We often get asked ‘What are internal links’. You’ve probably heard that internal links are good for SEO. But what are internal links really and how do they actually help your website?
This blog will break down everything you need to know about ‘what are internal links’ and how they can help you to improve rankings, user experience and conversion rates.
To answer ‘what are internal links’ it’s quite simply internal links are a hyperlink that connects one page on your website to another page on your website. For example, if you have a link on your homepage that links to a blog post on your website, that’s an internal link.
They might seem like small details, but they play an important role in how both users and search engines navigate your website.
You may have also heard of external links. In contrast, these are hyperlinks which directs users from a page on your website to a page on another website. They aim to build trust and authority by linking to reputable sources.
In short, internal links keeps users on your website by redirecting them to different pages, while external links redirects users to other websites.
You can see that below we have internally linked to our Birmingham SEO page and our contact page.
Internal links not only make your website easier to use and navigate, but they also help boost your online rankings. Here’s how:
Google bots will follow links online to discover new content, crawl and index it. This means the better your internal linking is, the easier it is for Google to find and index your content, ready for people to discover online.
Additionally, a lack of internal links creates a risk of orphaned content. This is when a page has no internal links pointing to it meaning Google can’t find or index it.
Strong internal link building, with multiple links pointing to key pages, builds page authority. This lets search engines know that this page is valuable, helping it rank higher.
If somebody is reading a blog post on your website and they see a link to another relevant blog, they’ll likely click on. This means users will spend more time on your website, reducing the bounce rate and ultimately sends positive signals to search engines to help your website rank higher.
If users are on your website for a longer duration of time, this also increases the likelihood of conversions.
As we look at ‘what are internal links’ it is important to note that there are different types of internal links which serve different purposes across different contexts. These are:
These are the two main ones you’ll come across and most important for SEO.
Other types include:
So, now we know what are internal links are know that they are great for boosting SEO, next we will look at how you can effectively implement internal links on your website.
Here is a list of best practices for internal linking:
Anchor text refers to the clickable text in a hyperlink. You should try and describe the pages you’re linking to instead of just writing “click here”. This helps users and search engines better understand what the linked page is about.
Adding too many links in a paragraph can come across as forced, unnatural and difficult to read. You should aim to be strategic and add internal links where they fit and make sense.
Frequently linking to a page will send authority to it. This will tell search engines that this page matters and helps it rank higher.
You should frequently audit your links to make sure they’re up to date and working. This prevents confusion from users and search engines and keeps your website running smoothly.
You can audit your internal links on SemRush which will let you know where you have too many, where you have broken links and flag any orphaned pages.
In order to pass authority onto different pages on your website, you need to use normal “dofollow” links. Most internal links are “dofollow” by default, but it’s worth double checking this and making sure they haven’t been set as “nofollow” links by any plugins that you’re using.
In this article about ‘what are internal links’ we have learnt one main point which is that internal links are far from an SEO afterthought. They:
So next time you publish or update a page, you should ask yourself:
“Where else on my website could this link?”
“What pages should link to this one?”
These small intentional links can make a big difference to your website’s performance.
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Internal links connect one page on your website to another page on the same website. On the other hand, external links redirects users from your website to a page on a different website.
Both are important for SEO, but have different aims. Internal links aim to help users and search engines find and navigate your website, while boosting your online ranking. External links aim to built trust by linking to credible sources.
A common example of an internal link is a hyperlink on a website’s homepage which takes users to a blog post on the same website. For example, this could involve linking the phrase “read our SEO guide”
Yes! Although not directly. Internal links helps search engines crawl your website more effectively, pass authority to key pages and improves user experience. All of these factors send positive signals to Google which in return, boosts your ranking.
There isn’t a strict limit but if your content feels difficult to read or cluttered, it’s likely you have too many. You should prioritise quality over quantity and only dd links when they make sense and genuinely help readers.
Internal links make your website easier to navigate, help search engines understand which pages are important and encourage visitors to explore more of your content. They’re a simple but powerful way to improve SEO, engagement and conversions.
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