An internal link is a link that resides on one page and points to another page on the same site. For example, you can be on the home page and have a link that points to your store, your services, or the contact page.
This internal linking process is an often overlooked, yet essential part of search engine optimization (SEO). First, it helps with page discovery. Internal links tell Google which pages exist on your website so they can be crawled and ranked in search results. Second, internal link building gives Google an idea of your site’s structure and accumulates higher value for pages with more internal links pointing to them.
Plus, we can’t ignore how inevitably internal linking SEO improvements are tied to better user experience (UX).
In this article, we take a closer look at internal linking best practices and how to incorporate it into an SEO internal linking strategy that drives your overall optimization efforts.
We cover :
What is internal linking in SEO? Features, functions, and comparison
Good and Bad Internal Linking Strategy: Dos and Don’ts
What is Internal Linking in SEO? Features, Functions, and Comparison

SEO for internal links increases the ranking potential of your posts and pages in search results. This scenario resembles the effects of external links on landing pages. So what is the difference between the two?
Internal Links VS External Links

If you are familiar with link building, you may already know how external links can convey, using the PageRank algorithm, link equity, or ranking power from authority source pages to your own. Google treats these backlinks as votes of confidence, giving them a lot of weight in ranking web pages on search engine results pages (SERPs).
Read related resource: Off Page SEO Tips to Increase Organic Traffic
Internal links don’t have the same power because search engines value what other people say about you more than what you say about yourself.
But, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use them. Consider how you can control link locations in this case. When done right, internal linking gives you more opportunities to link to your most important pages. At the same time, you are passing link value, link equity, or link juice to the closely related secondary pages of your site.
Read out: SEO Hn Tags – How to Optimize all Headings
Help Google crawlers recognize the relevance of your pages to search queries with good internal linking practices. In other words, establish a solid SEO internal linking strategy to improve your ranking potential.
How Do Inbound Links Help in SEO?
Here are the common factors you should consider to achieve this goal:
Define the Internal Linking Structure of your Site
Ideally, you want your site’s page structure to look like a pyramid. At the top is your homepage, followed by categories, subcategories (for larger websites), and individual pages.
Related Resource: SEO Title Tag – Optimization of Perfect SEO Title
Your internal linking structure reinforces the hierarchy of your pages, so many internal links point to your homepage. At the same time, your homepage should link to your top-level/category pages. This flow helps users navigate your site even though it provides a logical path for search engine crawlers to follow.
Take Advantage of Navigation Links
As we said, users and search engines need to find links to all important sections and pages on your homepage. These internal links can be placed in the header, footer, and other crucial areas, such as the banner area in the example below.

This navigation is one of the detailed, but you can maximize it by applying the following tactics:
Strengthen Contextual Links
Internal links within page content, such as this article, are called contextual links. They direct users to related or similar content on the same website. When implemented correctly, in-context link building helps your most valuable pages rank on the SERPs. Additionally, it impacts other SEO factors such as page views, time on page, and bounce rate.
By learning how to craft your internal linking strategy, you can prioritize these content links over navigational links. Users click more on the former, studies show. So make sure your contextual link structure aligns with the user journey. For example, you can create multiple content items on a topic and point them to a full version, which serves as the most valuable page.
Optimize your Anchor Text
The visible, clickable part of the link is called the anchor text. Its main purpose is to describe to users what the landing page is about, helping them decide whether to click or not.
Must Read: Meta Description Tag – Complete Guide to Write & Optimize
There are several types of anchor text, but only a few should be used as dictated by SEO best practices for internal linking:
During a site audit, take advantage of a link analysis tool to keep track of your site’s external and internal links and associated anchor text. You can, incidentally, check your internal nofollow links for re-evaluation (more on this in the next section).

Good and Bad Internal Linking Strategy: Dos and Don’ts
Here are some of the things you should and shouldn’t do when implementing your internal linking strategy:
Avoid Link Spam
Now that you know about internal link building, you may want to determine the ideal number of links to include in your page or content. According to Moz, a source page can have around 150 links (internal and external) before losing the ability to crawl additional landing pages.
Another point to consider:
When it comes to internal links for SEO, John Mueller said that Google may place great value on one or two links, but when it hits 20, those links will have a different weight.
Limit the Number of Internal Nofollow Links
Better yet, remove the “rel=nofollow” tag from your internal links. Why? A nofollow attribute is initially applied to links to spam comments. So when you have internal nofollow links, it signals to Google that the links are untrustworthy.
Now, why would you sabotage your link structure by asking Google not to pass PageRank or crawl a link completely?
Include Related Topics/Posts
Suggesting related posts is another way to place your internal links on a page, usually a blog page. Your content management system (CMS) or link analysis tool may allow plugins that automate recommendations for you. However, do it manually if your plugin is not accurately selecting the right messages.
Point to Important or Popular Posts/Topics
If you have a popular or new post, send more traffic to it via an internal link on the homepage. This approach not only attracts more visitors but also improves engagement, improving page views and average sessions.
Use an Internal Link Checker
An internal link checker of screaming frog is useful when performing site audits and link analysis as part of your technical SEO. You can look for areas to improve, such as poorly constructed anchor text and misplaced nofollow tags.
To Summarize: How do Internal links help with SEO?
In this blog, we’ve outlined the factors that affect the effectiveness of your SEO internal linking strategy. Plus, we’ve also shared some quick tips on the do’s and don’ts when distributing internal links on your website.
However, if you’re starting from scratch, it’s wiser to work with experts to monitor, analyze, and maintain the health of your links. Finally, internal linking is only one element of an integrated SEO strategy. There’s more to do when you improve your search ranking: page speed, duplicate content, and other requirements. You’ll need more than your trusty link analyzer to win this game.
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