How internal links pass authority
For anyone with a site of more than a few pages and no plan for how they link together. After reading, you can point authority at the pages that make you money.
Internal links are links from one page on your site to another. They help Google find pages, show which pages matter most, and share the authority your site earns from outside links. Pages linked from the homepage and main menu are crawled more often and usually rank more easily. Say a fitness studio's 'reformer Pilates' page is linked only from one old blog post: adding links from the homepage, class schedule and three related posts tells Google it is a key page.
Links tell Google which pages matter
Every link is a signal. When many pages on your site link to one page, Google reads that page as important. Authority from outside links usually lands on your homepage or popular posts, and internal links carry some of it on to deeper pages.
A page with no internal links pointing to it is called an orphan page. Google may still find it through the sitemap, but it gets little authority and may be crawled rarely. Orphans are common after site redesigns, seasonal campaigns and old blog posts.
Anchor text describes the page you link to
Anchor text is the clickable text of a link, and it tells Google what the linked page is about. 'Reformer Pilates classes' tells Google far more than 'click here' or 'learn more'.
Write anchors that read naturally in the sentence and describe the destination. Vary them a little across pages, as people naturally would. You do not need to repeat the exact keyword every time, and forcing it into awkward sentences makes pages worse for readers.
The best place for a link is inside the body text, next to the words that explain why the reader should click. A blog post about core strength that mentions reformer classes is the natural place for a link to the reformer page. Related-product and related-post blocks help too, but they work best alongside links written by hand.
Use a hub and spoke structure
The clearest structure is a hub and spoke model. A hub page covers a broad topic, such as 'Pilates classes', and links to detailed spoke pages, such as reformer, mat and prenatal Pilates. Each spoke links back to the hub and to its closest siblings. Google sees a tidy, complete topic, and visitors can move around it easily.
Keep important pages within about three clicks of the homepage. Breadcrumbs, the small trail of links near the top of a page such as 'Home > Classes > Reformer', help both visitors and search engines understand where a page sits. Most Shopify and WordPress themes can show them.
Find and fix weak spots in your links
Most sites can improve internal linking in an afternoon. The aim is to make sure revenue pages get the most links, and that no link leads to a dead end.
- 01
Open the Links report in Search Console and look at 'Top linked pages' under internal links.
- 02
Check whether your money pages are near the top. If they are not, they need more links.
- 03
Run a crawl with a site crawler; Screaming Frog is free for up to 500 URLs.
- 04
Fix broken internal links and update links that point to redirected pages.
- 05
Add two or three contextual links to each key page from related pages.
Make linking part of publishing
Internal linking works best as a habit, not a yearly project. Each time you publish a page, link to it from at least two related pages that already get traffic, and link from it to the main service, product or collection it supports. When you retire a page, redirect it and update the links that pointed to it.
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Questions people ask
How many internal links should a page have?
There is no fixed number. Link wherever it genuinely helps the reader, and make sure key pages receive more links than minor ones.
Do footer and menu links count?
Yes, but links inside the main content, surrounded by relevant text, usually carry more meaning. Use both.
Should I add nofollow to internal links?
No. Nofollow tells Google not to pass credit through a link. On your own site you want credit to flow, so leave internal links as normal links.