SEO · 1 Oct 2021 · 3 min read
The advantages of internal linking for SEO
Most people who look after a website understand the value of backlinks — links coming in from other domains. Internal linking, links between pages on your own site, gets far less attention, even though it does real work for both search engines and visitors trying to find their way around a larger site.
What internal linking is
Internal linking is simply hyperlinking from one page on your website to another page on the same domain. A single page can carry more than one internal link, as long as each one sits on relevant, natural anchor text rather than being forced in. As a rule of thumb, three or four internal links per page is usually enough — more than that starts to look like manipulation rather than genuine navigation.
Why it’s worth doing properly
It spreads authority across your site
External backlinks build a domain’s overall authority, but internal linking is what spreads that authority to the pages that need it. A well-linked page passes some of its own ranking strength on to the pages it links to.
It helps search engines understand your site’s structure
A clear internal linking structure tells crawlers which pages matter most and how they relate to each other. The more a page is linked to from elsewhere on the site, the more likely a search engine is to treat it as important — and rank it accordingly.
It can improve rankings for your key pages
Google has said publicly that it doesn’t use third-party domain authority scores as a ranking factor, but a page that’s frequently linked to from elsewhere on your own site tends to perform better than one that’s buried with no links pointing to it. If certain landing pages convert well, make sure they’re part of your internal linking strategy rather than left isolated.
It improves usability through relevant anchor text
Good anchor text sends readers to genuinely related content — a previous article that already answers the question they’re forming, for instance — rather than a generic “click here.” That’s what makes internal linking useful for the reader, not just for search rankings.
It increases pageviews
Genuinely useful internal links keep visitors moving through your site rather than leaving after one page. If a particular page already gets strong traffic from search, linking it to other related pages on your site is one of the more reliable ways to pass some of that traffic on.
It supports indexing and crawling
Search engine crawlers follow internal links to find pages that might otherwise sit buried deep in a site’s structure. A strong internal linking structure means those pages get found — and indexed — faster.
Conclusion
Internal linking does double duty: it helps visitors find what they’re looking for, and it helps search engines understand and rank your site properly. It’s a small, ongoing habit rather than a one-time project, and it’s worth building into your regular SEO work rather than treating as an afterthought.