Most business blogs grow one post at a time. After a year or two there can be dozens of articles sitting side by side with no clear path between them. Internal links fix that. They are the links from one page on your site to another page on the same site.
Good internal links help readers find the next useful thing to read. They also help search engines work out what each page is about and how your pages relate. The words you use for each link matter as much as the link itself. This guide covers how to plan links and write anchor text that reads naturally.
What internal links actually do
An internal link is a normal web link that points to another page on your own domain. Google’s link best practices say every page you want indexed should be linked from at least one other page on your site. A post with no links pointing to it is harder for crawlers to find. It is also easy for readers to miss.
Links also show structure. When several posts link to one detailed guide, readers can see that guide is the main page on the subject. Google suggests linking to related pages in context so readers and Google understand how your site fits together. If some of these terms are new, our plain guide to common SEO terms explains the basics.
Use links Google can follow
Not every clickable item on a page is a link that search engines can follow. Google says it generally follows only <a> elements with an href attribute. Links built from other tags or triggered only by script events are often missed. This mainly matters with custom themes, page builders and heavily scripted sites.
The href also needs to resolve to a real web address. Google does not recommend javascript: pseudo URLs in place of a proper address. Links added by JavaScript still count as long as they use the same standard markup. You can check how Google sees a page with the URL Inspection tool in Search Console.
What good anchor text looks like
Anchor text is the visible, clickable words of a link. Google describes good anchor text as descriptive, reasonably concise and relevant to both pages. It tells the reader what they will get before they click. It gives search engines the same hint.
Google’s own advice includes a simple test. Read the anchor text on its own, without the sentence around it. If it doesn’t tell you where the link goes, make it more specific. “Garden edging ideas” passes that test, while “this article” does not.
Phrases to avoid
Generic phrases give no clue about the destination. Google lists “click here”, “read more”, “website” and “article” as examples to avoid. These words appear on countless sites and say nothing about your page. Swap them for the topic of the page you are linking to.
Don’t overdo keywords
There is a catch on the other side. Google warns against stuffing keywords into anchor text and says keyword stuffing breaches its spam policies. If a keyword feels forced in a sentence, it probably is. Use fewer keywords and write for the person reading. Overly long anchor text is also discouraged, so a short phrase usually works best.
Planning links across your blog
The easiest way to start is with a simple list of your posts and their main topics. Group posts that cover related subjects. Pick the strongest, most detailed post in each group as the main page. Then link the smaller posts to it, and link it back to them where it helps the reader.
This kind of planning also supports the wider work covered in our tactics for ranking your blog posts. Linked groups of posts make it easier for a visitor to stay on your site and keep reading. They also give older posts a fresh path to be found. A post that has been sitting quietly for months can be discovered again once a related post links to it.
A quick checklist for each new post
Before you publish, run through a few checks. They take a couple of minutes and soon become habit. Most can be done right inside your blogging platform’s editor.
- Link to at least one older post that covers a related topic.
- Go back to one or two older posts and link them to the new one.
- Read each anchor on its own and make sure it names the topic.
- Give each link some surrounding context instead of a bare row of links.
- Check that every link opens the right page and none are broken.
How many internal links should a post have?
People often ask for a magic number. Google says there is no ideal number of links on a page. Its guidance adds that if a page seems to have too many links, it probably does. A sensible approach is to add a link wherever it genuinely helps the reader take the next step.
Google also suggests spacing links out. Placing several links right next to each other makes them hard for readers to tell apart. Spread links through the body of the post, each inside a sentence that explains it. This reads better and gives each link more context.
Keeping links healthy over time
Internal links need some care as a site grows. Posts get renamed, merged or removed, and old links can end up pointing at pages that no longer exist. Broken links frustrate readers and waste a crawler’s time. Checking them is one reason regular website updates matter for your online presence.
When you update an older post, review its links at the same time. Swap out links to outdated posts for newer ones on the same topic. Add links to anything relevant you have published since. This keeps your archive connected instead of leaving useful posts stranded.
Internal links and external links work together
Internal links are only part of the picture. Links from other websites to yours are a separate subject, often called backlinks. Our guide to simple backlinking tactics covers that side. Internal linking is the part you fully control, which makes it a good place to start.
Linking out to other sites has value too. Google notes that linking to other sites can build trust, such as when you cite a source. Use the same anchor text rules for these links. Google also describes nofollow, sponsored and ugc attributes for certain outbound links. These cover links you don’t trust, links you were paid to place and links inside user comments or forum posts.
Frequently asked questions
Do internal links help with SEO?
Internal links help Google discover pages and understand how they relate. Google’s guidance says every page you want indexed should be linked from at least one other page on your site. They also help readers find related content.
What is the best anchor text for an internal link?
Use short, descriptive words that name the topic of the linked page. Google suggests reading the anchor on its own to see if it still makes sense. Avoid generic words like “click here” and avoid stuffing in keywords.
How do I check whether Google can follow my links?
Use standard <a> links with a proper href. The URL Inspection tool in Google Search Console shows whether links appear in the rendered page. Links added through a standard post editor are normally plain HTML links.
