internal linking
Internal linking is the practice of linking pages within the same website to help users navigate and distribute link equity.
Internal linking is the practice of creating hyperlinks between pages on the same website. Every website uses internal links for navigation, but a deliberate internal linking strategy goes beyond menus and footers to connect related content in meaningful ways.
Why internal linking matters
Internal links serve three purposes:
- Navigation - They help users find related content and move through your site
- Link equity distribution - They pass ranking authority from one page to another, helping important pages rank higher
- Crawl discovery - Search engine crawlers follow internal links to find and index new pages
Pages with many internal links pointing to them receive more link equity and are more likely to rank well. Pages with few or no internal links (orphan pages) may never be discovered by search engines.
Best practices
- Link from high-authority pages to pages you want to rank
- Use descriptive anchor text that tells users and search engines what the linked page is about
- Add contextual links within body content, not just in navigation menus
- Ensure every important page is reachable within three clicks from the homepage
- Avoid excessive links on a single page, which dilute the value of each link
- Fix broken internal links that waste link equity
How crawler.sh helps
Run crawler crawl to map every internal link on your site. The crawl records which page discovered each URL and the depth at which it was found, giving you a picture of your site’s link structure. Use crawler seo to find broken links that disrupt your internal linking and crawler info to review overall site structure.
