How to use internal links well
Internal links tell Google which pages matter and help visitors move on. Too few isolates a page; hundreds dilute every link.
Step by step, with screenshots: Internal links: how many, where, and with what anchor text →
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What it is
Internal links are links from one page of your site to another page on the same site: menus, footers, breadcrumbs and links inside the text. They are how visitors move on and how search engines discover your pages and judge which ones matter most.
A page with no internal links pointing to it is hard for Google to find, and a page with fewer than 3 links out is a dead end for visitors. At the other extreme, hundreds of links on one page dilute each one and overwhelm people. Descriptive anchor text, such as running shoes rather than click here, tells both what to expect.
OK looks like this: each page links to a handful of related pages from its body text, navigation stays focused, and the total stays between 3 and 300 links. getReport counts the internal links on the page you test.
What a passing site looks like
- Every page in your sitemap is linked from your sitewarning · −3 ptseffort M
- Every crawled page is within 4 clicks of the start pagewarning · −1.5 ptseffort M
- Internal links: passeswarning · −1 ptseffort M
1. Orphan pages
Why it matters. A page nobody links to is hard for visitors to find and looks unimportant to Google, even when your sitemap lists it. Orphan pages often rank poorly or drop out of the index.
- Link each page from a related page, a category or the menu, so it is at most a few clicks from the home page.
- If a page is no longer needed, remove it from the sitemap, and redirect it or let it answer 404 or 410.
2. Deep pages
Why it matters. The more clicks a page is from the home page, the fewer visitors reach it and the less often search engines visit it. Important pages buried 5 or more clicks deep tend to rank below pages that are easy to reach.
- Link important deep pages from a category, a hub page or the menu.
- Add breadcrumbs and "related" links so pages link to their neighbours, not only to their parent.
- For long lists, link more pages per list page instead of adding more pages to click through.
3. Internal links
Why it matters. Internal links are how crawlers and visitors reach the rest of your site. Fewer than 3 leaves the page a dead end; more than 300 dilutes every link and overwhelms visitors.
- Link to related pages from the body text and keep navigation and footer links to what visitors actually need.
- For very long lists, split them across pages or use category pages instead of one giant menu.
Questions people ask
How many internal links should a page have?
There is no fixed number; Google only asks for a reasonable amount. As a rule of thumb, link to every page a visitor might want next, which is usually 3 to 100 links including navigation. getReport warns below 3, where the page is a dead end, and above 300, where every link carries very little weight.
Do internal links help SEO?
Yes. Internal links help Google discover pages, understand what they are about from the anchor text, and see which pages you consider most important by how often you link to them. Linking a new or struggling page from your strongest pages is one of the cheapest ways to help it rank.
What is internal linking?
Internal linking is the practice of linking pages of your own site to each other, through navigation, breadcrumbs and links in the content. It builds paths for visitors and crawlers, spreads ranking signals from strong pages to others, and groups related topics so each page gets context.
What is the difference between internal and external links?
An internal link points to another page on the same domain, such as from your blog post to your product page. An external link points to a different domain, either from your site to another site or from another site to yours. Both help SEO, but you control internal links completely.
Why are internal links important for SEO?
Because they decide how easily search engines find and value your pages. Pages many steps from the home page, or with no links at all, get crawled less and rank worse. Internal links also keep visitors on the site longer by showing them the next useful page.