Internal Links: Ultimate Guide + Strategies

What Are Internal Links? 

Internal links are hyperlinks that lead users to different pages connected nan aforesaid website. They line users to related contented and thief hunt engines understand a site’s structure. 

Here’s what an psyche nexus looks for illustration connected a unrecorded page:

And a sample of nan codification for that psyche link:

<a href="https://www.example-site.com/">fixing crawlability issues</a>

Types of Internal Links 

Different psyche links work different purposes. Common types include: 

• Navigational links: Appear successful main menus aliases sidebars 
• Contextual links: Embedded incorrect on-page text
• Image links: Hyperlinked images 
• Footer links: Placed successful nan site’s footer area
• Sidebar links: Located successful nan sidebar for easy navigation 
• Breadcrumb links: Show a page’s location incorrect nan tract hierarchy 
• In-content call-to-action (CTA) links: Prompt conversions aliases actions incorrect nan text 

Internal Links vs. External Links

Internal links direct users from 1 page of your tract to another. They amended navigation, locomotion nexus authority among your pages, and thief hunt engines crawl your site. These links support visitors incorrect your domain, which tin summation personification engagement and conversion rates. 

External links point from your tract to a page connected different domain. They thief you mention references and proviso different context. They too build spot and authority erstwhile you nexus to reputable sources. Getting outer backlinks from different websites tin amended your domain authority and rankings. 

Here’s a speedy comparison table:

Feature	Internal Links	External Links
Domain	Same domain	Different Domain
Purpose	Navigation, personification engagement, SEO	Credibility, authority, referral traffic
SEO Impact	Improves crawlability, distributes nexus equity	Boosts credibility, tin lead to backlinks
Examples	Links incorrect a blog aliases ecommerce site	Links to investigation articles aliases different websites

Why Are Internal Links Important for SEO?

Internal links thief hunt engines find and standard each tract pages. They show really your pages subordinate to each other, which tells Google which pages are astir important. This distribution of nexus equity tin boost nan visibility of small salient pages. 

Users too usage from a clear measurement to overmuch information, which increases nan afloat clip they locomotion connected your site. Google sees longer personification engagement arsenic a affirmative ranking signal. 

Let’s return a deeper look.

1. They Help Search Engines Understand Your Site’s Structure

By linking applicable pages together, you show really topics connect. Google’s crawlers observe caller pages by pursuing these links. 

As Google explains: “Some pages are known because Google has already crawled them before. Other pages are discovered erstwhile Google follows a nexus from a known page to a caller page.”

Here’s a ocular believe of really this works:

2. They Pass Authority

Internal links locomotion PageRank from pages pinch tons of outer authority to different psyche pages. A page that earns galore backlinks (and frankincense has higher authority) tin fortify different pages done psyche links. 

Let’s opportunity Page A has tons of outer links pointing to it, which intends it apt has overmuch authority via PageRank. This authority tin past beryllium passed to Page C and different connected pages by measurement of psyche links.

Like this:

Identifying these pages tin thief you make nan astir of nan authority coming into your tract to amended wide rankings. 

However, support successful mind that only information of that authority is passed, and contextual relevance matters—links are astir effective erstwhile they’re aligned pinch personification needs and contented topics.

3. They Help Users to Navigate Between Relevant Pages

Internal links beforehand visitors to investigation related pages. This keeps them connected your tract longer, increases nan likelihood of conversions, and helps them find nan nonstop accusation they need. 

Let’s opportunity a personification lands connected an article connected your tract astir “how to build a PC.”

You tin spot psyche links to applicable merchandise pages pinch PC parts aliases to related contented for illustration an article astir “how to spread a PC fan.”

The extremity is to support users connected your tract truthful they complete your desired action, for illustration making a purchase, filling retired a form, aliases buying a product. 

Showing users relevant, useful contented connected nan correct pages is nan cleanable measurement to do that.

How to Build Your Internal Linking Strategy

A clear strategy ensures you’re making nan astir of each link. 

In this adjacent section, we’ll point that seven-step process. And spot a template to simplify your process. 

1. Plan Your Site Structure

Site building is really your contented is organized and linked. Establish categories and a logical level to thief users and hunt engines move done your site. 

A pyramid-like building often useful best: 

• Top: Homepage aliases main pillar pages 
• Middle: Subcategories aliases cluster pages 
• Bottom: Specific contented pages 

Like this: 

2. Identify Pillar Pages

A pillar page is a wide assets that covers a wide topic. It links to overmuch circumstantial pages (known arsenic cluster pages). 

Pillar pages thief you build taxable clusters, which are groups of related content. Creating pillar pages and taxable clusters too helps tract architecture. 

Pillar pages often target broad, high-volume keywords. Consider your pillar page nan apical of nan trading funnel. It provides wide accusation and sparks interest. 

For example, a portion tract mightiness personification a pillar page for “washing machines.” That page would nexus to sub-pages astir circumstantial washing instrumentality types. It’s valuable because nan keyword “washing machines” gets 18,100 searches per month.

Each conception covers a different type of washing instrumentality and past links to moreover overmuch circumstantial merchandise categories. These merchandise categories whitethorn nexus retired to individual merchandise pages. 

Avoid making pillar pages excessively narrow. You petition tin cluster pages to support them. 

3. Create Topic Clusters

Topic clusters turn connected your pillar taxable successful overmuch detail. For example, if your pillar is “copywriting,” you mightiness personification clusters connected “what is copywriting?” aliases “email copywriting tips.” Each cluster links backmost to nan pillar page to reenforce topical relevance. 

You tin too create clusters incorrect clusters. For instance, nan “email copywriting” cluster mightiness spot sub-pages astir taxable lines and calls-to-action (CTAs). These pages should nexus backmost to nan main pillar page to show that it’s nan superior assets connected nan topic. 

Start by mapping retired your taxable clusters and listing applicable supporting pages successful a spreadsheet. Like this: 

For overmuch in-depth instructions, cheque retired our Ultimate Guide to Keyword Research.

4. Use Authority Pages to Pass Link Equity

Your astir charismatic pages personification high-quality backlinks from outer websites. Google views backlinks arsenic votes of confidence. A page pinch galore “votes” tin locomotion immoderate of that authority (or nexus equity) to different pages via psyche links. 

To do this effectively, spot your astir charismatic pages utilizing Semrush's Backlink Analytics tool.

Enter your domain and click “Analyze.”

Click nan “Indexed Pages” tab.

This study will show a database of your website pages, which are (by default) sorted by number of referring domains.

These are your astir powerful pages.

Export your results arsenic a .csv aliases .xlsx file. Paste astatine slightest 10 of your high-authority pages into your strategy doc.

Add psyche links from these pages to small charismatic pages connected your site. 

This process helps amended wide rankings by distributing authority to pages that petition a boost. 

5. Support New Content

A beardown psyche linking building is captious erstwhile you personification less aliases nary charismatic backlinks. 

To start, return a caller information of contented aliases a page that needs amended performance. Then, look for applicable interlinking opportunities. 

Use Google’s “site:” hunt usability to find pages that mention your target keyword. For example, we mightiness hunt for “site:semrush.com psyche links” to find related articles.

Collect each applicable pages from nan hunt results. 

Paste those URLs into your strategy document. 

Add links from each of those pages to your caller document. Track your advancement arsenic you go. 

This method helps you locomotion authority to your caller page. 

6. Choose nan Right Anchor Text

Anchor matter is nan clickable matter successful a hyperlink. Like this:

You personification afloat powerfulness complete anchor matter connected your ain site. 

Use strategical words and phrases truthful users and hunt engines understand nan linked page’s topic. Clear anchor matter helps Google spot really your pages connect. 

SEO-friendly anchor matter is:

• Brief: Limit anchor matter to 5 words aliases fewer
• Relevant: Avoid vague, clickbait phrases for illustration “click here” 
• Optimized: Exact-match anchor matter is acceptable for psyche links if it’s relevant. The extremity is not to employment keyword stuffing techniques.

Be observant pinch outer links, manipulating outer anchor matter violates Google’s webmaster guidelines.

With champion practices successful mind, delegate anchor matter to your pillar and cluster pages based connected keyword research. 

7. Add Navigational and Contextual Links

Navigational links are among nan astir important psyche links because they look permanently successful your main menu. This main navigational building usually appears successful nan apical insubstantial aliases sidebar. And features merchandise categories, services, aliases halfway contented topics. 

Like this:

Contextual links (or in-text links) look incorrect nan main assemblage contented of a page. Instead of pointing to a top-level navigational page, they line users to different related content.

For example, this astir page includes a nexus (“FossilMedia”) that points to a deeper, related page. 

The links are often placed incorrect descriptive anchor matter (i.e. “FossilMedia”). 

Adding immoderate navigational and contextual links makes it easier for hunt engines and users to investigation your site. This helps them find what they petition and tin amended personification acquisition and tract rankings. 

Auditing Your Site’s Existing Internal Links 

You astir apt already personification immoderate psyche links successful spot unless your website is wholly new. To create a beardown psyche linking strategy, you must first understand your existent psyche linking structure. An psyche nexus audit tin help. 

Use nan Semrush Site Audit instrumentality to spot communal psyche linking issues and study really to spread them. 

Let’s reappraisal nan main issues you’ll apt encounter. 

1. Broken Internal Links

Broken psyche links nonstop users and hunt centrifugal crawlers to pages that don’t exist. Deleted pages and mistyped URLs often root these errors. This leads to 404 errors, which locomotion nary authority. 

Find room links successful nan “Errors” conception of your Internal Linking report. Then, region aliases move each nexus pinch a valid nexus that points to a unrecorded page. 

2. Too Many Internal Links

Having excessively galore links connected a page tin confuse Google’s crawlers. Hundreds aliases thousands of links too make it difficult for users (and hunt engines) to spot which links matter. 

Don’t cram links onto a page. Fewer, overmuch targeted links typically proviso a amended personification experience. The Site Audit instrumentality flags pages pinch excessive links successful nan “Warnings” conception of your psyche Linking report. 

Identify those pages and region unneeded links. 

3. Nofollow Attributes successful Internal Links

Nofollow links personification nan rel=“nofollow” attribute, which tells Google not to locomotion authority to nan linked page. SEOs often usage nofollow for outer links they don’t want to endorse.

But you typically want psyche links to locomotion SEO value. 

Followed nexus (passes authority):

<a href="https://example.com">Anchor Text</a>

Nofollow nexus (doesn’t locomotion authority): 

<a href="https://example.com" rel="nofollow">Anchor Text</a>

Check your Internal Linking study for links pinch rel=”nofollow” nether nan “Warnings” section. 

Then, region nan rel=“nofollow” spot from immoderate psyche links you want to locomotion authority.

4. Orphaned Pages

An orphaned page has nary links from different pages connected your site. Google discovers caller pages by pursuing links, truthful orphaned pages are difficult to find. If Google can’t find them, those pages won’t beryllium indexed aliases look successful hunt results. 

Look for “Orphaned sitemap pages” nether nan “Notices” conception of your Internal Linking report. 

Then, nexus to each orphaned page from a page that’s already information of your tract structure. Make judge nan page you’re linking from isn’t orphaned, aliases nan rumor will remain. 

5. Pages pinch Only One Incoming Internal Link

Internal links awesome which pages are important. The overmuch psyche links a page has, nan easier it is for hunt engines to observe and rank it. Pages pinch only 1 psyche nexus are harder to find and whitethorn look small important to hunt engines. 

Use nan Site Audit instrumentality to find pages pinch only 1 psyche link. Look for nan “Pages pinch only 1 psyche link” announcement successful your Internal Linking report. 

Then, spot applicable pages crossed your tract and adhd caller psyche links to these underlinked pages. 

6. Crawl Depth of More Than Three Clicks

Crawl grade is nan number of clicks from your homepage to a circumstantial page. If users must click respective times, hunt engines whitethorn spot that page arsenic small important. According to Google, pages pinch little clicks often rank higher.

In nan Site Audit’s Internal Linking report, look for “Page Crawl Depth overmuch than 3 clicks.” 

Then, create nonstop links to these deeper pages—ideally from pages only 1 click from your homepage. This alteration helps users and hunt engines find and standard those pages overmuch easily.

7. Internal Redirects

Internal links that constituent to permanently redirected URLs tin trim crawl fund (the number of pages Google will crawl during a fixed clip frame). If different pages connected your tract still nexus to an aged URL, users will click that aged URL and get redirected. This different measurement is unnecessary.

Here’s what it looks like:

Internal redirects too slow load times, which hurts personification acquisition and PageSpeed.

Update your psyche links truthful that they lead consecutive to nan caller page. To find psyche redirects, unfastened nan Site Audit instrumentality and spell to nan “Crawled Pages” tab.

Search for your aged URL successful nan hunt bar.

Click connected nan URL successful nan results, past click nan “# URLs” nether “Incoming Internal Links.” 

You’ll spot a database of pages that still nexus to your aged URL. Change those links truthful they constituent to nan caller page alternatively of nan old, redirected one. 

Like this: 

8. Redirect Chains & Loops

A redirect chain occurs erstwhile overmuch than 1 redirect separates nan original URL from nan past URL. This often happens during tract migrations. 

For example: URL A was /our-mission/. Later, it redirected to /about-us/ (URL B). Then, if you changed URL B to /about/ (URL C), you would create a concatenation of redirects. Instead of going consecutive to nan past page, users locomotion done aggregate redirect steps.

Here’s what it looks like:

A redirect loop occurs erstwhile 2 (or more) pages redirect to each other, truthful nan personification ne'er reaches a past page. 

Like this:

In your Site Audit Issues report, look for “redirect chains and loops.” 

You’ll spot a database of affected pages, affirmative nan redirect type and really galore redirects are linked to each page.

Correct redirect chains by ensuring there’s only 1 redirect to nan past URL.

Correct redirect loops by deleting aliases fixing nan loop truthful that users and crawlers scope 1 past destination without bouncing back.

9. Links connected HTTPS Pages Lead to HTTP pages

Google recommends utilizing HTTPS for a unafraid site. After switching to HTTPS, you whitethorn still personification immoderate links pointing to HTTP pages. This creates different redirects and tin trigger accusation warnings.

To quickly find this error, spell to your Site Audit study and click “View Details” nether nan “HTTPS” section.

Then, scroll down to find nan “X link(s) connected HTTPS pages leads to HTTP page” error. Click connected nan number of links to spot which pages personification nan issue.

Then update those HTTP links to constituent to HTTPS pages instead.

Fix Internal Linking Issues pinch Site Audit

Even pinch a caller psyche linking strategy, tally regular audits to drawback caller issues. Schedule a Site Audit each play and reappraisal nan Internal Linking report. This helps you support a diligent tract building and amended your SEO.

Be judge to tally your Site Audit each play aliases truthful and cheque nan Internal Linking Report for issues. This is nan champion measurement to support tabs connected your tract wellness and make improvements arsenic needed.