Internal linking is a system of links between pages on the same website. It distributes link equity, helps search engine crawlers find content, and passes relevance between pages. A sound internal linking strategy strengthens rankings and improves indexing. This guide covers the principles of building an internal link structure.
Why internal linking matters
Distributing PageRank
Link equity (PageRank and its equivalents) passes through links. External links bring link equity to a site; internal links distribute it across pages. Pages with more internal links receive more link equity and are more likely to rank.
Making crawling easier
Search engine crawlers follow links. Pages without internal links (orphan pages) may not be discovered or may be indexed with a delay. Internal linking provides a path to important sections.
Passing relevance
A link with the anchor text “image optimization” sends the page a signal about its topic. Internal links with relevant anchors strengthen the page's topical connection to search queries.
Improving UX
Users can find related content. Pages per session increase and the bounce rate decreases—this indirectly affects SEO.
Types of internal links
Navigation links
Menus, breadcrumbs, and footers. They are the same across all pages. They pass link equity, but their anchors are often generic (“Services,” “Contact”).
Contextual links
Links within the text. Their anchors are relevant to search queries. They are the most valuable for passing topical relevance.
Recommendation links
“Similar articles,” “Read also,” and “Related products” blocks. They complement contextual links.
Breadcrumbs
They show the hierarchy and provide navigational links. They are useful for users and crawlers.
Hierarchy and structure
The “pyramid” model
The homepage is at the top. Categories are the next level down. Subcategories and articles are below them. Link equity flows from the top down. Important pages should be closer to the homepage in terms of click depth.
Click depth
Critical pages should be no more than 3 clicks from the homepage. Greater depth means less link equity and worse indexing. Check the structure with the reChecker link analyzer.
Hub pages
Hub pages collect links to topical subpages and receive links from those pages in return. Example: an “SEO guide” links to 10 articles on subtopics, and each article links back to the guide. This creates a relevance cluster.
Anchor text strategy
Internal link anchors affect the relevance of the target page. Read more in the guide to anchor text optimization.
Principles:
- Variety — not just exact matches of the key phrase
- Relevance — the anchor describes the target page
- Naturalness — it reads as part of the text
Analyze internal link anchors with the reChecker link analysis tool.
Number of links per page
There is no strict limit. Too many links (> 100–150) can dilute the link equity of each one. Prioritize quality and relevance, not quantity.
Recommendations:
- Homepage: 50–150 links (catalog, popular sections)
- Category: 20–50 links
- Article: 3–10 internal links in the text + a “Similar” block
Technical aspects
Nofollow for internal links
Internal links are usually dofollow. Nofollow makes sense for utility pages (login, cart) that should not receive link equity or rank.
The noopener attribute
For links with target="_blank", add rel="noopener" (and, if necessary, noreferrer) for security reasons. This does not affect SEO.
Canonical and internal links
Internal links should point to the canonical URL. If a page is available at multiple URLs, all internal links should point to a single canonical URL.
Analysis tools
The reChecker link analyzer shows incoming and outgoing links, helps identify pages without links, and helps assess the structure.
The reChecker technical audit checks internal linking as part of an overall site audit.
Internal linking models by site type
Informational websites and blogs
Structure: homepage → categories/sections → articles. Articles are connected through “Similar articles” blocks, contextual links in the text, and topical hub pages. Each article should have 3–7 internal links to relevant content. Hub pages (comprehensive guides) attract traffic for broad queries and distribute it among subarticles.
Online stores
Structure: homepage → categories → subcategories → products. Categories link to related sections (for example, “Laptops” ↔ “Monitors”). Product pages link to the category, similar products, and related products. Filters and sorting create many URLs—canonical tags and internal links should point to the main category pages.
Corporate websites
Structure: homepage → sections (Services, About, Contact) → subpages. Services link to one another (“Development” ↔ “Support”). Case studies and blog articles link to relevant services. There are fewer pages, but each should be reachable within 2–3 clicks.
Automating internal linking
CMS rules
Set up automatic link insertion:
- When a key phrase is mentioned, link to the target page (watch out for over-optimization)
- “Similar articles” block based on tags or categories
- Breadcrumbs on all pages
- Footer links to key sections
Plugins and modules
Popular CMS platforms (WordPress, Bitrix, 1C-Bitrix) have plugins for automatic internal linking. Check anchor quality—automation often creates unnatural links.
Manual editing
Automation does not replace editorial work. Key pages and articles benefit from manually added contextual links with natural anchors.
Auditing existing internal links
Audit steps
- Export the structure — a list of all URLs with incoming and outgoing links
- Identify orphan pages — pages without incoming internal links
- Analyze click depth — the number of clicks from the homepage to each page
- Check anchors — distribution of anchor types and identification of over-optimization
- Assess hub pages — check whether there are pages that collect links by topic
Metrics to track
| Metric | Target value |
|---|---|
| Orphan pages | 0 for important content |
| Click depth for key pages | ≤ 3 |
| Internal links per article | 3–10 |
| Share of pages with contextual links | > 80% |
Common internal linking mistakes
Too many links to the homepage
The homepage receives link equity, but internal pages suffer. Distribute links to categories and key pages.
Ignoring new pages
A new article is published without internal links and becomes an orphan. Add links when publishing: from the menu, similar articles, and hub pages.
Identical anchors
Using “more,” “here,” and “read” for all links is a weak relevance signal. Vary the anchors.
Links to irrelevant pages
A “buy a laptop” link to a page about monitors confuses users and search engines. The anchor and target page should be relevant to each other.
Cyclic links without a purpose
Page A → B → C → A without context. Cycles are acceptable if each link adds value (for example, navigation between sections).
Planning internal linking
When launching a new site
Plan the structure from day one: menus, breadcrumbs, and templates for “Similar” blocks. Define hub pages for the main topics.
When adding content
Checklist for every new page: a link from the menu or category, 2–3 contextual links in the text, addition to the “Similar” block on relevant pages, and a backlink to the hub (if one exists).
When restructuring
When changing the URL structure, update all internal links. Redirects preserve access, but internal links should point to the new URLs—this speeds up index updates.
Internal linking strategy checklist
| Action | Status |
|---|---|
| Hierarchy established (homepage → categories → pages) | |
| Important pages are no more than 3 clicks deep | |
| No orphan pages (all pages have incoming links) | |
| Contextual links with relevant anchors | |
| Hub pages for key topics | |
| Anchor variety, without over-optimization | |
| Nofollow on utility pages | |
| Automation for scaling | |
| Regular internal linking audits |
CMS implementation examples
WordPress
Plugins such as Yoast SEO and Rank Math help with internal links. “Related posts” blocks can be added through plugins (Related Posts, YARPP). Breadcrumbs are available through Yoast, Rank Math, or separate plugins. For large-scale internal linking, consider custom solutions or automatic internal linking plugins (watch out for anchor quality).
1C-Bitrix
Use the “Navigation chain” component for breadcrumbs. “Similar products” / “Similar articles” blocks are available as standard components. Hub pages and contextual internal linking require custom development or modules.
Headless CMS and static site generators
Links are set in the content (Markdown, MDX) or through templates. This provides full control but requires more manual work. Automation can be handled with build scripts.
Internal linking performance metrics
Pages per session
An increase in average pages per session after improving internal linking is a sign that users are finding related content. Compare before and after the changes.
Pages in the index
The number of indexed pages increases after orphan pages are addressed and crawling improves. Search Console — the “Coverage” report.
Rankings for queries
Pages that receive relevant internal links may improve their rankings. Track key pages for 2–4 weeks after making changes.
Related materials
For anchor text optimization, see the anchor text guide. For the difference between nofollow and dofollow, see the nofollow vs dofollow article. Analyze link structure with the link analysis tool and the technical audit on reChecker.