# Internal linking Category: [On-Page & Content](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/category/on-page-content/) › [Internal linking, structure & UX](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/category/on-page-content/internal-linking-structure-ux/) · Also known as: internal links **Internal linking** is the set of links that point from one page of a website to another page on the same website. It includes the main navigation, breadcrumbs, links in body text, footer links, and modules such as "related articles" or "similar products." For search engines, internal links are a primary way to discover pages and understand how they relate to each other. ## Why does internal linking matter for SEO? Google finds many URLs by following links from pages it already knows. A page without internal links can only be found through a sitemap or links from other sites. Google's link guidelines therefore say that every page you care about should have a link from at least one other page on your site. The anchor text, the visible text of a link, gives users and Google context about the target page. Google recommends anchor text that is descriptive and reasonably concise and advises against generic text such as "click here" or "read more." When an image is the link, Google uses the image's `alt` attribute as anchor text. Internal links also express structure. Pages that are linked from the navigation and from many related pages are easy to reach. Pages that can only be reached after many clicks are harder for users to find and tend to be discovered later by crawlers. Unlike external links, internal linking is entirely under the site owner's control. ## Types of internal links - **Navigational links:** main menu, footer, breadcrumbs. They repeat across many pages and define the site hierarchy. - **Contextual links:** links inside the body text that point to a related page at the moment it becomes relevant. - **Module links:** automatically generated lists such as related posts, bestsellers, or "customers also viewed." ## Example A buying guide for running shoes links to a category page in the text: ```html

For long runs on pavement, look at cushioned running shoes with a higher heel-to-toe drop.

``` The anchor text describes the target, and the link is a standard `` element with an `href` attribute. Google can reliably extract only links of this kind. A `` with a click handler or an `` without `href` is not a crawlable link. Links inserted with JavaScript work as long as they use this markup. ## Common mistakes - **Orphan pages:** pages that no internal page links to, such as old landing pages or products missing from the category navigation. - **Links to redirects or error pages:** after a relaunch, menus and text links often still point to old URLs. - **Uncrawlable links:** navigation that only appears after a user interaction or uses elements without `href`. - **The same anchor text for different targets:** ten links labeled "more" give none of their targets any context. ## FAQ **What are the two main types of internal links?** Navigational links, which appear site-wide in menus and footers, and contextual links within the content. **Does internal linking help SEO?** It helps Google discover pages and understand their context through anchor text. Google gives no fixed number of internal links per page. What matters is whether users and crawlers can reach the related pages. **How can I find the internal links on my website?** A crawl of the site lists every internal link, broken links, redirects, orphan pages, and the click depth of each URL. The Links report in Search Console shows which pages are linked most often internally, limited to a sample of 1,000 rows. ## At a glance - **Type:** links between pages of the same website - **Affects:** page discovery during crawling, context through anchor text - **Crawlable for Google:** element with an href attribute - **Google's advice:** link every page you care about from at least one other page - **Visible?:** Search Console Links report (a sample) - **Docs:** [Google: Link best practices](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/links-crawlable) Last checked: October 8, 2026 *Diagram: Site architecture and click depth.* Each level sits one click further from the home page. Google finds pages mainly through links and recommends that every page you care about gets a link from at least one other page on the site. The breadcrumb shows the page’s position in the hierarchy. *Diagram: How links pass on weight (simplified).* Simplified PageRank model: a page passes on its value in equal parts through its outgoing links, and many or strong incoming links lead to a high value. Circle sizes are illustrative, calculated with the 1998 formula. Google uses PageRank in an evolved form; its current weighting is not public. ## Related terms - [Anchor text](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/anchor-text/index.md) - [Crawling](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/crawling/index.md) - [Broken link](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/broken-link/index.md) - [Redirect chain](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/redirect-chain/index.md) - [Breadcrumb navigation](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/breadcrumb-navigation/index.md) - [Link equity (link juice)](https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/link-equity/index.md) ## More on the searchVIU blog - [JavaScript Crawling Study: Rendered vs. Non-Rendered HTML](https://www.searchviu.com/en/javascript-crawling-study-rendered-html-vs-original-source-code/) ## Sources - [SEO link best practices for Google – Google Search Central (last updated 2025-12-10)](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/links-crawlable) - [In-depth guide to how Google Search works – Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/how-search-works) - [Links report – Search Console Help](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9049606?hl=en) --- Last updated: October 8, 2026 URL: https://seo-geo-glossary.com/en/glossary/internal-linking/