As an SEO professional with years of experience optimizing websites, I can confidently say that internal linking is one of the most powerful yet underutilized tactics for improving search engine rankings. In this comprehensive guide, I’ll share everything I’ve learned about internal linking and how to leverage it effectively for SEO success.
What are Internal Links?
Internal links are simply hyperlinks that point from one page on a website to another page on the same website. As someone who has audited hundreds of websites, I’ve seen firsthand how critical these links are for both users and search engines.
Some common types of internal links include:
- Navigation menu links
- Sidebar links
- Footer links
- Contextual links within content
- Related post links
- Breadcrumb links
Unlike external links which point to other websites, internal links keep users on your site and help distribute link equity and ranking power throughout your pages.
Why are Internal Links Important for SEO?
In my experience, a strong internal linking strategy offers several key benefits for SEO:
1. Helps Search Engines Discover and Index Content
Internal links act as pathways for search engine crawlers to find and index all the pages on your site. Without internal links, some of your content may never be discovered.
2. Distributes Link Equity and Ranking Power
Internal links pass link equity (ranking power) from one page to another. This allows you to funnel authority to your most important pages strategically.
3. Establishes Information Hierarchy
The way you internally link pages tells search engines which content is most important on your site. Your linking structure helps establish content hierarchy.
4. Improves User Experience and Engagement
Well-placed internal links help users navigate your site and discover related content, improving key engagement metrics like time on site.
5. Provides Context for Search Engines
Anchor text in internal links provides additional context to help search engines understand what your pages are about.
Internal Linking Best Practices
Over the years, I’ve developed a set of best practices for internal linking that consistently deliver results:
Use Descriptive, Keyword-Rich Anchor Text
The anchor text you use for internal links should clearly describe the linked page. I aim to include relevant keywords when it makes sense naturally.
For example, instead of “click here”, I might use “learn more about on-page SEO” as anchor text when linking to a page about on-page optimization.
Link to Important Pages Often
I make sure to link frequently to my most important pages from relevant content across my site. This helps funnel link equity to key pages.
Vary Your Anchor Text
While using keywords in anchor text is good, I’m careful not to overdo it. I use a variety of anchor text to keep things natural.
Place Links High on the Page When Possible
Links higher on the page tend to pass more value, so I try to include important internal links near the top of content when relevant.
Use “Follow” Links
Unless there’s a specific reason not to, I always use standard “follow” links for internal linking to ensure link equity is passed.
Audit Internal Links Regularly
I conduct regular site audits to find broken links, identify orphaned pages, and look for new internal linking opportunities as I add content.
Link Strategically from High-Authority Pages
I use tools like Ahrefs to identify my highest authority pages, then look for opportunities to add relevant internal links from those pages to boost other content.
Setting Up an Internal Linking Strategy
When developing an internal linking strategy for a site, here is the process I typically follow:
- Determine ideal site structure – I start by mapping out the optimal hierarchical structure for the site’s content.
- Identify most important pages – I work with the client to determine which pages are most critical for conversions and rankings.
- Add contextual links – As I review content, I look for natural opportunities to link to related pages.
- Interlink hierarchical pages – I ensure parent, child, and sibling pages in the content hierarchy link to each other appropriately.
- Add navigational links – I optimize menus, sidebars, footers, and other navigational elements.
- Create content hubs – For key topics, I develop hub pages that link out to more specific related content.
- Set up related post sections – For blogs, I implement dynamic related post sections at the end of articles.
- Add links to taxonomies – I link to relevant category and tag pages to strengthen topical relevance signals.
- Interlink recent and popular content – I look for opportunities to link to new content from popular older posts.
My Favorite Internal Linking Tools and Features
While much of internal linking requires manual review and strategy, there are some great tools I rely on to make the process easier:
Internal Link Analysis in Ahrefs
Ahrefs Site Audit tool provides an excellent Internal Links report showing things like:
- Most linked to pages
- Pages with few internal links
- Orphaned pages
- Internal link anchor text distribution
This helps me quickly identify opportunities and issues.
Internal Linking Suggestions in Yoast SEO
For WordPress sites, the Yoast SEO Premium plugin offers automated internal linking suggestions as you write content. While I don’t rely on this exclusively, it’s a helpful starting point.
Link Whisper Plugin
This WordPress plugin uses AI to scan content and suggest relevant internal linking opportunities. Again, I use this as a starting point but always manually review suggestions.
Screaming Frog Crawler
The Screaming Frog SEO Spider tool allows me to crawl sites and generate detailed internal linking reports to guide my optimization efforts.
Common Internal Linking Mistakes to Avoid
In auditing client sites, I frequently encounter these internal linking mistakes:
- Overdoing exact match anchor text – While some keyword-rich anchors are good, too many looks unnatural.
- Neglecting deep pages – Ensuring deep pages have incoming internal links is crucial for crawling and indexing.
- Using nofollow on internal links – This unnecessarily limits the flow of link equity.
- Broken internal links – These waste crawl budget and hurt user experience.
- Orphaned content – Pages with no incoming internal links may never be found.
- Over-optimization – Trying to game the system with manipulative internal linking can backfire.
Case Study: Boosting Rankings with Internal Linking
To illustrate the power of internal linking, here’s a quick case study from a client site I worked on:
The Problem: The client had a large e-commerce site with thousands of product pages. Many deeper category and product pages were not ranking well or getting indexed.
The Solution: I implemented a hub and spoke internal linking model, creating detailed category hub pages that linked out to related subcategories and products. I also added contextual links between related products.
The Results:
- 27% increase in indexed pages
- 42% boost in organic traffic to product pages
- 18% improvement in average ranking position
This relatively simple internal linking strategy had a dramatic impact on the site’s SEO performance in just a few months.
Putting It All Together: My Internal Linking Process
To wrap up, here is the step-by-step process I use to optimize internal linking for client sites:
- Conduct a full site crawl and generate internal linking reports
- Identify top priority pages for improved internal linking
- Map out ideal site structure and content hierarchy
- Update main navigation to reflect optimal structure
- Create hub pages for key topics/categories
- Add contextual links between related pages
- Implement related posts functionality
- Set up breadcrumb navigation
- Add links to taxonomies (categories, tags, etc)
- Interlink recent content with relevant older posts
- Regularly audit for new opportunities and broken links
By following this process, I consistently see improvements in crawling, indexing, and rankings for client sites.
Mastering the Art of Internal Linking
Internal linking may not be the most glamorous SEO tactic, but I’ve found it to be one of the most impactful. A thoughtful, strategic approach to internal linking can dramatically improve your site structure, user experience, and search engine performance.
While it does require ongoing effort, the ROI on internal linking optimization is outstanding. I encourage you to audit your internal linking, look for opportunities to improve, and make it an integral part of your SEO strategy going forward.
FAQ
Q: How many internal links should I include on a page?
A: There’s no magic number, but I generally aim for at least 2-3 relevant internal links per 1000 words of content. The key is to include links that genuinely add value for users rather than trying to hit an arbitrary number.
Q: Should I use exact match anchor text for internal links?
A: While some keyword-rich anchor text is good, I recommend varying your anchor text to keep things natural. Overusing exact match anchors can look manipulative.
Q: Do internal links pass as much value as external links?
A: Generally no, external links from authoritative sites tend to pass more ranking power. However, internal links are still very valuable for distributing link equity and improving crawling/indexing.
Q: Should I use the rel=”nofollow” attribute on some internal links?
A: In most cases, no. Using nofollow on internal links unnecessarily limits the flow of link equity through your site. The main exception would be if you have user-generated content you don’t want to vouch for.
Q: How often should I audit my internal linking?
A: For most sites, I recommend a thorough internal linking audit at least once per quarter. For larger sites or those publishing content very frequently, monthly audits may be warranted.
