Internal Linking

Internal linking is the use of links from one page to another URL on the same website. These links can appear in primary navigation, breadcrumbs, related-content modules, footers, or the body copy where another page helps the visitor continue a task or understand the topic. Crawlable internal links help search engines discover pages and understand site relationships, while their destinations and anchor text set expectations for people using the site.

Why it matters: Build links around real journeys and content relationships rather than a fixed link quota. Every indexable page the organisation cares about should be reachable through at least one crawlable link from another page, but there is no universal two- or three-link threshold that predicts performance. Use standard `<a href>` links to direct visitors to the preferred, working destination; choose concise anchor text that describes what they will find; and add contextual links only where the destination provides a useful next step or supporting detail. Audit orphan pages, broken links, redirect chains, links to non-canonical or non-indexable URLs, repeated generic labels, and navigation that exists only through unsupported script behaviour. Review clicks, user paths, crawl evidence, and index status after changes. Avoid stuffing every keyword with a link or adding large blocks of low-value links solely to influence rankings.