What are internal links and how do they affect off-page SEO?

Internal links are hyperlinks that point from one page to another within the same domain or website. They are important for website navigation, user experience, and SEO. Here's how internal links affect off-page SEO:

1. **Establishing Website Hierarchy and Structure**: Internal links help to establish a website's hierarchy and structure. By linking related pages together, you create a logical flow of information for users and search engines. This structure makes it easier for search engine crawlers to discover and index your content effectively.

2. **Distributing Page Authority**: Internal links allow you to distribute page authority (or link equity) throughout your website. When you link from a high-authority page to other pages within your site, you pass on some of that authority. This can help those pages rank better in search engine results.

3. **Improving Indexation**: Internal linking helps search engine crawlers navigate and index your website more efficiently. When you link to new or updated content from existing pages, it encourages search engines to crawl and index those pages faster.

4. **Enhancing User Experience**: Well-placed internal links provide users with additional relevant content and resources. This improves user experience by making it easier for visitors to navigate your site and find valuable information. A positive user experience can lead to increased engagement and lower bounce rates, which are favorable signals for SEO.

5. **Reducing Bounce Rate**: Internal links can help reduce bounce rates by guiding users to explore more pages on your website. A lower bounce rate indicates to search engines that visitors find your content relevant and engaging, which can positively impact your SEO rankings.

6. **Supporting Topic Clusters and SEO Strategy**: Internal linking is crucial for implementing a topic cluster strategy, where you create a pillar page (a comprehensive resource on a broad topic) and link related content (cluster content) to it. This helps search engines understand the relationships between different pieces of content and can improve your site's authority on specific topics.

In summary, internal links play a significant role in both on-page and off-page SEO. They help establish website structure, distribute authority, improve indexation, enhance user experience, and support your overall SEO strategy by making your content more discoverable and valuable to both users and search engines.