Internal linking

Internal links pass ranking signals (PageRank-equivalent) between pages on your own site. Good internal linking can lift rankings across a whole site. Most sites do it badly, sporadic, inconsistent, orphaning important pages.

Why internal links matter

• They distribute authority. A high-authority page passes some of that authority to the pages it links to.
• They signal topical relationships. Pages that interlink tell Google they're about related topics.
• They improve crawlability. Bots follow links. More links = more reliable indexing.
• They help users. Time on site, pages per session, conversions, all lift with good linking.

Principles

1. Every page should be reachable from every other page in ≤3 clicks

"Orphan pages" (pages with no internal links to them) barely get indexed. Check for orphans in Screaming Frog.

2. Use descriptive anchor text

"Click here" passes zero topical signal. "Internal linking strategy" tells Google what the linked page is about.

3. Link from high-authority to high-priority

Your homepage and top traffic pages have the most authority. Use them to link to your highest-priority commercial pages.

4. Link in content, not just footers

Contextual links in article body carry more weight than navigational/footer links.

The hub-and-spoke pattern

For topic clusters:

• Pillar page (broad topic) links to all cluster pages (specific subtopics)
• Each cluster page links back to the pillar
• Related cluster pages link to each other where sensible

This creates a clear topical structure Google can parse, and concentrates authority on the pillar.

Anchor text strategy

• Exact match: anchor is the exact target keyword. Strong signal; overuse looks manipulative.
• Partial match: contains the keyword plus other words. Safer + still strong.
• Branded: uses your brand name. Natural, low signal.
• Generic: "learn more," "this guide." Low signal but natural.

For internal linking, lean partial-match + generic. Natural distribution matters less for internal than for external (anchor diversity rules are relaxed internally).

Common mistakes

• Only linking from the blog, never to it. Blog pages need links TO them from homepage/category pages.
• Too many outbound in one page. >100 links dilutes authority. 10-30 contextual links in a long article is plenty.
• Nofollow on internal links. Don't. Your own pages should pass authority freely.
• Linking only with "click here." You're leaving signal on the table.

Auditing your internal linking

1. Crawl the site (Screaming Frog)
2. Export internal link counts per URL
3. Find orphans (0 internal links in)
4. Find under-linked high-value pages (few links in, high value)
5. Add links from relevant, high-authority pages