Internal linking is the practice of setting hyperlinks within a single domain to connect different pages of the same website. These links direct users and search engine crawlers specifically from one subpage to the next and play a central role in the structure, user experience and the Search engine optimization (SEO) of a website. In contrast to external links, which refer to other domains, internal links always remain within a website's own digital ecosystem and can be fully controlled by the website operator.
The strategic use of internal links is essential to ensure the crawlability and indexing of content by search engines such as Google. They help search engine bots to understand the hierarchy and relevance of individual pages and to create so-called „Link Juice“ (link power) within the website, which makes the Ranking of important pages. In addition, well-placed internal links improve user guidance, increase the length of stay and reduce the Bounce rate, as visitors can more easily access relevant and further content.
Best practices for effective internal linking
A well-thought-out strategy for internal linking is based on several proven methods that take both the user experience and SEO aspects into account:
- Thematic relevance: Links should always lead to thematically relevant pages. A link from a blog article about „Keyword research“ to a page that presents an „SEO tool“, for example, makes sense.
- Meaningful anchor texts: The visible, clickable text of a link (anchor text) should be concise and descriptive and clearly reflect the topic of the target page. The use of relevant keywords in the anchor text signals the content of the linked page to search engines. Avoid generic formulations such as „click here“ or „find out more“.
- Contextual linking: Place links naturally in the body text of content where they offer added value for the reader and appear logical.
- Distribution of Link Juice: Strong, authoritative pages should specifically link to less authoritative but important pages to boost their ranking. This can also include new content linked to from established pages to speed up their indexation.
- Avoidance of orphan pages: Every important page of a website should be accessible via at least one internal link in order to be discovered and indexed by search engines.
- Quality over quantity: The number of internal links per page should be reasonable. There is no fixed limit, but too many irrelevant links can dilute the SEO value and affect the user experience.
Internal linking as a ranking factor and structure provider
Internal links are a fundamental On-page SEO-factor. They significantly help search engines to understand the overall structure of a website and which content is related to each other and which has the highest priority. A logical and well thought-out internal linking structure helps search engines to crawl and index your content more efficiently, which has a direct impact on visibility in search results.
By establishing a clear hierarchy and directing link juice to „cornerstone content“ - i.e. the most important and comprehensive content on your website - operators can strengthen the authority of these pages and thus boost their ranking potential in the SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages). Maintaining and regularly updating internal links is therefore an ongoing task that has a lasting impact on the SEO success of a website.
