Internal linking

Internal linking refers to links between pages on the same website/domain, e.g. https://www.example.com > https://www.example.com/shop/

While this is a basic function of any website, internal linking is one of the most common missed SEO opportunities. Internal links shape how search engines crawl and understand a website, and correctly implementing them is a relatively low-effort activity.

What internal links do

1. Help crawlers discover content

Search engines find pages by following links. A page that has no incoming links (an "orphan page") is unlikely to be indexed and/or perform in search, regardless of how good the content is.

2. Distribute equity and ranking signals

Pages with strong backlink profiles or high topical authority pass some of that equity through links. This is often also called "PageRank" (the original Google algorithm name). Pages that receive many internal links from important pages are themselves treated as more important.

3. Establish topical context

The anchor text and surrounding content of an internal link tell search engines what the destination page is about. A link with anchor text saying "how to set up lazy loading" pointing to /lazy-loading/ is a clear topical signal.

A link with the anchor text "click here" signals nothing.

4. Define site architecture

The pattern of internal links creates a hierarchy. Pages linked from the homepage and main navigation are signalled as more important than those linked from pages buried deep in the site.

Where internal links live

• Main navigation — site-wide, high-priority links. Every page in the nav is signalled as important.
• Footer — site-wide, lower-priority. Useful for utility pages and additional categories.
• Breadcrumbs — show hierarchy and provide consistent links back up the structure.
• Body content — contextual links inside articles, product descriptions, and category copy. Often, these are the highest-quality internal links because they're context-rich and editorially placed.
• Related content modules — "related articles", "you might also like", "related products" (Useful when curated, less useful when randomly generated without real relevance).
• Sidebar widgets — popular posts, recent posts, category lists.

What strong internal linking looks like

Descriptive anchor text

As mentioned earlier, "What are canonical tags?" is more valuable than "click here". The anchor text is a signal, and "click here" is a missed opportunity.

Topical clusters

Group pages around a central topic. The pillar page (a comprehensive resource) links out to detailed subtopic pages, and each subtopic page links back to the pillar and across to its siblings. This pattern reinforces topical authority for the whole cluster.

Reasonable link counts

There's no hard cap, but pages with hundreds of internal links dilute the signal each one passes. Be selective — links should serve a specific purpose.

Prioritise pages

If a page needs to rank, audit its inbound internal links. Priority pages should receive contextual links from related blog posts, category pages, and the navigation.

Crawlable links

Use HTML <a href="..."> links, not solely JavaScript-only navigation. While Google and other engines have been able to understand JavaScript for years now, this is dependent on their ability to render the JavaScript correctly, and can be impacted by complex or erroneous scripts, and links rendered only after user interaction (e.g., dropdowns triggered by clicks) may be valued lower by search engines, depending on rendering behaviour.

HTML ` links are simply foolproof, and will always be clearly readable by any crawler.

Common internal linking mistakes

• Orphan pages — important content with nothing linking to it.
• Linking to redirects — internal links should point to the final 200-status URL, not the redirected version.
• Linking to noindex or non-canonical pages
• Generic anchor text — "learn more", "click here", and so on.
• Same anchor text to different destinations — "our pricing" linking to four different pages confuses topical signals.
• Over-linking the homepage — typically, every page already links to the homepage via the primary navigation. Body-content links to the homepage add no additional value to this.
• Link stuffing — too many links result in dilution.

A practical workflow

1. Identify the site's high-value pages (those that drive revenue or leads).
2. Audit and check inbound internal link counts for each.
3. For pages with low inbound links, find relevant existing content (blog posts, related categories, supporting pages) and add contextual links with descriptive anchor text.
4. Fix internal links pointing to redirects, 404s, and noindex pages.
5. Resolve orphan pages — link to them properly or remove them if they are not required.

Internal linking vs. external linking

Both matter, but internal linking is fully under your control and usually has more total surface area on a site. External link building is slower, harder, and more expensive. Many sites have more immediate gains available from cleaning up internal links than from chasing new backlinks.

Bots, crawlers, and linking

Disclaimer: All information contained herein is for informational purposes only. It is not advice or instructional.