How to Find Internal Linking Opportunities Using Screaming Frog’s N-gram Analysis

Effective internal linking is a foundational aspect of SEO, significantly improving user experience, enhancing keyword relevance, and distributing page authority throughout your website. Utilizing Screaming Frog’s powerful n-gram analysis can streamline this process by helping you identify and leverage internal linking opportunities efficiently. Here’s a detailed step-by-step guide to making the most of Screaming Frog’s n-gram capabilities to boost your SEO efforts.

Why Use N-grams for Internal Linking?

Using n-grams in your internal linking strategy can significantly enhance SEO by:

• Identifying Keyword Patterns: Quickly spot recurring keyword phrases suitable for internal linking.
• Enhancing Content Relevance: Connect related topics across your website, improving user experience.
• Boosting SEO Visibility: Improve overall search rankings by effectively linking relevant content.

In addition to that, we know from Google’s content warehouse data leak that Google uses n-grams as part of a number of variables.  They also have a patent that describes using n-grams to help them assess site quality.

Below, you’ll find the steps to use Screaming Frog’s n-gram feature to help you identify internal linking opportunities.

Step 1: Configure Screaming Frog to Store HTML

Before starting your crawl, you must configure Screaming Frog to store the necessary data for n-gram analysis:

• Open Screaming Frog.
• Click on Configuration > Spider > Extraction.
• Check both “Store HTML” and “Store Rendered HTML”.
• Click OK to save settings.

This will allow screaming frog to capture the n-grams in the text across your site.

Step 2: Run the Crawl and Access N-grams

Initiate your crawl to analyze targeted pages:

• Crawl your selected URLs.
• Once completed, on the internal tab and enter into the search bar a section of the site you’d like to review for internal linking opportunities.  For example, if you’re looking for internal linking opportunities in your blog, enter the subfolder path to your blog (e.g. /blog/).
• Next, select all the URLs in the list.
• With all the URLS selected, navigate to the “N-grams” tab at the bottom panel.

Step 3: Adjust N-gram Settings

Customize n-gram settings to refine your keyword insights:

• Change the default from 1-grams (single words) to 2-grams or 3-grams to identify meaningful phrases.
• In the search box, enter in a topic you’re hoping to improve internal linking for.

Step 4: Find Internal Linking Opportunities

Identify specific keyword phrases ideal for internal linking:

• Review frequently occurring phrases.
• Examine the “Body Text Unlinked” column to locate unlinked keyword mentions. Click on an n-gram that you’re interested in seeing the internal linking opportunities.  If the value is above zero than there are internal linking opportunities for that n-gram.
• The list of URLs will then load where you can find the n-grams for internal inking opportunities.

Step 5: Implement Your Internal Links

Integrate the identified internal links directly into your content:

• Add links to relevant keyword mentions, enhancing your site’s connectivity and SEO performance.

Reviewing N-grams at the Page Level with Our Free SEO Chrome Extension

For quick insights at the individual page level, including competitor analysis, use the N-gram by Go Fish Chrome Extension:

• Analyze Individual Pages: Quickly view keyword patterns and content structure.
• Competitive Analysis: Gain valuable insights into competitor keyword strategies to improve your content strategy.
• Download and explore the Chrome extension here: N-gram by Go Fish Digital

Video Demonstration

Watch our step-by-step video demonstration to see this process in action.