IN THIS ARTICLE · 8 PARTS
An internal link is simply a link from one page of your website to another. It sounds trivial, but it is one of the easiest and most underused ways to improve both your SEO and your visitors' experience, and it costs nothing.
Why internal links matter
- They guide visitors. Someone reading about bathroom renovation might want to see your prices or a finished project next. A link takes them there.
- They help Google find pages. Google discovers pages by following links. A page with no links pointing to it is hard to find.
- They show what matters. Pages that many other pages link to look more important to Google.
- They explain topics. The words in a link tell Google what the linked page is about.
Use descriptive link text
Google's link guidelines ask for descriptive anchor text that tells people and Google what the linked page is about [1], and the W3C accessibility guidelines ask the same, so that every link's purpose is clear [2].
The clickable words should describe the page they lead to:
- good: "see our [bathroom renovation prices]"
- not good: "for prices, click here"
Descriptive links help visitors decide whether to click and help Google understand the destination.
Link related things
- service pages to related services
- service pages to their best case studies
- blog articles to the services they mention
- articles to related articles
- city pages to the services available there: why local SEO works
On our own blog, every article links to related articles and to the relevant part of our offer, and every article is linked from at least one other. You can see it in action in web design: a complete guide.
No orphan pages
An "orphan" page is one that no other page links to. Visitors cannot reach it by browsing and Google may ignore it. Check that every important page has at least one link pointing to it, ideally from a relevant page, not only from the menu. Google finds most new pages by following links from pages it already knows [3].
Do not overdo it
A few relevant links per page are better than dozens. Link where it genuinely helps the reader, not in every sentence.
Keep links working
When you remove or rename a page, update the links that point to it, or set up a redirect. Broken links frustrate visitors and waste Google's time: how to move your domain to a new website covers redirects. When page addresses change, Google recommends permanent (301) redirects from the old addresses to the new ones [4].
Every link between your pages is a small signpost, for visitors and for Google.
Start today
Open your most important service page and ask: where should a visitor go next? Add two or three links. Then do the same for your other pages. Next, read keyword research made simple and page titles and descriptions that get clicks.
References
- Google Search Central. "Link best practices for Google." developers.google.com
- W3C Web Accessibility Initiative. "Understanding Success Criterion 2.4.4: Link Purpose (In Context)" w3.org
- Google Search Central. "In-depth guide to how Google Search works." developers.google.com
- Google Search Central. "Site moves with URL changes." developers.google.com
