEO Yoast is already a household name in the WordPress world, especially when it comes to SEO, and for good reason. While it offers a comprehensive suite of SEO features like generating SEO titles and meta descriptions, its internal linking capability is also noteworthy. Premium Yoast SEO plugin comes with an internal linking feature. The tool scans your content for internal link opportunities and provides suggestions to improve those links directly from your WordPress editor. One limitation of Yoast is its lack of automation. If satisfied with the tool’s suggestion, you have to manually access the source and insert the recommended internal link. Yoast SEO Pros: Free to download Internal link suggestions are based on content analysis and seed keywords Yoast SEO Cons: Free version lacks the internal link feature Lack of automation Yoast SEO Pricing: Yoast SEO starts at $99/year, each additional add-on is paid separately #3 AIOSEO All-in-one SEO stays true to its name with the plethora of SEO features you get, especially as you go up the more premium plans. As far as internal linking is concerned, the most important tool in AIOSEO’s arsenal is the Link Assistant. Just like LinkStorm’s Semantic Similarity algorithm, the Link Assistant is AI-powered and provides essential internal linking opportunities. Thanks to its WordPress integration, all it takes is a click to add the internal link or edit the anchor text without having to open the article in editor mode. While indeed a powerful tool, the only downside is the Link Assistant is only available in their second-most premium plan. AIOSEO Pros: Uses an AI-powered link finder Comes with other SEO features Provides detailed linking report Seamless WordPress integration AIOSEO Cons: Link Assistant is available in the Pro plan Advanced features will cost extra A bit tough to learn at the start AIOSEO Pricing: AIOSEO starts at $49.60/year, but Link Assistant is only available at $174.65/year #4 RankMath RankMath is another WordPress SEO plugin like AIOSEO that offers internal linking as a minor feature among their arsenal of tools. The tool provides internal linking recommendations to help users build sensible connections across their web pages. Unlike LinkStorm or AIOSEO, the software does not search for relevant internal link opportunities using AI or semantic understanding. Instead, you plug in the seed keywords and the tool pulls up pages containing the keywords, so you can manually build internal links. RankMath Pros: Paid plans come with tons of additional SEO features Internal link opportunities consider both present and future mentions of seed keywords (anchor texts) RankMath Cons: Internal linking is done manually Require user participation to find internal link opportunities RankMath Pricing: RankMath starts at $6.99/month #5 Internal Link Juicer Internal Link Juicer is one of the best internal linking tools for people on a tight budget. Users can enjoy a good preview of their features without having to break the bank. Just like RankMath, Internal Link Juicer combines manual and automation in its internal linking process. Users manually input anchor texts for each web page. After saving, those links become active automatically with every mention of those seed keywords. Aside from that, users have the option to blacklist or whitelist pages from internal linking. Plus add a threshold on the number of internal links a page can have. This gives you more flexibility when it comes to your internal linking strategies. Internal Link Juicer Pros: Free version is a good start Automatic internal linking Whitelist/blacklist option for web pages Internal Link Juicer Cons: No AI integration in finding link opportunities Internal Link Juicer Pricing: Internal Link Juicer is free, but the Pro version is $69.99/year So, Which is the Best? Despite its limitations, we think LinkStorm is the best option on the list. Powered by three distinct algorithms, users can find internal links depending on their intended goals. More importantly, the developers are working hard to refine the tool further. Down the line, a javascript will be integrated to allow a more seamless connection when internal links are accepted via the app. A WordPress plugin is also in development. This makes LinkStorm one of the best investments while still in its early stages. If you find this tools hard to use or don't have the expertise needed, consider hiring an SEO developer to plan your internal linking structure to improve your website.
