Internal Linking

Internal links are links that go from one page on your website to another page on the same website. When your homepage links to your services page, that's an internal link. When your blog post links to a related blog post, that's an internal link too.

Every website uses internal links. Your navigation menu, your footer, and the links within your content are all examples. But most small business websites don't use them strategically, and that's a missed opportunity for both user experience and SEO.

Why It Matters

Internal links do two important things at once. For your visitors, they create a natural path through your website. Someone reading a blog post about kitchen renovations can click a link to your kitchen remodeling services page. That keeps people on your site longer and moves them closer to contacting you.

For Google, internal links are like a roadmap. They help Googlebot crawl and understand your site. Pages with more internal links pointing to them are seen as more important. A study by Ahrefs found that pages with strong internal link structures rank higher on average than orphan pages (pages with no internal links pointing to them).

Google also uses the anchor text in your internal links to understand what the linked page is about. If five pages on your site link to your services page using descriptive anchor text, Google gets a clear signal about that page's topic.

Internal linking is one of the few SEO tactics where you have complete control. You can't control who links to you from other websites, but you can always improve how your own pages connect to each other.

The Basics

Link from content, not just navigation. Your nav menu and footer provide site-wide links, but the most valuable internal links are the ones within your actual page content. When you mention a topic that has its own page, link to it naturally within the sentence.

Every page should have links in and out. No page on your site should be a dead end. Every page should link to at least one other relevant page, and at least one other page should link to it. Orphan pages (pages with no links pointing to them) are hard for Google to find and rank.

Use descriptive anchor text. Don't use "click here" or "learn more." Instead, link using words that describe the destination page. "See our web design services" is much better than "click here to see our services."

Prioritize your most important pages. The pages you want to rank highest should have the most internal links pointing to them. If your goal is to rank for "web design in Buffalo," make sure multiple pages link to your main web design page.

Keep it natural. Don't force 20 links into a 500-word page. Link where it genuinely helps the reader find more relevant information. Three to five internal links per page of content is a reasonable starting point.

FAQ

How many internal links should I have on each page?

There's no magic number. Focus on linking wherever it's genuinely helpful to the reader. A long blog post might naturally include 5-10 internal links. A short services page might have 2-3. The key is that every link should feel useful, not forced. Google has said there's no technical limit, but quality matters more than quantity.

Do internal links help with SEO?

Absolutely. Internal links help Google discover and index your pages, understand your site hierarchy, and determine which pages are most important. They also pass "link equity" between pages, which can boost the ranking potential of the pages you link to most.

Should I go back and add internal links to old pages?

Yes. Reviewing older content and adding links to newer pages is one of the easiest SEO wins. When you publish a new service page or blog post, go back to existing pages that mention related topics and add links to the new content. It only takes a few minutes and can have a real impact on how Google treats the new page.