Internal linking means linking from one page of your site to another. A simple strategy is to choose your most important pages, link to them from relevant related content using descriptive anchor text, keep every page reachable within a few clicks and fix orphan pages. It helps visitors navigate and helps search engines discover and understand pages, though it cannot guarantee rankings.
- Internal links guide both visitors and search engine crawlers through your site.
- Link to important pages from relevant content using descriptive anchor text.
- Orphan pages, with no links pointing to them, are easily missed by crawlers.
- Quality and relevance matter more than the number of links on a page.
What is internal linking and why does it matter?
Internal links are the links that connect one page of your website to another. Navigation menus, footers, breadcrumbs and links inside the body text are all internal links. They are the roads of your site, showing visitors where to go next and showing crawlers which pages exist.
They matter for two reasons. First, they help people find related information, which keeps them engaged and nudges them towards enquiry or purchase. Second, they help search engines discover pages and understand how topics relate, and indicate which pages you consider most important.
How should you structure links across a site?
A useful model is hub and spoke. A hub page covers a broad topic, such as a service, and spoke pages explore specific subtopics in depth, such as individual questions or use cases. The hub links to every spoke, and each spoke links back to the hub and to a few closely related spokes.
This creates clear topical clusters, which helps readers explore and signals depth of coverage to search engines. Keep the structure shallow, so that important pages are reachable in a few clicks from the homepage. Deeply buried pages are harder for both people and crawlers to reach.
- Hub pages for core services or topics
- Spoke pages for specific questions and subtopics
- Two-way links between hubs and their spokes
- Links between closely related spokes
- Important pages within a few clicks of the homepage
How do you choose anchor text?
Anchor text is the clickable wording of a link. Make it descriptive, so that readers and search engines understand what the destination is about. Phrases like our guide to technical SEO checks say much more than click here or read more.
Vary the wording naturally rather than repeating the same exact phrase every time, and keep links relevant to the surrounding sentence. Over-optimised anchors can look manipulative and read awkwardly. Write as you would if you were helping a colleague find the right page.
How do you find and fix orphan pages?
Orphan pages are pages with no internal links pointing to them. Crawlers that follow links may never find them, and visitors cannot reach them except through direct addresses. They often appear after a redesign, when old pages are left behind, or when new content is published without being linked.
Find them by comparing a list of all your pages, from your sitemap or CMS, against a crawl of the links on your site. For each orphan, decide whether it deserves a place: if so, link to it from relevant pages and menus; if not, merge it, redirect it or remove it.
- Export all URLs from the sitemap or CMS
- Crawl the site to see which URLs are linked
- Link valuable orphans from relevant pages
- Merge, redirect or remove pages that add no value
Where should you place the links?
Links within the main body of a page, placed where they genuinely help the reader, tend to be the most natural and useful. Navigation and footer links provide site-wide access, but should be kept sensible; stuffing them with dozens of links dilutes their purpose.
Add new links whenever you publish content: link from the new page to related older ones, and update older pages to point to the new one. Review your highest-value pages periodically to ensure they receive links from relevant, well-visited pages.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid linking to irrelevant pages just to pass authority, using identical anchors everywhere and leaving broken links in place. Broken internal links frustrate visitors and waste crawl effort, so check for them regularly and fix or redirect.
Do not expect internal links alone to lift a weak page. They work best alongside useful content and a healthy site. Think of them as signposts: they help good pages get found, but they cannot make an unhelpful page worth visiting.
Frequently asked questions
How many internal links should a page have?
There is no magic number. Include as many as genuinely help the reader, usually a handful of relevant links within the content plus navigation. Avoid cramming.
Do internal links pass SEO value?
They help search engines discover pages and understand relationships, and can concentrate attention on important pages. Effects vary, and they do not guarantee rankings.
Should internal links open in a new tab?
Generally no. Keeping visitors in the same tab is the usual practice for internal links. External links can open in a new tab if you prefer.
Are footer and menu links enough?
Not by themselves. Contextual links within content show relationships between topics and guide readers naturally, so use both.
Need help with this? See our SEO — Search Engine Optimisation service or talk to Yash Parikh.