Internal linking is the process of adding hyperlinks that connect one page of a website to another page on the same domain. Unlike external links, which point to pages on other websites, internal links keep users within your site, helping them discover related content, navigate easily, and stay longer.
Understanding what is Internal Linking helps websites improve their SEO strategies.
From an SEO perspective, internal links help search engines understand your site structure, crawl new content more efficiently, and distribute ranking power (link equity) across pages. For users, they improve the browsing experience by guiding them to relevant information at the right time.
When considering what is Internal Linking, it’s crucial to grasp its role in overall website performance.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
What is Internal Linking?
Internal linking refers to connecting different pages within the same website using hyperlinks. These links guide users from one page to another and help search engines understand the structure, hierarchy, and relationship between your content.
The concept of what is Internal Linking revolves around creating pathways for users and bots alike to explore your website.
Several internal links exist, such as navigational links (like menus), contextual links (within blog content), and related article suggestions. Each plays a unique role in improving both user experience and your site’s SEO performance.
To fully appreciate what is Internal Linking, one must consider various types and their significance in SEO.
In the broader scope of SEO, internal and external links fall under on-page SEO strategies, while backlinks (links from other websites) are considered part of off-page SEO. Together, these elements create a balanced and effective link-building strategy.
When used correctly, internal linking can:
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Help search engines crawl and index your pages efficiently
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Distribute link equity across your site
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Increase time-on-site and reduce bounce rates by improving navigation
Types of Internal Links
Understanding what is Internal Linking is essential for enhancing site navigation and SEO effectiveness.
We are clear about “what is internal linking?”Now, Internal links appear in several key areas of your website, and each type serves a different purpose. Here’s a breakdown of the most important internal link types—and how they contribute to SEO and user experience:
🔹 Navigation Links
These are the links found in your main menu or header. They help users access essential pages like Home, Blog, Contact, or Services.
✅ SEO Tip: Proper navigation helps search engines understand your site’s structure.
🔹 Contextual Links
Found within the body of your content, these are some of the most powerful internal links for SEO. They direct readers to related content and help search engines identify topical relationships.
✅ SEO Tip: Use keyword-rich anchor text when linking contextually.
🔹 Sidebar Links
Often used to highlight recent posts, categories, or featured content. Sidebar links help users discover additional content and improve internal crawl depth.
✅ SEO Tip: Rotate sidebar links to avoid repetitive linking patterns.
🔹 Footer Links
Located at the bottom of every page, these usually include utility pages like Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, or Sitemap. They reinforce site-wide navigation.
✅ SEO Tip: Only include valuable links—don’t overload your footer with unnecessary ones.
🔹 Breadcrumb Links
Breadcrumbs show users their current position within your site’s structure. They are especially helpful for e-commerce and large content sites.
✅ SEO Tip: Breadcrumbs improve crawlability and enhance UX.
🔹 Related Post Links
Displayed below are articles that these links encourage users to keep browsing. When done manually, they can be incredibly effective for engagement and on-page SEO.
✅ SEO Tip: Avoid automated plugins that link irrelevant posts.
Why is Internal Linking Important?
Internal linking isn’t just about connecting pages—it’s a powerful tool for improving both search engine visibility and user experience. Here’s why it matters:
When analyzing what is Internal Linking, it becomes clear that effective strategies lead to better SEO results.
🔍 Helps Search Engines Crawl and Index Your Site
Search engine bots like Googlebot use internal links to discover and index pages. If a page isn’t linked to from anywhere else on your site, it may be considered an orphan page, which means it might never show up in search results. SEMrush’s analysis of 100,000 websites shows that sites with optimized internal linking structures experience 23% faster crawl rates and 31% better indexation coverage compared to poorly structured alternatives.
On Search Engine Journal, it’s emphasized that good internal linking significantly speeds up crawling and indexing, helping Google’s crawlers navigate your site more efficiently.
✅ Example:
You publish a new blog post:
“What is Search Intent Retargeting?”
But it’s not linked from any other page—Google can’t find it easily.Then, you add an internal link to it from an older post like:
“Top 10 SEO Strategies for 2024”Now, when Google crawls the older post, it follows the link to your new one, helping it get discovered, crawled, and indexed faster.
Key SEO Benefit:
Improves crawlability and ensures all pages are accessible to search engines.
🔗 Distributes Link Equity
Knowing what is Internal Linking is vital for anyone looking to boost their site’s authority and rank.
When one of your pages earns backlinks, it gains authority. Internal linking allows you to pass some of that authority (link equity) to other pages on your site. This boosts the ranking potential of deeper or newer pages that might not have external backlinks yet.
✅ Example:
Our article “What is SEO?” has earned 10 quality backlinks from other websites — it has strong link equity.
Now, If we add internal links from this article to:
Because of these internal links, some of the link equity flows from the “What is SEO?” page to these three linked pages.
Key SEO Benefit:
Improves the visibility and ranking of important or underperforming pages.
👤 Improves User Navigation and Experience
Ultimately, understanding what is Internal Linking contributes to a more robust SEO strategy.
Internal links guide users through your content, keeping them engaged and helping them find related information easily. A well-linked site lowers the bounce rate, increases time on site, and encourages deeper exploration.
✅ Example: Linking from a post on “On-Page SEO” to “Technical SEO Checklist” gives users a logical next step.
Key UX Benefits:
It makes your site easier to navigate, more helpful, and more engaging.
⚙️ Builds Topic Authority
By linking related posts together, you help search engines recognize that your site covers a topic comprehensively. This strengthens topical relevance and supports your E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) signals. Sites using content clusters and strong internal linking saw a +56% improvement in topical authority.
Internal linking builds topical authority by:
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Grouping related content into clear clusters
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Helping search engines understand your site’s subject matter
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Distributing authority to support rankings
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Reinforcing your site’s expertise on a specific topic
How to Optimize Internal Links for SEO
A strong internal linking strategy doesn’t happen by accident. It takes intentional structure, relevant content, and smart anchor usage. Follow these proven steps to build internal links that boost rankings and user experience.
✅ Identify Your High-Authority Pages
Start by finding the top-performing pages on your site—these are the ones with the most backlinks or traffic.Here are some characteristics of a High Authority page:
Have backlinks from other websites
Rank well in search engines
Attract regular organic traffic
Have strong engagement metrics (low bounce, high time-on-page)
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to find them:
To answer what is Internal Linking, we must highlight its importance in a site’s SEO structure.
Use Google Search Console (Free Tool)
Best for: Traffic-based authority
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Go to Google Search Console
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Navigate to Performance > Search Results
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Sort by Clicks or Impressions
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Pages with high traffic and impressions are likely performing well and carry authority
💡 These pages are perfect to use as internal link sources.
Use Ahrefs / SEMrush / Ubersuggest
Best for: Backlink-based authority
In Ahrefs:
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Go to Site Explorer → enter your domain
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Click on Top Pages or Best by Links
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Look at:
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UR (URL Rating) → Page-level authority
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Referring domains → Number of unique domains linking to that page
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Identify pages with high UR and/or backlinks
In SEMrush:
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Go to Domain Overview > Pages
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Sort by Traffic or Backlinks
In Ubersuggest (Free for limited use):
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Enter your domain
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Go to Top Pages by Traffic
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View backlinks and social shares
✅ Build a Logical Site Structure
Think of your website as a pyramid:
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Top: Homepage
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Middle: Category/Hub pages
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Bottom: Blog posts or product pages
Organize your content into topic clusters, with pillar pages linking to and from related posts.
💡 For example: A “Technical SEO” guide can link to individual posts like “Crawl Budget” or “Schema Markup.”
✅ Use Keyword-Rich, Descriptive Anchor Text
Avoid vague terms like “click here” or “read more.” Instead, use anchor text that clearly describes the linked page using relevant keywords. Use a mix of exact match, partial match, and related keyword anchors across your site. This creates a natural, diverse linking profile and helps avoid over-optimization.
❌Bad: “Read more”
✅ Good: “Explore our On-Page SEO checklist”
Why it works:
Search engines use anchor text to understand what the linked page is about.
✅ Create Content Hubs and Topic Clusters
Group related content together under a central hub page. This not only helps with SEO, but it also makes your site feel more organized and useful to readers. Content hubs are central, in-depth pages on a broad topic. Topic clusters are related articles that cover specific subtopics. Together, they build a strong internal linking structure.
💡How It Works:
Hub Page: Covers a broad topic (e.g., “SEO Guide”)
Thus, what is Internal Linking can be distilled into its many roles and functions within a website.
Cluster Pages: Cover subtopics (e.g., “Internal Linking”, “Backlinks”, “Keyword Research”)
Link Structure:
Hub ↔ Cluster
Clusters ↔ Each other (when relevant)
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✅ Link Between New, Old, and Popular Content
Smart internal linking means connecting your new, old, and popular posts to keep your content alive and your SEO strong.
🔗Why It Matters:
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Old → New: Gives new content a quick SEO boost
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New → Old: Keeps evergreen content relevant and driving traffic
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Popular → Others: Passes link equity and keeps users engaged
🔗 How to Do It:
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When publishing a new post, link to 2–3 relevant older posts
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Go back to older posts and add links to new content
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Identify high-traffic or ranking pages, and link from them to posts that need a lift
💡 Use tools like Google Search Console or Link Whisper to find and update linking opportunities.
✅ Audit Your Internal Links Regularly
Broken links, orphaned pages, or excessive internal linking can harm both SEO and UX. Use tools like Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, or Yoast SEO to audit and clean up your links.
🔧 Check for:
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Broken internal links
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Pages with no internal links (orphans)
To avoid orphan pages, ask yourself: what is Internal Linking and how can it enhance user experience?
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Pages with too many links (dilution)
Tools to Help You Optimize Internal Links
Managing internal links manually is possible, but as your site grows, it becomes time-consuming. These tools can help you identify opportunities, automate internal links, and audit existing structures to keep your internal linking strategy healthy and effective.
🛠️ Google Search Console
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Use it for: Finding internal links to a specific page
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Go to Links > Internal Links to see which pages are linking to a target URL.
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Helps identify orphan pages or underlinked content.
🛠️ Ahrefs
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Use it for: Auditing internal links, finding broken links, and analyzing link equity.
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The Site Audit tool shows internal link issues like too many links, deep pages, and redirects.
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The Internal Backlinks report helps you strengthen weak pages.
🛠️ Screaming Frog SEO Spider
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Use it for: Complete internal link mapping and technical audits.
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Crawl your site to visualize internal linking structure, find orphan pages, and check for broken or redirected internal links.
🛠️ Link Whisper (for WordPress)
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Use it for: Automating internal linking suggestions while editing content.
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Suggests relevant internal links based on your content and anchor text.
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Also shows orphaned content and link count per post.
🛠️ Yoast SEO Plugin
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Use it for: Basic internal link suggestions in WordPress.
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The premium version offers related post suggestions as you write.
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Also flags content with no internal links.
🛠️ Sitebulb
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Use it for: Visualizing your internal link architecture and site hierarchy.
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Excellent for spotting internal linking issues in larger websites.
🛠️ SEMrush
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Use it for: Site audits and identifying internal linking errors.
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Their internal linking report gives actionable suggestions to fix linking gaps and prioritize key pages.
💡 Bonus Tip:
Use a combination of tools—for example, Screaming Frog for deep audits + Link Whisper for day-to-day linking—to create a more efficient and SEO-friendly internal linking workflow.
Common Internal Linking Mistakes to Avoid
Even with the best intentions, internal linking can backfire if done incorrectly. Avoiding these common mistakes will help you build a stronger, cleaner, and more effective internal link structure.
❌ Mistake 1. Using Generic Anchor Text
These offer no SEO value and don’t help users understand what to expect.
✅ Instead: Use descriptive, keyword-rich anchor text like “technical SEO best practices.”
❌Mistake 2. Over-Optimizing Anchor Text
Stuffing your internal links with exact-match keywords can appear manipulative to Google.
✅ Instead: Use natural variations of your target keyword and write for humans first.
❌ Mistake 3. Linking Irrelevant Pages
Adding internal links just for the sake of it—without contextual relevance—confuses users and dilutes SEO value.
✅ Instead: Only link to closely related content that adds value to the current topic.
❌ Mistake 4. Creating Orphan Pages
If a page on your site has no internal links pointing to it, search engines may struggle to find and index it.
In summary, understanding what is Internal Linking empowers you to create a better web experience.
✅ Instead: Ensure every important page has at least 1–2 internal links pointing to it.
❌ Mistake 5. Ignoring Broken Internal Links
Broken internal links create a bad user experience and can hurt crawlability.
✅ Instead: Regularly audit your internal links using tools like Screaming Frog or Ahrefs.
❌ Mistake 6. Overloading Pages with Too Many Links
Too many links on a single page (especially if they’re all in the content) can overwhelm users and weaken SEO value.
✅ Instead: Keep it relevant and balanced—link only when it’s helpful.
❌ Mistake 7. Forgetting to Update Old Content
New blog posts often remain underlinked because people don’t go back to update old articles.
✅ Instead: Regularly revisit older content to add internal links to new, relevant articles.
⚠️ Pro Tip:
Think of internal links like road signs—each one should clearly guide users and bots to meaningful destinations. Misleading, excessive, or broken signs don’t help anyone.
The Bottom Line
We have defined “what is Internal linking?”. Internal linking is one of the most powerful yet often overlooked elements of a solid SEO strategy. When used correctly, it improves your website’s crawlability, spreads link equity to important pages, and enhances the overall user experience.
To truly grasp what is Internal Linking, recognize its power in connecting content.
A page without internal links is like a road without a sign—search engines may miss it, and users will never find it. By avoiding common mistakes and implementing a clear, intentional strategy, you can guide visitors through your content and boost your site’s authority from the inside out.
As you implement strategies, remember the question: what is Internal Linking and why does it matter?
💡 You don’t need to hire an agency right away—start small by identifying your key pages, using descriptive anchor text, and linking related posts together.
✅ Want to take it a step further? Check out our On-Page SEO Checklist for a complete guide to optimizing every page element, including internal links.
Summary at a Glance
Finally, by evaluating what is Internal Linking, we can enhance our overall digital strategy.
| 🔍 Element | ✅ Best Practice |
|---|---|
| What is Internal Linking? | Links between pages on the same domain |
| Why it Matters | Improves SEO, user experience, and crawlability |
| Anchor Text | Use descriptive, keyword-rich anchors |
| Orphan Pages | Avoid by linking every page at least once |
| Tools | Use Google Search Console, Ahrefs, and Link Whisper |
| Common Mistakes | Avoid over-optimization, irrelevant links, and broken links |
| Strategy Tip | Build content hubs & update old content with new links |
FAQ
Q1: What is internal linking in SEO?
A1: Internal linking refers to the practice of linking one page of your website to another page within the same domain. It helps search engines understand the structure of your site, improves user navigation, and distributes page authority to boost rankings.
Q2: How does internal linking improve SEO?
A2: Internal linking improves SEO by enabling search engines to crawl your website more efficiently, passing link equity (ranking power) between pages, increasing the time visitors spend on your site, and enhancing the overall user experience.
Q3: What are the best practices for internal linking?
A3: Best practices include using descriptive, keyword-rich anchor text, linking to relevant content, maintaining a reasonable number of links per page, creating a clear site hierarchy, and regularly updating links to avoid broken URLs.
Q4: Can internal linking help local SEO for businesses in [Your City or Region]?
A4: Yes, internal linking can enhance local SEO by linking location-specific pages (like service or store pages) strategically, helping search engines better associate your business with local search queries in [Your City/Region].
Q5: How does AI influence internal linking strategies?
A5: AI-powered SEO tools can analyze your website’s content to recommend optimal internal links based on relevance, keyword intent, and user behavior patterns, making internal linking more precise and effective for ranking improvements.
Q6: How many internal links should I add to a page?
A6: There’s no strict limit, but typically 3 to 10 relevant internal links per page are ideal. Too many links can confuse users and dilute link equity, while too few may reduce SEO benefits.
Q7: What is anchor text, and why is it important for internal linking?
A7: Anchor text is the clickable text in a hyperlink. Using descriptive, keyword-rich anchor text helps search engines understand the context of the linked page and improves its relevance for target keywords.
Q8: Can internal linking reduce bounce rate and increase engagement?
A8: Absolutely! By guiding visitors to related content within your site, internal linking encourages users to explore more pages, reducing bounce rate and increasing time spent on site, both positive SEO signals.
Q9: What tools can help me audit and optimize my internal linking?
A9: Popular SEO tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, Moz, and AI-based platforms can audit your internal links, identify orphan pages, broken links, and suggest link opportunities to strengthen your site structure.
Q10: Does internal linking impact Google’s ranking algorithm globally or just locally?
A10: Internal linking impacts Google’s ranking algorithm globally, but can be optimized for local SEO by linking location-specific content. Effective internal linking helps Google understand both site-wide relevance and local business presence.