Dive into my journey of SEO. Find out how I unlocked the potential of internal links to boost organic traffic!

Understanding Internal Linking: A Key Strategy for Product-Led Growth

Ufuk Dag
4 min readMar 2, 2024
Image from plugger.ai

As a SaaS product owner, I believed Search Engine Optimization (SEO) was the best way to attract potential customers. I wasn’t keen on face-to-face sales and wanted to avoid that path.

To master SEO, I started a self-learning journey mostly using Google. I read countless articles, most of which had similar advice: write quality content, obtain backlinks from various websites, and research keyword volumes. It seemed straightforward enough, so I decided to give it a go and invested a lot of effort.

Despite following all the advice, the traffic to my website didn’t live up to my expectations. Identifying the issue was difficult due to the intricacies and numerous factors at play.

I started by checking my website for technical glitches. My scores were decent, consistently around 80 or more.

Then, I checked my content and confirmed that it was comprehensive and packed with valuable data. I also reviewed the keywords and their competition. They turned out to be long-term ones with seemingly low competition.

I didn’t focus too much on backlinks because it was harder than it seemed. I tried to establish personal connections on LinkedIn and also sent personalized emails to blog owners, but the results were slow. I managed to get some backlinks but when I compared my efforts, it didn’t seem like a sustainable solution.

But after all these efforts, I found myself caught in a repetitive cycle, with each day looking a lot like the previous one, and my labor-bearing unsatisfactory outcomes.

Creating an Efficient Internal Link Structure

While exploring various techniques for enhancing SEO, I stumbled upon the importance of internal links. Attracted to the fact that this does not rely on backlinks from strangers, I embarked on a mission to build a robust internal link structure. Let’s walk you through how I ended up driving 100K organic traffic with the help of internal links.

1. Creating the Pyramid’s Peak with a Landing Page

Your first step in this strategy should be creating a landing page. This page will serve as your control center, the one that draws in your potential customers. Ensuring that you focus on your customer’s keywords and aim for those with over 50K monthly search volume could do wonders. However, it’s not recommended to create landing pages for those keywords with low search volume, instead, deploy these in other parts of your strategy.

2. Crafting Comprehensive Guides for the Pyramid’s Mid-section

This cluster of your structure primarily includes pages with 2K to 3K words of detailed, informative contents. Typically, their search volumes fall within the 10K-100K range. Devote ample time and effort to these pages, concentrating on stellar architectural design and questions that pique readers’ interest. Don’t forget to throw in some backlinks leading to your landing pages.

3. Drafting How-to Content for the Pyramid’s Base

The foundation of the pyramid comprises how-to content. These pieces usually have more than 500 words, and their monthly search volumes mostly exceed 10. Creating this shorter content can be relatively swift and convenient. Be sure to include backlinks to your middle-tier content to maintain a smooth, internally linked structure.

In conclusion, the path to mastering SEO was not a smooth one. I initially ventured into various areas — technical audits, improving content quality, establishing personal connections, and many more. However, achieving desirable results was challenging since it involved numerous factors with a complexity that was often tough to manage.

Then, I uncovered the power of internal linking and decided to dedicate my effort towards building a strong, seamless internal link structure. I started with creating a customer-centered landing page, followed by comprehensive guides that appeal to the readers, and wrapped it all up with short, instructive how-to content loaded with relevant backlinks.

Through my journey, I learned that attracting organic traffic is not merely about collecting backlinks or streaming quality content; it’s about creating a solid framework that ties it all together. I urge you to consider internal linking in your SEO strategy, as it allows you to control your site’s narrative. I’ve shared my experience, and now it’s time for you to carve your SEO success story. Do not hesitate to give it a go and emphasize robust internal linking within your website. You’ll be surprised by the change it can bring. Remember, the key to success often lies within.

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Ufuk Dag

Founder @Plugger.ai, ex-Getir, ex-Insider. Productivity researcher.