Connecting your project to Google Search Console (GSC) allows LinkStorm to pull performance data directly into your account, enabling you to make more strategic and impactful internal linking decisions. By viewing GSC data alongside LinkStorm’s link suggestions, you gain insights into how each page is performing, helping you prioritize linking in ways that support your SEO goals.
1. Connecting Google Search Console to LinkStorm
To begin using GSC data in LinkStorm, follow these steps to connect your GSC account:
Go to Project Settings: Click on your project’s settings:
Click on Connect
Link GSC: Follow the prompts to securely connect your Google Search Console account to LinkStorm.
After connecting, LinkStorm will display GSC data: clicks, impressions, average position, and CTR in the Opportunities report for your referring and target pages, allowing you to make data-informed linking choices.
2. Approaches to Prioritizing Links with GSC Data
With GSC data, you can implement two main approaches to prioritize internal linking: bottom-up or top-down. Here’s how each works:
Bottom-Up Approach: Boosting High-Ranking Pages
In the bottom-up approach, you focus on creating links to pages that are already ranking well but could use an additional boost to reach top positions.
Identify High-Ranking Pages: Use GSC data to find pages with strong impressions but slightly lower average positions, such as those in positions 5-15, where an extra push could move them up the ranks. Click on the column header of the target page to sort by Impressions or clicks:
Add Internal Links to These Pages: By directing more internal links to these high-potential pages, you can help boost their visibility and ranking for key search queries.
This approach is ideal if you’re looking to capitalize on pages that already perform well, helping them gain more clicks and traffic.
Top-Down Approach: Supporting Less Powerful Pages
The top-down approach focuses on linking from powerful, high-authority pages to lower-ranking or newer pages to help them gain traction and rank faster.
Identify High-Authority Pages: Look at your GSC data to find pages with high clicks and impressions, indicating they are already trusted by search engines. Click on the column header of the referring page to sort by impressions or clicks.
Link to Lower-Ranking Pages: Use these high-authority pages as sources for outbound links to less powerful pages, such as newly published content or pages that need ranking support.
This strategy is especially useful for new content or pages that are currently difficult to access from your main navigation. By passing authority from well-established pages, you improve these pages’ chances of being indexed and ranked.
3. Making the Most of GSC Data
With GSC data at your fingertips, you can take a targeted approach to internal linking by leveraging:
Impressions and Clicks Data: Identify which pages drive traffic and visibility, helping you decide where to focus linking efforts.
Average Position Insights: Choose the pages that can benefit from higher click-through rates and visibility boosts based on their current search positions.
Regularly revisiting and updating your internal links using this data ensures that your linking strategy remains aligned with performance trends, helping you achieve sustained SEO improvements.
Summary
Using Google Search Console data in LinkStorm empowers you to prioritize internal linking with precision. By either boosting already-strong pages or helping newer content gain visibility, you’ll make strategic linking decisions that drive meaningful SEO gains and enhance user navigation. For more tips on building effective internal links, check out our related guides.