Internal linking is the practice of connecting your own pages so that authority flows to the pages that need it, related content reinforces itself, and every page is reachable. It is one of the few ranking factors entirely within your control.
It is also routinely neglected. Links get added ad hoc while writing, never reviewed, and the pattern that results reflects publishing history rather than commercial priority.
This page covers what internal linking work involves, how links should be placed and worded, and how to tell whether your current linking is helping or simply accumulating.
What internal links do
- Distribute authority. Links pass signal between pages, so pages receiving many internal links tend to be treated as more important.
- Establish relationships. Consistent linking between related pages helps establish which pages belong to which topic.
- Enable discovery. Pages that are not linked internally are hard to find and easy to lose from the index.
- Signal intent through anchors. Anchor text is a strong indication of what the destination page is about.
- Guide people. Links placed where a question arises move readers toward the page that answers it.
Where links should point
Effective internal linking is directional. Links should follow the structure defined by your site architecture rather than being scattered evenly.
- Down: hubs link to the specific pages beneath them, making children discoverable.
- Up: supporting pages link back to their hub, reinforcing which page owns the broad query.
- Across: genuinely related pages at the same level link to each other, sparingly.
- Toward commercial pages: informational pages link to the relevant money page where the reader’s need becomes commercial.
What to avoid is linking everything to everything. Where every page links to every other page, the links stop indicating relative importance.
Anchor text
Anchor text should describe the destination in the words someone would use to look for it. That is the whole rule; most failures come from ignoring it in either direction.
- Use descriptive phrases rather than “click here”, “read more” or a bare URL.
- Vary the wording naturally across links to the same page.
- Avoid repeating an identical exact-match anchor everywhere, which reads as manipulation.
- Keep anchors honest. An anchor that oversells the destination increases bounce.
- Prefer anchors within sentences over standalone link lists, which carry less context.
Diagnosing the current pattern
Before adding links, establish where they currently point. Most sites find the distribution is nothing like their commercial priorities.
- Count internal links to each page and compare against its commercial importance.
- Identify orphans with no internal links at all.
- Measure click depth from the homepage for every important page.
- Check for links pointing through redirects rather than at final URLs.
- Look for pages with many outbound internal links but few inbound ones.
The usual finding is that recently published pages are well linked, older commercial pages are under-linked, and a handful of pages receive links disproportionate to their value.
Fixing it in the right order
- Connect orphaned pages first, since they are currently getting nothing.
- Add links from high-authority pages to commercially important ones that are under-linked.
- Reduce click depth for priority pages by linking them from pages closer to the homepage.
- Repoint internal links that currently pass through redirects.
- Add contextual links within existing content where the subject naturally arises.
- Only then consider template-level modules such as related-content blocks.
Contextual links within body copy carry more weight than links in navigation or footers, which appear sitewide and therefore signal less about any specific relationship.
Common mistakes
- Adding links in bulk without regard to relevance, which dilutes rather than concentrates signal.
- Linking only from new content, leaving the existing library disconnected.
- Relying on navigation and footers to do all the work.
- Using the same exact-match anchor for every link to a page.
- Leaving links pointing at old URLs after a restructure.
- Linking between pages that compete for the same query, which reinforces cannibalisation rather than resolving it.
Frequently asked questions
How many internal links should a page have?
There is no correct number. Link where it genuinely helps the reader. A long guide may support fifteen contextual links; a short commercial page may need three. Relevance matters far more than count.
Do footer and navigation links count?
They do, but less than contextual links in body copy. Because they appear on every page, they say little about the relationship between any two specific pages. Use them for genuinely sitewide destinations.
Should I use exact-match anchor text?
Sometimes, but not always. Natural variation is better than repeating one phrase. Identical exact-match anchors across a whole site is a recognisable pattern and adds little beyond the first few instances.
Can internal linking fix a ranking problem on its own?
It can help where the cause is genuinely structural, such as an under-linked or orphaned page. It will not fix content that does not match intent, or a page competing with one of your own. Diagnose the cause first.
Should internal linking be automated?
Automation is useful for finding opportunities and catching orphans or redirect chains. Placement and anchor wording benefit from judgement. Fully automated insertion tends to produce links that are technically relevant but read poorly.
Consulting CTA
If your commercial pages are under-linked, or your internal linking has grown by accident rather than design, book an SEO consultation to audit the current pattern and get a prioritised linking plan.