As a website owner, you want to make sure that all the pages on your site are being found and indexed by search engines. However, there may be pages that exist on your site that have no internal links pointing towards them, making it difficult for Google to find and crawl them.
These are known as orphan pages, and they can negatively affect your SEO efforts.
Google has stated that the main way they find pages is through following links. Therefore, if you don’t give them a path to your content, it’s as good as useless. Even Yandex, a search engine based in Russia, has a negative ranking factor specifically for orphan pages.
Sitebulb SEO Tool
Fortunately, there are tools available to help you find and fix these pages. One such tool is Sitebulb, an SEO tool that can crawl your website and identify orphan pages. Here’s how you can use it:
- Create a new project in Sitebulb and enter a project name for your site’s domain.
- Go to the crawl sources tab and select XML sitemaps. This sitemap will tell the tool all the different URLs that should exist on your site.
- Start to crawl your website.
- In the orphan pages report, you’ll get a list of lonely, sad orphan URLs.
If you want that orphan page to exist and be crawled, the easiest thing to do is interlink to it. You should link to it from related content.
For example, if you had an orphan page on Bluetooth speakers, you can use the site: command on Google to surface all the relevant Bluetooth speaker content on your site. Now, just create that internal link and you’re done.
There are situations when you don’t want an orphan page to be crawled or indexed. For example, maybe you have a thank you page on your site for your email list. In that case, you can also noindex a page using Yoast. Lastly, if it’s just a useless orphan, good for nothing piece of Muggle content, just delete it.
Optimizing Your Main Menu Navigation
Your website’s navigation bar is the one element that offers an identical experience for both your users and Google. For users, it’s a means to find the content that they’re looking for and understand what the core pages are on your site.
For Google, it’s all that, plus a means to understand the hierarchy and structure of your website. Optimize it correctly and you’ll make both your users and Google happy.
Types of Navigation Styles
There are various types of navigation styles to choose from.
Horizontal Navigation
Horizontal navigation is the most common, with side-by-side menu items at the top of the webpage. Websites with a more complex architecture and multi-levels of categorization would opt for a dropdown navigation where primary categories expand into subcategories.
This gives users a more detailed way to find what they’re looking for. That said, more choices equal more indecision.
Vertical Navigation
Twitter has a vertical navigation bar, which gives more prominence and real estate to its main value: that dopamine-delivering tweet feed.
Hamburger Navigation
Lastly, we have hamburger navigations, which are popular on mobile because they can be compacted and expanded with ease.
Tips on How to Take Your Navigation Game to the Next Level
- Avoid using generic labels such as “what we do” within your main menu because it doesn’t actually describe what you do at all. Actually write your products and services in the navigation bar, whether that be directly or with a dropdown, to make it easy as possible for both your users and Google to know what you do.
- Avoid overcrowding your navigation with too many items. Lots of these labels look like the exact same thing.
Prioritize Your Pages
Another important aspect of optimizing your main menu navigation is to prioritize your pages. While it’s important to include all of your essential pages in your main menu, it’s equally important to prioritize the ones that matter most.
Typically, your homepage and top-level category pages should be given the most prominent placement in your navigation. This not only helps users quickly find what they’re looking for, but it also sends a clear signal to Google about which pages are most important on your site.
Responsive and Mobile-Friendly
Another tip for optimizing your main menu navigation is to make sure it’s responsive and mobile-friendly. With more and more users browsing the web on their mobile devices, it’s critical that your navigation is optimized for smaller screens.
Consider using a hamburger menu or other mobile-friendly navigation styles to ensure that users can easily navigate your site on their smartphones or tablets.
Footer Navigation
In addition to optimizing your main menu navigation, it’s also important to pay attention to your footer navigation. While your footer may not be as prominent as your main menu, it still plays an important role in helping users find what they’re looking for on your site.
Make sure your footer includes links to important pages like your contact page, about page, and social media profiles.
Internal Linking
Finally, don’t forget about internal linking throughout your site. Internal linking is the practice of linking from one page on your site to another page on your site. This not only helps users navigate your site, but it also helps Google understand the structure of your site and which pages are most important.
1. Use Descriptive Anchor Text
When creating internal links, be sure to use descriptive anchor text that clearly indicates what the linked-to page is about.
2. Create a Logical Flow Between Pages
Another aspect of internal linking is creating a logical flow between pages. This means that you should link to pages that are related to each other, creating a clear path for users to follow as they navigate through your site.
By doing so, you can also guide Google to understand the structure and hierarchy of your site, helping it to better crawl and index your pages.
3. Consider the Context
When creating internal links, it’s important to also consider the context in which they are used. For example, a link placed within a sentence is likely to be more effective than a link placed at the end of a paragraph. This is because users are more likely to click on a link that is integrated into the content they are reading.
4. Avoid Using Generic or Vague Anchor Text
Additionally, when creating internal links, make sure to avoid using generic or vague anchor text such as “click here” or “read more.” Instead, use descriptive and relevant anchor text that accurately describes the linked-to page.
This not only helps users better understand what they are clicking on, but it also helps Google better understand the content and context of the linked-to page.
5. Conduct a Content Audit
One effective way to create internal links is to conduct a content audit of your site. This involves reviewing all the pages on your site and identifying opportunities to link to other relevant pages. By doing so, you can create a strong internal linking structure that helps guide users and search engines to your most important content.
6. Ensure that the Links are Balanced Throughout the Site
Another key aspect of internal linking is to ensure that the links are balanced throughout your site. This means that you should avoid overusing internal links on certain pages while neglecting others.
By doing so, you can ensure that your site’s link equity is distributed evenly and that all pages have a fair chance of ranking well in search engine results.
7. High-Quality Internal Links
It’s also important to note that the quality of the linked-to pages matters just as much as the quantity of internal links. In other words, it’s better to have a few high-quality internal links to relevant pages than a lot of low-quality links to irrelevant pages. This is because Google’s algorithms prioritize links that are relevant and trustworthy.
8. Use Breadcrumb Navigation
Another way to optimize your internal linking is to use breadcrumb navigation. Breadcrumb navigation provides users with a clear path back to the homepage or to previous pages they have visited, making it easier for them to navigate your site.
This can also help search engines understand the structure and hierarchy of your site, as well as the context of each page.
Furthermore, internal linking can also be used to improve the user experience on your site. For example, you can use internal links to suggest related content or products to users based on their browsing history or search queries.
This not only helps users find what they are looking for more easily, but it can also increase engagement and conversions on your site.
In addition, internal linking can also be used to promote seasonal or timely content. For example, if you have a blog post about Christmas gift ideas, you can link to it from other relevant pages on your site during the holiday season. This can help drive more traffic to the post and increase its visibility in search engine results.
9. Monitor and Update Your Internal Linking Strategy
Lastly, it’s important to monitor and update your internal linking strategy regularly. As your site grows and evolves, new pages may be added, old pages may be removed, and the context of existing pages may change.
By regularly reviewing and updating your internal linking strategy, you can ensure that your site’s internal linking structure remains effective and up-to-date.
Conclusion
In conclusion, internal linking is an important aspect of SEO that should not be overlooked. By creating a logical flow between pages, using descriptive anchor text, and balancing your internal links throughout your site, you can guide users and search engines to your most important content.
Additionally, by using internal linking to improve the user experience, promote seasonal content, and monitor and update your strategy regularly, you can further enhance the effectiveness of your internal linking efforts.
