Internal Linking Checklist for Every SaaS Website

TL;DR:

• Internal links help SaaS websites to reduce link depth and increase user engagement
• Follow a 4-point checklist for internal linking, including standardizing main navigation links and adding curated links after blog posts
• Keep navigation links visible and avoid generic labels for better user experience
• Optimize page structure for humans, not bots, and regularly audit links for broken ones
• Create logical pathways for users to navigate your site easily and find relevant resources

Internal links are the pathways through your site. It's important they're structured properly to:

• Reduce "link depth", or the distance your other pages sit from your home page. The "closer" or fewer clicks your product pages, blog pages, and more are from your home page, the more importance Google gives to them
• Give page visitors a natural next step on your site, increasing their time on site and the likelihood of converting

Every SaaS website can achieve both of these outcomes by following a simple four step checklist.

The 4-Point Checklist for Internal Linking

1. Add Curated Links at the Bottom of Home and Product Pages

You want to make sure that visitors to your homepage can be directed to helpful and evergreen content on your site from your home and product pages.

This helps increase time on site and likewise increases the likelihood of conversions.

Keep in mind that this will make your product pages longer. It's less likely visitors will scroll the whole page. It might be better to simply direct them to a CTA.

2. Add Curated Links In and After Blog Posts

You need to make sure that the articles you recommend in and after your blog posts are actually related to the main post. This creates a helpful pathway through your content for users, who end up on your site longer.

You can use a tool like Letterdrop to help you automatically link pages that are semantically relevant, both on-page and across your site.

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3. Keep Nav Links Visible

Don't let your links get lost in the footer of your pages.

Instead, use the top and bottom nav bars to maximize visibility — something that boosts SEO as well as your user experience.

4. Optimize Page Structure for Humans, not Bots

Yes — linking earns you points with Google, but you need to be thinking about the user first.

Is it more helpful to them if you write a long post? Or to link them to related resources?

It's a personal choice, dependent on what works best for your business. But generally, long, rambling home pages don't tend to perform well.

Make Sure to Audit Your Links

Broken links make for poor user experience and can undo all of your efforts.

Tools like ScreamingFrog and Ahrefs can point out instances of broken links on your site, or you can use Letterdrop to help you identify and automatically fix them across your site in one click.

Create Logical Pathways For Your Users

A good user experience typically makes for positive signals to Google.

Create your pages to ensure that anyone visiting can navigate your site and find all the relevant resources they'd need to end their search journey.

We can help you automate internal linking best practices, if you're interested.