HubSpot SEO Certification Practice Test

What strategy can be employed to understand a website's internal linking structure?

1. Link Building

2. Content Audit

3. Topic Clusters

4. Keyword Research

The correct answer is: Topic Clusters

Understanding a website's internal linking structure is crucial for optimizing its SEO performance, and using topic clusters is a highly effective strategy for this purpose. Topic clusters involve creating a main pillar page that covers a broad subject and then linking to related subtopics or cluster content from that pillar page. This structure helps organize content logically while enhancing the internal linking architecture. By implementing topic clusters, you create a clear hierarchy of information that not only makes it easier for search engines to crawl and index your site but also improves user navigation and engagement. This interconnectedness between the pillar and cluster content signals to both users and search engines the importance of the topics and how they relate to one another, thus improving the overall SEO strategy of the site. In contrast, link building generally refers to acquiring backlinks from other websites rather than focusing on your own internal links. Content audits assess the performance and quality of existing content but do not specifically analyze how internal linking is structured. Keyword research involves identifying relevant keywords for SEO but does not address the internal linking strategy itself. Therefore, utilizing topic clusters is the most direct approach to understanding and enhancing internal linking structure on a website.