August 21, 2025 • 13 mins
nternal linking is a simple yet powerful strategy to improve your clinic's SEO and website performance without spending money. By strategically connecting pages throughout your website, you can boost visibility, enhance user experience, and help Google better understand your site's content and structure.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back to the Clinic Marketing Podcast, the
go-to resource for clinic ownerswho want to simplify SEO, boost
visibility and attract morepatients online.
I'm your host, darcy Sullivanfrom Propel Marketing and Design
.
Today, we're diving into atopic that doesn't get nearly
enough attention, but has thepower to move the needle on your
(00:23):
website's performance.
It's internal linking, and ifyou don't know what internal
linking is, don't worry, we'regoing to get into it.
But whether you're achiropractor, physical therapist
, acupuncturist or run any kindof clinic, this episode is going
to be a very simple one that isgoing to help you strengthen
(00:46):
your SEO and improve yourwebsite's user experience
without spending a dime.
Let's get into it.
Internal linking is the practiceof linking one page of your
website or your blog post toanother page or blog post on
your website.
That's, it Sounds simple.
(01:08):
It could be as simple aslinking a blog post to a related
services page or connectingyour frequently asked questions
page to a contact form, but eventhough it sounds basic, it
plays a critical role in SEO andwebsite usability.
Internal links help searchengines like Google understand
(01:32):
the structure of your website,the relationship between pages
on your website and content onyour website, and it helps it
understand which website pagesare most important.
At the same time, they act asguides for your users to connect
to relevant informationthroughout your website and
(01:55):
encourage them to stay on yourwebsite longer.
Let's look at internal linksand how they actually help your
SEO.
They help Google crawl yoursite more effectively.
Search engines discover andindex your content by following
(02:17):
links.
If a page on your site doesn'thave any internal links pointing
to it, it might not get crawledor ranked.
This is extremely important forthose new pages that you're
adding to your website.
So let me give you an example.
Let's say you are achiropractor and you've just
(02:41):
added a new service of addingShockwave as a service that you
offer.
Well, while you would want tobuild out a page dedicated to
this new service, you would alsowant to go to your general
services page that talks aboutall of your services, a page
(03:01):
that's probably already rankingreally well on Google of your
services, a page that's probablyalready ranking really well on
Google and you would want toinclude a section on that page
about Shockwave and then link toit.
You would also want to go toyour specific conditions pages
and when you're talking aboutthe conditions that you offer
(03:22):
let's say, shoulder pain or thatyou treat.
Let's say you have a built-outshoulder pain page and you
mention on that page how youhelp alleviate shoulder pain and
you mention chiropractic careand you mention a couple other
services that you offer.
You would then want to mentionthe service that you're now
offering of shockwave, if itrelates to that condition, and
(03:46):
link to that page.
And again, what you're doinghere is you are aiding that
brand new page by giving it alittle extra Google love and
showing how it connects to theother pages and the other
content on your website.
They pass link equity.
(04:07):
When one page on your websiteis strong, let's say it ranks
really well, it can share someof that authority with the pages
that it links to.
So again, this helps the otherpages rank better over time and
we've already honed in on someof these comments, but let's
(04:30):
revisit it.
They build topical relevance.
Linking related pages togetherhelps search engines understand
what your website's about.
So if you have a blog postagain if you're a chiropractor,
maybe about sciatic pain relieftips, well, you're going to want
to link that to a page that youhave that's probably dedicated
(04:53):
to sciatica or to some of thetreatments that you offer to
help relieve sciatica.
It reinforces the topics in theeyes of Google.
It also improves userexperience From a visitor's
perspective.
Internal links make it easierto understand how to navigate
(05:15):
throughout your website, right?
So if I was on your website andlet's go back to that example
of you were a chiropractor andyou just decided that you're
going to start pushing a newservice of Shockwave and I'm on
your shoulder pain page and itmentions Shockwave as a
treatment for shoulder pain, ifit has that link, it makes sense
(05:38):
for me to want to click throughand learn more about that
service.
So again, you can start to seehow internal links make sense
from a user perspective but alsocan help with SEO.
So if you're trying to rank fora local search term like
chiropractor near me or sportsrehab, injury, and name a city,
(06:01):
internal links can really helpmake that happen.
But let's talk about somemistakes that can happen,
because if you're just like,okay, let me just go to the
website and do this, or let mejust not do it because I don't
have time, these all can lead tomistakes.
So let's go over some mistakes.
Mistake number one not having astrategy.
(06:24):
Most internal links are justthrown in at random.
If they even exist at all,they're not based on keywords
that you're trying to target orunderstanding page importance.
Mistake number two only linkingto your homepage.
While your homepage isimportant, your services, pages
and specific content on yourwebsite deserve attention too.
(06:44):
Mistake number three orphanpages.
These are pages that no otherpage links to.
If you have them, searchengines might ignore them.
Mistake number four usingphrases like click here or learn
more.
That doesn't help.
We want to use descriptors whenwe're using anchor text.
Links like chiropractic carefor neck pain is better when
(07:07):
you're linking to the neck painpage.
Now, if you are using a button,sometimes it does make sense to
use the words learn more.
So descriptors when it's anchortext, when you're linking and
using a link within text.
But it's okay for buttons touse the word learn more, but we
(07:28):
still want to make sure thatwe're including links in actual
text.
Let's walk through a simpleframework for any clinic to
follow on how to build aninternal linking strategy.
Step one identify your key pages.
These are your high value pages.
(07:49):
They include your services andspecific services that you're
trying to highlight, your aboutpage and some of your top
performing content, whether it'sspecific conditions pages,
general conditions pages or topperforming blog posts.
Next, you want to map outsupporting content.
(08:10):
Think of your blog post or FAQsas supporting pages that can
point back to these key pages.
For example, a blog post onposture tips could link to a
posture correction treatmentpage right.
Step three use key word-richanchor text.
(08:32):
Again, this is text that's inyour website that you're
hyperlinking to other key pagesin your website.
Link naturally within yoursentences and use phrases that
reflect what pages you'relinking to.
Add links contextually.
That's step four.
(08:53):
Don't force it.
Add links where they naturallysupport the reader, such as
after a related point orrecommendation.
Step five review and updateperiodically.
You have to do this withanything right.
As you add new content, lookfor opportunities to link both
from and to it.
(09:13):
This keeps your structuredynamic and SEO friendly.
Now, I know some people can getoverwhelmed when it comes to
tools, but I do want to give youa couple tools that you can use
here that can help you when itcomes to internal linking.
You have Google Search Console,screaming Frog, yoast SEO if
(09:39):
you're a WordPress user, orthere's Airtable or Notion to
help you map out internal links.
Start small.
You don't need these tools togo about this process.
You can do this by just takinga look at your website.
You don't need to overhaul yourentire website.
You can begin by updating oneblog post or one service page a
(10:02):
week and build from there.
Internal linking isn't glamorous.
It's not as exciting as socialmedia or video content, but it's
an empower.
It's a very powerful tool.
Internal linking is notglamorous.
It's not exciting like socialmedia or video content, but it's
(10:25):
an important and powerful freeSEO strategy that you can
implement.
It helps Google understand yourwebsite, boost your rankings
across multiple pages, improvesuser experience and can directly
impact how many patients findand trust your clinic online.
So if you haven't thought aboutinternal links for a while,
(10:47):
now's the time.
Thanks for listening to today'sepisode.
I hope you found it helpful.
Don't forget to subscribe,leave a review and check out the
blog version of this episode atpropellyourcompanycom, where
you'll find even more tips foroptimizing your clinic's website
for local SEO.
You can also book a discoverycall or check out one of our
(11:09):
free trainings.
Until next time, keep showingup, keep optimizing and keep
growing.
Thanks for listening.
Welcome back to the Clinic Marketing Podcast, the
go-to resource for clinic ownerswho want to simplify SEO, boost
visibility and attract morepatients online.
I'm your host, darcy Sullivanfrom Propel Marketing and Design
.
Today, we're diving into atopic that doesn't get nearly
enough attention, but has thepower to move the needle on your
(00:23):
website's performance.
It's internal linking, and ifyou don't know what internal
linking is, don't worry, we'regoing to get into it.
But whether you're achiropractor, physical therapist
, acupuncturist or run any kindof clinic, this episode is going
to be a very simple one that isgoing to help you strengthen
(00:46):
your SEO and improve yourwebsite's user experience
without spending a dime.
Let's get into it.
Internal linking is the practiceof linking one page of your
website or your blog post toanother page or blog post on
your website.
That's, it Sounds simple.
(01:08):
It could be as simple aslinking a blog post to a related
services page or connectingyour frequently asked questions
page to a contact form, but eventhough it sounds basic, it
plays a critical role in SEO andwebsite usability.
Internal links help searchengines like Google understand
(01:32):
the structure of your website,the relationship between pages
on your website and content onyour website, and it helps it
understand which website pagesare most important.
At the same time, they act asguides for your users to connect
to relevant informationthroughout your website and
(01:55):
encourage them to stay on yourwebsite longer.
Let's look at internal linksand how they actually help your
SEO.
They help Google crawl yoursite more effectively.
Search engines discover andindex your content by following
(02:17):
links.
If a page on your site doesn'thave any internal links pointing
to it, it might not get crawledor ranked.
This is extremely important forthose new pages that you're
adding to your website.
So let me give you an example.
Let's say you are achiropractor and you've just
(02:41):
added a new service of addingShockwave as a service that you
offer.
Well, while you would want tobuild out a page dedicated to
this new service, you would alsowant to go to your general
services page that talks aboutall of your services, a page
(03:01):
that's probably already rankingreally well on Google of your
services, a page that's probablyalready ranking really well on
Google and you would want toinclude a section on that page
about Shockwave and then link toit.
You would also want to go toyour specific conditions pages
and when you're talking aboutthe conditions that you offer
(03:22):
let's say, shoulder pain or thatyou treat.
Let's say you have a built-outshoulder pain page and you
mention on that page how youhelp alleviate shoulder pain and
you mention chiropractic careand you mention a couple other
services that you offer.
You would then want to mentionthe service that you're now
offering of shockwave, if itrelates to that condition, and
(03:46):
link to that page.
And again, what you're doinghere is you are aiding that
brand new page by giving it alittle extra Google love and
showing how it connects to theother pages and the other
content on your website.
They pass link equity.
(04:07):
When one page on your websiteis strong, let's say it ranks
really well, it can share someof that authority with the pages
that it links to.
So again, this helps the otherpages rank better over time and
we've already honed in on someof these comments, but let's
(04:30):
revisit it.
They build topical relevance.
Linking related pages togetherhelps search engines understand
what your website's about.
So if you have a blog postagain if you're a chiropractor,
maybe about sciatic pain relieftips, well, you're going to want
to link that to a page that youhave that's probably dedicated
(04:53):
to sciatica or to some of thetreatments that you offer to
help relieve sciatica.
It reinforces the topics in theeyes of Google.
It also improves userexperience From a visitor's
perspective.
Internal links make it easierto understand how to navigate
(05:15):
throughout your website, right?
So if I was on your website andlet's go back to that example
of you were a chiropractor andyou just decided that you're
going to start pushing a newservice of Shockwave and I'm on
your shoulder pain page and itmentions Shockwave as a
treatment for shoulder pain, ifit has that link, it makes sense
(05:38):
for me to want to click throughand learn more about that
service.
So again, you can start to seehow internal links make sense
from a user perspective but alsocan help with SEO.
So if you're trying to rank fora local search term like
chiropractor near me or sportsrehab, injury, and name a city,
(06:01):
internal links can really helpmake that happen.
But let's talk about somemistakes that can happen,
because if you're just like,okay, let me just go to the
website and do this, or let mejust not do it because I don't
have time, these all can lead tomistakes.
So let's go over some mistakes.
Mistake number one not having astrategy.
(06:24):
Most internal links are justthrown in at random.
If they even exist at all,they're not based on keywords
that you're trying to target orunderstanding page importance.
Mistake number two only linkingto your homepage.
While your homepage isimportant, your services, pages
and specific content on yourwebsite deserve attention too.
(06:44):
Mistake number three orphanpages.
These are pages that no otherpage links to.
If you have them, searchengines might ignore them.
Mistake number four usingphrases like click here or learn
more.
That doesn't help.
We want to use descriptors whenwe're using anchor text.
Links like chiropractic carefor neck pain is better when
(07:07):
you're linking to the neck painpage.
Now, if you are using a button,sometimes it does make sense to
use the words learn more.
So descriptors when it's anchortext, when you're linking and
using a link within text.
But it's okay for buttons touse the word learn more, but we
(07:28):
still want to make sure thatwe're including links in actual
text.
Let's walk through a simpleframework for any clinic to
follow on how to build aninternal linking strategy.
Step one identify your key pages.
These are your high value pages.
(07:49):
They include your services andspecific services that you're
trying to highlight, your aboutpage and some of your top
performing content, whether it'sspecific conditions pages,
general conditions pages or topperforming blog posts.
Next, you want to map outsupporting content.
(08:10):
Think of your blog post or FAQsas supporting pages that can
point back to these key pages.
For example, a blog post onposture tips could link to a
posture correction treatmentpage right.
Step three use key word-richanchor text.
(08:32):
Again, this is text that's inyour website that you're
hyperlinking to other key pagesin your website.
Link naturally within yoursentences and use phrases that
reflect what pages you'relinking to.
Add links contextually.
That's step four.
(08:53):
Don't force it.
Add links where they naturallysupport the reader, such as
after a related point orrecommendation.
Step five review and updateperiodically.
You have to do this withanything right.
As you add new content, lookfor opportunities to link both
from and to it.
(09:13):
This keeps your structuredynamic and SEO friendly.
Now, I know some people can getoverwhelmed when it comes to
tools, but I do want to give youa couple tools that you can use
here that can help you when itcomes to internal linking.
You have Google Search Console,screaming Frog, yoast SEO if
(09:39):
you're a WordPress user, orthere's Airtable or Notion to
help you map out internal links.
Start small.
You don't need these tools togo about this process.
You can do this by just takinga look at your website.
You don't need to overhaul yourentire website.
You can begin by updating oneblog post or one service page a
(10:02):
week and build from there.
Internal linking isn't glamorous.
It's not as exciting as socialmedia or video content, but it's
an empower.
It's a very powerful tool.
Internal linking is notglamorous.
It's not exciting like socialmedia or video content, but it's
(10:25):
an important and powerful freeSEO strategy that you can
implement.
It helps Google understand yourwebsite, boost your rankings
across multiple pages, improvesuser experience and can directly
impact how many patients findand trust your clinic online.
So if you haven't thought aboutinternal links for a while,
(10:47):
now's the time.
Thanks for listening to today'sepisode.
I hope you found it helpful.
Don't forget to subscribe,leave a review and check out the
blog version of this episode atpropellyourcompanycom, where
you'll find even more tips foroptimizing your clinic's website
for local SEO.
You can also book a discoverycall or check out one of our
(11:09):
free trainings.
Until next time, keep showingup, keep optimizing and keep
growing.
Thanks for listening.
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