Site structure
Internal linking: what it is and how to do it.
What internal links are, how crawlers read them, and how to build links that help both search engines and readers find your pages.
Short answer
What is internal linking?
Internal linking means linking from one page on your site to another. Google uses links to find new pages and judge relevance. Use crawlable anchor links with descriptive text, and make sure every page you care about has at least one.
In brief
Five things to know first.
Links are how Google finds pages
Google says it uses links as a signal of relevancy and to find new pages to crawl.
The link must be crawlable
Google can generally only follow an anchor element with an href attribute.
Anchor text carries meaning
Good anchor text is descriptive, reasonably concise and relevant to both pages.
No page left alone
Every page you care about should have a link from at least one other page on your site.
Links also guide readers
A clear link takes a visitor straight to the next useful page on your site.
Definition
What internal links are, in plain words.
An internal link points from one page on your website to another page on the same website. A menu item, a button and a link inside a paragraph all count.
An external link points to a different site. This guide covers internal links, the ones you fully control.
| Internal link | External link | |
|---|---|---|
| Points to | Another page on your own site | A page on a different site |
| Who controls it | You, on every page | The other site owner |
| Main job | Guide crawlers and readers through your site | Point readers to outside sources |
Why it matters
Why internal links matter to your business now.
Yes, in two direct ways. Google says it uses links as a signal when judging the relevancy of pages, and to find new pages to crawl.
For a business, it affects whether your service and product pages get found. Every new page needs a link from an existing page, or crawlers may not reach it.
Discovery
Links are how crawlers reach new pages and move through your site.
Relevance
The words in a link tell Google what the linked page is about.
Navigation
Clear links help visitors find the next page they need.
Coverage
A link from another page gives each important page a path to be found.
The rule
Build internal links Google can crawl.
Google says it can generally only crawl a link that is an anchor element with an href attribute. Most links in other formats are not parsed or extracted.
If JavaScript inserts your links, check the rendered HTML with the URL Inspection tool to confirm they are present.
| Crawlable | Risky | |
|---|---|---|
| Link format | An anchor element with an href attribute | Links in other formats Google may not parse |
| Link text | Words that describe the target page | An empty link with no text |
| Added by script | Present in the rendered HTML | Not checked in URL Inspection |
Want to know which pages Google can't reach?
LLMReach, an SEO and GEO agency, starts with a free AI audit reviewed live with you. We check whether your important pages can be found and read.
Anchor text
Internal links example: good and bad.
Google describes good anchor text as descriptive, reasonably concise, and relevant to the page it is on and the page it links to.
Generic text like “click here” and empty links give Google little to work with. Say what the reader will find.
| Pattern | Example | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Descriptive | a guide to on-page SEO | Good |
| Too generic | click here to learn more | Weak |
| Empty text | a link with no words | Bad |
| Title fallback | title attribute on an empty link | Fallback only |
Step by step
An internal linking strategy in five steps.
Here is how to link your pages without a special tool. The goal is a clear internal link structure that you can maintain.
List the pages that matter
Choose the service, product and guide pages you want found. Every one needs at least one link in.Find pages with no links in
Check which important pages no other page links to. These are the first gaps to close.Add links where they help the reader
Link from related pages, inside the text, where the reader would want the next step.Write descriptive anchor text
Use short, specific words that match the target page. Avoid “click here” and empty links.Check that Google can crawl them
Confirm each link is an anchor with an href. Test script-added links in URL Inspection.
Structure
Shape your internal link structure.
Structure means deciding which pages link to which. Group related pages so a reader and a crawler can move between them in a few clicks.
Main pages link down
A broad guide links to the narrower pages that go deeper.
Related pages link across
Pages on neighboring topics point to each other where it helps the reader.
Narrow pages link back up
A detailed page links to its broader guide for context.
Keep it natural
Add links where they serve the reader, not to fill a quota.
Want a clear plan for your site?
The first step needs only your website URL and the names of two or three competitors. You leave with a prioritized 90-day roadmap.
Measuring
How to measure the result.
Check each linked page in Search Console for clicks and positions before and after your changes. Check organic sessions to those pages in GA4.
Then list any important page that still has no link in, and test script-added links in URL Inspection.
Search Console
Clicks and positions for the pages you linked to.
GA4
Organic sessions to those pages, before and after.
URL Inspection
Confirms script-added links are in the rendered HTML.
AI citations
LLMReach citation tracking shows which URLs are cited in AI answers, against a baseline.
Mistakes
Common mistakes to avoid.
Avoid links crawlers cannot parse and links that say nothing. Also avoid nofollow or robots.txt rules where you do not need them.
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
| Links that are not anchors with href | Use a standard anchor element |
| Empty or generic anchor text | Write descriptive, relevant text |
| Important pages with no inbound link | Link to each from another page |
| Nofollow on every link | Use it only for sources you do not trust |
| Blocking a page you want found | Use robots.txt only to stop fetching |
FAQ
Links and anchors: common questions.
What is an internal link in SEO?
An internal link is a link from one page on your website to another page on the same site. A menu item, a button or a link inside a paragraph all count. Google uses links to find new pages and judge how relevant they are.
How to do internal linking, step by step?
Start by listing your key pages and checking each has a link from at least one other page. Add links where they help the reader, write descriptive anchor text, and confirm Google can crawl them as anchor elements with an href attribute.
Does internal linking help SEO?
Internal links help SEO because Google uses links as a signal of relevancy and to find new pages to crawl. Pages with no links pointing to them are harder to reach, so linking is part of making a site crawlable.
What makes good anchor text for an internal link?
Good anchor text is descriptive, reasonably concise and relevant to the page it is on and the page it links to. Google lists generic text like “click here” and empty links as weak, because they say nothing about the target.
Should I use nofollow on internal links?
Nofollow on internal links is rarely needed. Google says to use nofollow only when you do not trust the source, not for every link. Regular links you want Google to follow need no rel attribute at all.
How to improve internal linking on an existing site?
Find important pages that no other page links to and add links from related pages. Replace generic or empty anchor text with descriptive words, and check script-added links in the rendered HTML using the URL Inspection tool.
How is interlinking different from backlinks?
Interlinking connects pages within your own site, so you control every link. Backlinks come from other websites. Google also warns that links created mainly to manipulate rankings count as link spam, which is a separate issue.
How do I measure the effect of new links?
Compare clicks and positions in Search Console, and organic sessions in GA4, for the linked pages before and after your changes. Also check that every important page now has a link pointing to it.
Free AI Audit
Find out which pages Google and AI can't reach.
You leave knowing where the gap is, what is causing it, and which changes would matter first, whether we work together or not.
What to expect
Audit
Before the call, we run your buyers' questions through ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Gemini.
Map
On the call, we show you where competitors are cited and you are not, and what's causing it.
Decide
An honest read on whether the Citation Stack fits. If it doesn't, you'll hear it on the call.
Don't see a time that works? Email Karim directly: contact@llmreach.ai