Ever wondered what is cross-linking?
Wonder no more. Cross-linking in SEO refers to the process of creating links from one site to another. It is an extremely simple process of leveraging websites with relevant content.
For example, if you have a site about digital marketing, then you might want to cross-link to it from a site talking about business development. Both topics are extremely relevant, and as you are providing value to your readers, the cross-linking is natural.
If done right, cross-linking can improve:
- relevancy of pages on your site;
- way search engines understand the structure of your website;
- The authority of web pages in the eyes of search engines.
How does cross-linking work?
Webmasters commonly choose to approach cross-linking by creating footer or sidebar links as well as by content deep linking.
Let’s take the example above. By linking to other helpful pages, you are helping your readers to fully understand a particular topic. This helps you to build relationships with your customers and build the authority of your brand.
Cross-linking is useful for SEO purposes as well. By placing both inbound and outbound links on your site, you have the potential to build authority and traffic at the same time.
What you should keep in mind?
One thing that you should always keep in mind is that search engines are getting smarter by the day. Therefore, you should avoid signaling any affiliation between the sites.
This means that you should avoid engaging in reciprocal linking schemes. Another thing to remember is that you should diversify your link profile for each of the domains. This means that you should link to and have backlinks from various related domains.
And lastly, never spam. Spamming is a fast track to getting penalized by Google. So ensure that you keep your cross-linking within reasonable amounts.
If you have other Search Engine Related Questions visit our SEO FAQ section.