What is internal linking
Internal linking is the network of links between different pages of your website (from navigation, content, footer, breadcrumbs). It makes the site coherent and understandable for both users and bots.
Why it matters
- Distributes link equity (PageRank) from strong pages to weaker ones.
- Helps crawling — bots discover new pages through existing links.
- Improves UX — users easily navigate to related content.
- Provides context to search engines — internal anchor texts indicate page topics.
Best practices
- Create pillar pages (hubs) for broad topics.
- Add contextual links from article text to related materials.
- Use informative anchors (not 'here' or 'page').
- Implement breadcrumbs and navigation menus.
Excessive linking
An excessive number of internal links (hundreds of identical anchors from one page) can be considered spam. Internal links should be natural and useful.
Google recommends using links that truly help the user. Internal links should not be intrusive or created solely for weight manipulation.
FAQ
How many internal links should a page have?
There is no strict limit, but typical values range from 5 to 100. The main requirement is that links are contextually relevant and proportional to content volume.
Does nofollow affect internal links?
There is usually no reason to use nofollow internally — it hinders link equity and crawling. Use nofollow for external links (ads, affiliate).
How often should I review internal linking?
After adding major new sections, and at least every six months to fix broken links and optimize anchor texts.