Why internal links count
Internal links distribute the authority your site builds across your pages, and they tell Google which pages are related. The anchor text provides context: a descriptive anchor says more than a vague "click here". This way you help determine what a page is relevant for.
What is internal linking?
Internal linking is deliberately placing links between pages on your own website. Good internal links help Google discover which pages are important and which topics belong together.
Use internal links from relevant text, with a descriptive anchor. A link to keyword research is more powerful from a search intent paragraph than from a random block at the bottom.
Build with hubs and clusters
The strongest structure is hub-and-spoke: a broad pillar page about a theme, with linked, deeper pages that always refer back to the hub. This way, Google understands the coherence and concentrates your authority on your most important topics. It's the same logic that drives your content strategy.
| Do | Avoid |
|---|---|
| Descriptive anchor text | Generic anchors like click here |
| Link to deeper pages | Tuck important pages deep away |
| Make every page accessible | Orphan pages without an inbound link |
Common mistake
The most common error is the orphan page: a page without any internal links to it. Search engines hardly find them and attach little value to them. During each audit, we check whether each important page has at least a few relevant inbound links.
Internal links in the correct order
Place a link in the middle of a paragraph where the topic has already been explained, not before the page has established its own relevance. Moreover, only link between topics that are really related. That discipline makes the difference between a structure that transmits authority and link spam. Good internal links are the backbone of on-page SEO and strengthen your entire what is SEO, up to and including your visibility in Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).
How do you audit your internal link structure?
With four questions you can answer on any site, in this order. You need a crawler and a Search Console export, nothing more.
| Question | Where you see it | What you do about a problem |
|---|---|---|
| Which pages receive no internal link at all? | A crawl, inlinks column | Link to it from the hub that owns the topic |
| Which commercial pages receive the fewest? | The same crawl, filtered on your service paths | Link from the supporting articles that cover them |
| How many clicks is a page from the homepage? | Crawl depth in your crawler | Shorten the route for pages that earn money |
| Which anchor texts do you use most often? | An export of all internal links | Vary naturally and avoid the same exact term everywhere |
Which page links to which?
Direction matters more than count. A supporting article links to the page that has to earn money or authority, not the other way round. That sounds obvious and often goes wrong in practice, because the hub links to everything and the articles link to nothing.
| From | To | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Blog article | The service page on the same topic | The reader is already interested; this is the logical next step |
| Blog article | The hub of the topic | Closes the loop so the network holds together |
| Hub | The most important pages below it | Makes clear which page owns which subtopic |
| Service page | Evidence and explanation | Supports what the page promises |
| Every page | To everything | Do not do this; then a link means nothing any more |
Where do you place the link in the text?
In the middle of a paragraph where the topic is already explained, not in the first sentence of the page. A link placed before the topic is established pulls attention away before you have said anything. A link after it reinforces what you just explained.
- Not in the opening paragraph, which belongs to the answer for this page.
- Yes at the first logical mention of the neighbouring topic in the main content.
- Once per destination in running text. A second link to the same page adds little.
- Related-content blocks at the bottom may repeat the same URLs; that is navigation.
What is the difference with the glossary page?
This page covers the execution: how to build, audit and adjust a structure. If you are looking for the meaning of the term, the types of links and the difference with external links and backlinks, that explanation belongs in the glossary entry. Two pages on the same topic should each answer their own question, otherwise they crowd each other out of the search results.