JASMA

Internal linking is the SEO equivalent of putting labels on every cabinet in your kitchen. Sure, you could keep opening random doors until you find the cereal…
but wouldn’t it be nicer if everything was clearly labeled, logically arranged, and not hidden behind the “miscellaneous” drawer of doom?

That’s what internal links do for your website: they help search engines crawl your pages, help people find the next helpful thing, and help your best content get the attention it deserves.
Done right, internal linking can improve crawlability, spread authority (a.k.a. link equity), strengthen topical relevance, and boost user engagementall without begging the internet for backlinks.

What Internal Links Do (and Why Search Engines Care)

An internal link is any hyperlink that points from one page on your site to another page on the same site. Simple conceptbig impact.
Search engines discover pages by following links, and internal links help them understand:

• Which pages exist (discovery + indexing)
• Which pages matter most (importance signals)
• How topics connect (context + relevance)
• How authority flows across your site (link equity distribution)

In plain English: internal links are the roadmap. If your roadmap has missing streets, dead ends, or “click here” signs everywhere, both humans and bots are going to get cranky.

The Two Types of Internal Links You Need

1) Structural links (your site’s skeleton)

These are the links that appear as part of your site’s structurenavigation menus, category pages, breadcrumbs, footers, sidebars, and HTML sitemaps.
Structural links help define hierarchy: homepage → category → subcategory → article/product.

2) Contextual links (your site’s muscle)

These are links inside your contentwithin paragraphs, lists, or callouts. Contextual links are powerful because they’re surrounded by relevant text,
which helps clarify what the linked page is about and why someone should go there next.

If structural links are the mall directory, contextual links are the friend who says, “If you like this store, you should definitely check out that one.”

What a Strong Internal Linking Strategy Tries to Achieve

Before you start sprinkling links like parmesan cheese, decide what you’re optimizing for. Great internal linking usually targets a mix of these goals:

• Improve crawlability: make sure important pages are easy for bots to reach.
• Reduce crawl depth: keep key pages only a few clicks from the homepage.
• Distribute link equity: push more authority toward pages you want to rank (and convert).
• Build topical authority: connect related content so your site looks like a coherent expert, not a junk drawer.
• Guide user journeys: help visitors go from “curious” to “convinced” without pogo-sticking back to Google.

Step-by-Step: How to Build Internal Links That Boost SEO

Step 1: Identify your “money pages” and your “helper pages”

Not every page needs to be the main character. Separate your site into:

• Money pages: the pages you most want to rank and convert (service pages, product categories, cornerstone guides).
• Helper pages: supportive content that answers related questions (blog posts, FAQs, tutorials, comparisons).

The goal is to use helper pages to funnel relevance, authority, and users toward money pageswithout forcing it.

Step 2: Create topic clusters (so your content stops living in isolation)

Topic clusters connect a broad “pillar” page to multiple related “cluster” pages.
Think: one big guide that links out to more specific articles, and those articles link back to the pillar and to each other when relevant.

Example cluster for a home organization site:

• Pillar: “The Complete Guide to Closet Organization”
• Clusters: “How to Fold Sweaters,” “Best Closet Storage Bins,” “Small Closet Layout Ideas,” “How to Organize Shoes”

This structure makes it easier for search engines to understand your topical coverageand easier for readers to binge your content like it’s a series finale.

Step 3: Run a quick internal linking audit (aka: find the leaks)

You don’t need to be dramatic, but you do need to be thorough. In an internal link audit, look for:

• Orphan pages: pages with zero internal links pointing to them (they’re basically invisible).
• Broken internal links: links that return 404s (the UX equivalent of a trapdoor).
• Redirect chains: internal links that bounce through redirects before landing (slow, messy, unnecessary).
• Overly deep pages: important URLs buried 5+ clicks deep where no one goes willingly.
• Weakly linked important pages: pages you care about that barely get internal links.

Use tools like Google Search Console to review internal link signals and coverage, and supplement with site audit tools if you manage a larger site.

Step 4: Make sure your links are crawlable and consistent

Internal links only help if search engines can actually follow them. Make sure:

• Links use standard HTML anchor tags (<a href="...">) rather than being trapped behind tricky scripts or non-link elements.
• You’re linking to the preferred version of a URL (avoid random parameter versions when possible).
• Important pages are reachable through normal site navigation and not only through internal search results.

Step 5: Use anchor text like a label, not a billboard

Anchor text is the clickable text in a link. It’s one of the clearest signals you control about what the linked page is about.
Good anchor text is descriptive, reasonably concise, and matches the reader’s expectation.

Here’s the vibe you want:

• Not great: “click here”
• Better: “see our guide to internal linking”
• Best: “internal linking checklist for large sites”

Avoid stuffing exact-match anchors everywhere. Natural variety is finehumans don’t talk like spreadsheets.
Mix in partial-match anchors, descriptive phrases, and occasional branded or navigational wording when it makes sense.

Step 6: Link from high-value pages to high-priority pages

Some pages naturally attract more authorityyour homepage, top-performing blog posts, popular category pages, and evergreen guides.
Use those pages to send internal links to:

• new content you want discovered quickly
• money pages that need a ranking push
• supporting cluster pages that strengthen topical coverage

This isn’t “manipulating” anything. It’s just smart site architecture: using your strongest pages to guide users (and crawlers) toward your most valuable content.

Step 7: Keep important pages within a few clicks

Crawl depth is how many clicks it takes to reach a page from your homepage. Generally, pages closer to the homepage are easier to discover and tend to receive more internal links.
You don’t need to obsess over a magical number, but if your key pages are buried deep, internal linking is your shovel.

Practical fixes include improving navigation paths, adding “related resources” modules, and inserting contextual links from relevant high-traffic posts.

Step 8: Add internal links where they help the readernot where they “fit”

The easiest rule to remember: every internal link should answer “what should I do next?”
That next step could be:

• learning a prerequisite concept
• going deeper on a subtopic
• comparing options
• seeing a how-to tutorial
• checking a product/service page when they’re ready

And yes, link placement matters. Links that appear earlier in the content often get more attention (from both readers and crawlers),
but don’t front-load a paragraph with five links like it’s a Wikipedia speedrun.

Step 9: Build a “link maintenance habit” (so your strategy doesn’t rot)

Internal linking is not a one-time chore you do every leap year. Make it part of your publishing workflow:

• When you publish a new page, add 3–5 contextual links from older, relevant pages to the new URL.
• Update the new page to link out to helpful supporting pages and at least one related cornerstone page.
• Quarterly (or monthly for big sites), fix broken internal links and review orphan or under-linked pages.

Common Internal Linking Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)

Mistake: Using generic anchors everywhere

If half your site links say “read more,” you’re basically whispering instructions to both users and search engines.
Fix: update anchors to describe the destination page with concise, relevant wording.

Mistake: Over-linking until the page looks like a conspiracy wall

More links are not automatically better. Too many links can overwhelm readers and dilute focus.
Fix: keep links purposeful; prioritize the few that truly help someone continue the journey.

Mistake: Orphan pages and dead-end content

Orphan pages can struggle to be discovered because nothing points to them.
Fix: link to them from relevant hub pages, category pages, and at least a couple of related articles.

Mistake: Only relying on navigation links

Navigation is important, but contextual links are where internal linking becomes strategic.
Fix: add in-content links that connect related ideas naturally.

Mistake: Internal links that bounce through redirects

If you already know the final URL, link to it directly.
Fix: update internal links after migrations, URL changes, and CMS updates.

Specific Examples (So You Can Actually Do This Today)

Example 1: A blog post that quietly pushes rankings to a service page

Let’s say you have a service page: “Professional Carpet Cleaning in Austin”.
And you publish a blog post: “How Often Should You Deep Clean Carpet?”

Smart internal linking would include:

• A contextual link early in the post to “carpet cleaning in Austin” (if it’s truly relevant to the reader).
• Links to supporting content like “DIY stain removal tips” and “best vacuum settings for pet hair.”
• A “next step” section near the end that points users who want help to the service page.

Result: the blog post can attract long-tail search traffic, and your internal links guide qualified visitors toward conversion pages.

Example 2: An e-commerce category that feeds product discovery

You have a category page for “Vacuum Storage Bags”. Don’t let it be a dead-end filter page with zero context.
Add internal links to:

• Top subcategories (jumbo bags, travel compression bags, hanging storage bags)
• Buying guides (“How to choose the right vacuum storage bag size”)
• Care/how-to content (“How to avoid punctures and leaks”)
• Related categories (closet organizers, under-bed storage)

Bonus: those guides should link back to the category and to best-selling products with descriptive anchors, improving both SEO and conversion paths.

How to Measure Whether Internal Linking Is Working

Internal linking improvements usually show up in a few places:

• Crawling/indexing: more pages discovered, fewer “not indexed” surprises.
• Rankings: target pages gradually move up for relevant queries as signals consolidate.
• Behavior: pages per session increases, bounce rate improves (context matters), and time on site rises.
• Conversions: more assisted conversions as users follow clearer paths to money pages.

Track changes over weeks, not days. Internal linking is more like gardening than microwaving.

Quick Internal Linking Checklist

• Every important page has multiple internal links pointing to it.
• No orphan pages (unless intentionally hidden).
• Anchor text is descriptive and conciseno “click here” parties.
• Key pages are reachable in a few clicks from the homepage.
• Topic clusters connect related content to a cornerstone/pillar page.
• Broken internal links are fixed regularly.
• New content gets links from older relevant pages within the first week of publishing.

Conclusion

Internal linking is one of the rare SEO tactics that helps everyone at the same time: search engines, readers, and your future self who will thank you when your site hits 500+ pages.
Build a clear structure, use contextual links that make sense, write anchor text that behaves like a helpful label, and keep your important pages close to the surface.

If backlinks are votes from other websites, internal links are the votes you control. Use them like you mean itstrategically, thoughtfully, and with just enough restraint to avoid turning every paragraph into a link buffet.

Real-World Internal Linking Experiences: What Worked, What Didn’t (Extra )

“Experiences” with internal linking usually fall into one of two buckets: the “why didn’t we do this sooner?” bucket and the “why did we do it like that?” bucket.
Below are patterns that repeatedly show up in real SEO case studies, site audits, and content team workflowsespecially on growing blogs and e-commerce sites.

First, the biggest win tends to come from fixing the boring stuff. When teams clean up broken internal links, remove redirect chains, and make sure important pages are reachable without a scavenger hunt,
they often see crawling and indexing become more predictable. New pages get discovered faster, and older pages stop drifting into “we swear this exists, Google” territory.
It’s not glamorous, but neither is flossingand yet, here we are, recommending it anyway.

Second, internal links work best when they’re tied to a clear content structure. Sites that build topic clustersone pillar page supported by multiple specific articlesusually end up with cleaner linking decisions.
Writers stop guessing where to link because the structure provides obvious targets: link up to the pillar for the main topic, link sideways to the most relevant subtopic, and link down when you’re introducing a deeper how-to.
When this is done consistently, topical relevance becomes easier to maintain as the content library grows.

Third, anchor text improvements can be a sneaky power-up. Many sites accidentally rely on vague anchors (“this post,” “learn more,” “read here”) because it feels natural while writing.
But when teams revise anchors to be more descriptivewithout turning them into keyword-stuffed robotsthe destination pages often gain clearer topical signals.
The trick is to write anchor text the way a helpful human would label a folder: short, accurate, and easy to understand at a glance.

Fourth, one common “didn’t work” scenario is mass internal linking without relevance. Some sites try to add internal links at scale by stuffing a fixed list of “important pages” into every article.
That usually produces awkward UX and can confuse topical relationships. The links are technically internal, but they’re not meaningful.
A better approach is selective linking: add fewer links, but make each one a logical next step in the reader’s journey.

Finally, internal linking tends to deliver the best ROI when it’s operationalized. The sites that win long-term usually have a lightweight rule set:
every new post must link to (1) a cornerstone page, (2) two to three related articles, and (3) any relevant conversion page only if it fits the intent.
Then they add a recurring maintenance cyclemonthly or quarterlywhere they refresh internal links on top-performing pages and rescue any newly orphaned content.
The result is a site that feels intentionally connected, not randomly stitched together over time.