How Does Internal Linking Help SEO? (How-To + 12 Best Practices)

Internal linking is the practice of adding hyperlinks to relevant pages on your website. It enhances user experience, distributes domain authority, and helps search engines understand how your content is connected. Find out what industry experts recommend to build an effective internal linking strategy.

I like to think of internal links as blood vessels in the human body.

Just as vessels connect different parts of the body to deliver vital nutrients and oxygen to every organ, internal links connect the pages of your site and help guide visitors (and search engines) to valuable pages of your website.

A page without an internal link? Effectively cut off from circulation.

In other words, internal links play a critical role in user experience and search engine optimization (SEO).

This guide will help keep your website’s internal structure strong and healthy with expert internal linking strategies.

What are internal links?

Internal links are hyperlinks that connect a website’s page (“Page A”) to a different page on the same site (“Page B”).

These links are essential for SEO marketing. They establish a site structure, distribute page authority throughout the site, and enhance user navigation.

Internal links serve a dual purpose: guiding users through relevant content and helping search engine crawlers understand your site’s hierarchy.

When used effectively, internal links can improve search rankings for target keywords and boost topical authority.

Internal links vs. external links vs. backlinks

Internal links are hyperlinks that connect pages within the same website.

For example, this HawkSEM blog post on optimizing Google Ads provides an internal link to a more in-depth article on target CPA.

(Image: HawkSEM)

External links (or outbound links) are hyperlinks that point to a different domain.

For instance, in the same blog post, HawkSEM links to a Google Help Center article on assets.

(Image: HawkSEM)

This type of link directs users to other domains for supplementary information.

Finally, inbound links (also called backlinks) are links from other websites pointing to your site. They are incoming or “inbound.”

Backlinking is one of the most important search ranking factors.

Types of internal links

There are two types of internal links:

1. Navigational
2. Contextual

Here’s a closer look at each type:

Navigational internal links

Navigational internal links are primarily for site navigation. These include links in menus, headers, footers, and sitemaps.

Here’s an example from PandaDoc’s top bar menu:

Here’s another one of its footer links:

(Image: PandaDoc)

These allow users to easily move around the website. They provide a clear path to general web pages like the homepage, contact page, or product categories.

For instance, a link in the main menu of an ecommerce site that takes users to the “Men’s Clothing” category is a navigational internal link.

Contextual internal links

Contextual internal links are added within the content of a page, like in blog posts or articles. They’re typically directly related to the content.

Here’s an example:

(Image: PandaDoc)

These links enhance the user experience (UX) by offering additional information without navigating away from the current page.

They also provide more depth and context to a topic by connecting to other relevant pages within the site.

Another example is a blog post about healthy eating that links to a related recipe page on the same site.

Contextual internal links help search engines understand the relationship and hierarchy between different pages.

Why are internal links important for SEO?

“Internal linking is a fundamental element of SEO principles that shouldn’t be overlooked,” says Rambod Yadegar, President and Co-founder of HawkSEM.

“It provides ‘link juice’ to linked pages, which contributes towards its better ranking.”

Most importantly? “It provides a better and more efficient experience for the end user,” he adds.

“They can find what they’re looking for faster, and we know Google rewards sites with better user engagement and experience.”

Here are several reasons to have a dedicated internal linking strategy.

Improves site navigation

Internal linking guides users to related content and creates a clear structure, making it easier to explore your website.

It helps visitors find what they’re looking for faster while keeping them engaged longer.

Distributes page authority

Linking from a high-authority page (like your homepage) to a lesser-known blog post can transfer some of this authority, which can boost the SEO performance of the linked page.

Aids in website crawling and indexing

Search engines use crawlers or “spiders” (like Google’s Googlebot) to find and index pages.

Internal links act like signposts, guiding these crawlers through your site’s content. A well-linked site ensures all pages are found and indexed without exceeding your crawl budget.

Enhances user engagement and time on site

Internal links encourage users to explore your website further by providing related content, leading to increased time spent on your site.

This improves user engagement and lowers bounce rate.

Strengthens keyword strategy

Internal links offer an opportunity to use keyword-rich anchor texts, which can reinforce your site’s keyword strategy.

It also helps search engines understand your pages’ relevance for specific search queries.

Imagine a blog post about healthy recipes interlinking to a page about vegan ingredients with the anchor text “essential vegan cooking ingredients.” This tells search engines that the linked page is a resource for vegan cooking.

Supports content hierarchy and site architecture

Internal links establish a clear hierarchy and structure within your website.

When you link main category pages to subcategories, individual products, or article pages, you clarify the relationship between different content.

This makes your site more understandable for search engines and users.

Further reading: How to Set Up Your Website Architecture for SEO (+ Examples that Work)

How to build an internal linking strategy

Follow these steps to build a robust internal linking strategy:

1. Assess the current internal link structure
2. Identify key pages for strategic linking
3. Develop a keyword strategy for anchor texts
4. Create contextual and relevant links
5. Integrate internal links in site navigation
6. Monitor internal link performance and metrics

1. Assess the current internal link structure

Begin by evaluating your existing internal links. This step will identify which parts of your website are well-connected and which aren’t.

You can use paid SEO tools (like Semrush and Ahrefs) to analyze your link profile. It can help you visualize your site’s link structure, identify orphan pages (webpages without any internal links), and spot redirecting or broken internal links.

2. Identify key pages for strategic linking

The next step involves pinpointing the most important pages on your website. These could be your best-performing product pages, key service pages, or high-quality content pages that you want to rank higher in search results.

To identify these key pages, look into your website analytics to find pages that attract the most organic traffic, have high engagement rates, or are critical to your sales funnel.

But remember: It’s not just about the page’s popularity but also its strategic importance to your business goals. Your service page might not be “popular,” but it’s still important content for your business.

Once identified, these pages will become the focal points of your internal linking strategy, ideally receiving more links from other relevant pages to boost their visibility and authority.

3. Develop a keyword strategy for anchor texts

A strong anchor text strategy starts with choosing the right keywords (words and phrases your audience uses to search).

Once you identify your target keywords, look for opportunities to link them to relevant, helpful pages on your site.

For example, instead of linking to a vegan recipes page with the anchor “click here,” use a descriptive phrase like “essential vegan cooking ingredients.”

As always, aim for these anchor texts to read naturally, without keyword stuffing. The key is to make these anchor texts relevant and natural, avoiding overuse that search engines may feel is spammy.

4. Create contextual and relevant links

The fundamental rule of internal linking is creating contextual and relevant connections between different pages. This means placing links within your content that naturally fit the topic and add value for the reader.

For instance, in a blog post about “Healthy Eating Habits,” you could link to a related article on “Top 10 Superfoods.”

This keeps the reader engaged and establishes content relevance for search engines.

The goal is to create links that feel like a natural part of the narrative, subsequently guiding readers to explore related topics without feeling disrupted.

5. Integrate internal links in site navigation

Your site’s top bar main navigation is a prime area for internal linking.

Including links to important pages within navigation menus, footers, or sidebars aids navigation and distributes link juice to key areas.

For example, a dropdown menu under “Services” could link to individual service pages, ensuring these pages gain visibility and authority.

Remember, search engines typically see navigation links as high-value due to their prominence and frequency of use across the site.

6. Monitor internal link performance and metrics

Finally, track your internal links’ performance to understand their impact.

Monitor metrics like page views, bounce rates, and the time users spend on pages.

Tools like Google Analytics (GA4) show how users move through your site. This helps gauge the effectiveness of your internal links.

If certain pages have high exit rates or low engagement, revisiting your internal linking strategy for these pages may be necessary.

Adjustments based on SEO data are key to optimizing your internal linking approach for better results.

Pro tip: While automation tools for internal linking may seem convenient, they often lack the context and strategic placement that manual linking offers. Automated links can lead to irrelevant connections and overuse of certain internal pages, diminishing user experience and potentially harming your SEO.

12 internal linking best practices

Now you know how to build an internal linking strategy, let’s look at some best practices to follow:

1. Use descriptive anchor texts
2. Don’t use the same anchor text for multiple pages
3. Create content hubs
4. Link high-authority pages to lower-ranked ones
5. Avoid deep linking hierarchies
6. Focus on user experience
7. Use breadcrumb navigation
8. Limit the number of links on a page
9. Prioritize contextual over generic links
10. Use dofollow and nofollow internal links
11. Balance link distribution across the site
12. Include links in fresh and existing content

1. Use descriptive anchor texts

Descriptive anchor texts help users and search engines understand what the linked content is about.

For example, “expert gardening strategies” is much more informative than “click here.”

This improves user experience, guides search engines, and signals relevance.

2. Don’t use the same anchor text for multiple links

Each page should have unique anchor text to avoid confusing users and search engines.

If multiple links with the same anchor text lead to different pages, it could confuse users and search engines, dilute the clarity of your site’s information structure, and hinder content-centric SEO effectiveness.

3. Create content hubs

Content hubs are groups of related articles centered around a core or “pillar” topic. The hub (pillar page) links to multiple related topic articles (spokes), which in turn link back to the hub.

Also called topic clusters, this approach makes it easier to find and understand the relationships between topics. For instance, a hub page on “digital marketing” might link to articles about SEO, social media, and email marketing.

“At HawkSEM, we’ve seen Google reward an interconnected structure that enhances user experience by providing a comprehensive resource on a particular topic,” says Yadegar.

“Creating hubs and connecting them with relevant spokes highlights content authority in a specific subject area. And this boosts SEO returns.”

Further reading: Content Marketing Hub: How to Create One (+ 6 Examples)

4. Link high-authority pages to lower-ranked ones

Pages with high authority or PageRank (often the homepage or popular content pages) carry significant SEO weight.

You effectively distribute this value across your site by linking these to less-visited or newer pages, boosting their visibility and SEO potential.

For instance, a popular blog post on “digital marketing trends” could link to newer articles on specific SEO strategies.

5. Avoid deep linking hierarchies

Important pages on your website should be easily accessible within three clicks from the homepage.

This is referred to as “crawl depth,” which is how many clicks it takes to get from the homepage to other pages. A simpler website structure helps both your visitors and search engines find key content easily.

6. Focus on user experience

Always consider how internal links will enhance the user experience.

When links are contextual and valuable, users are more likely to engage with your content, increasing time on site and reducing bounce rates.

Further reading: Website UX: 6 Things Digital Marketers Should Know

7. Use breadcrumb navigation

Breadcrumb navigation is a secondary navigation that shows the user’s location on a website.

It enhances navigation and clarifies the relationship between different parts of your site.

For example, “Home > Men’s Clothing > Jackets” makes it simple for users to navigate back to broader categories and backtrack their steps.

8. Limit the number of links on a page

An excessive number of internal links can dilute the link value and could overwhelm users.

Ensure each link serves a purpose, guiding users to additional related (and valuable) content — without cluttering your page.

9. Prioritize contextual links

Contextual links (those embedded within the body of your content) are more valuable for SEO than generic navigation links, providing relevance and context for the user and search engines.

For example, in a post about healthy eating, linking to a “comprehensive guide to diet plans” is more effective than a generic sidebar link saying “more articles.”

10. Use dofollow and nofollow internal links

Leverage “Dofollow” links to pass link equity or authority on to the linked site.

“Nofollow” links include a rel=”nofollow” attribute and tell search engines not to pass authority.

Most internal links should be “dofollow” to pass on link equity; however, there are scenarios where “nofollow” links are appropriate.

These are typically used for links that don’t necessarily need to contribute to a page’s SEO (such as links to login pages, user profiles, or internal admin pages).

11. Balance link distribution across the site

Distribute internal links evenly across your site. Pages with too many links can overwhelm the reader, while pages with too few may remain underleveraged.

A balanced approach ensures each page contributes to and benefits from the site’s overall SEO.

12. Include links in fresh and existing content

Integrate internal links in new content and existing content.

Link new pages to older, high-value content, and periodically update older content with links to newer pages.

The takeaway

Not using internal links? You’re missing out on a key component of your SEO strategy.

“Especially today, we cannot look at SEO in silos. Everything must work together to design a convenient and valuable user journey,” says Yadegar.

“So, you shouldn’t look at internal linking as a separate entity. It should be a part of the larger picture. This focused and holistic approach has enabled us to achieve excellent results for our clients.”

Need help with your SEO strategy? From landing page optimization to content creation to technical SEO, our experts are here to help.

We can identify internal linking opportunities to get your site ranking higher on the SERP for high-value keywords.

Book your free consultation today.

This article has been updated and was originally published in June 2024.