The 7 Best Practices for Internal Linking

Updated on 06/08/2024

If you’re not internally linking throughout your website, you’re missing out on a powerful SEO strategy to not only enhance user experience but also optimise your website for search engines. 

Internal linking, when done properly, is a core aspect of website organisation that guides readers to relevant content and helps search engines understand the structure and hierarchy of your pages, which can have a positive impact on overall rankings.

But before we take a look at the best practices for effective internal linking, it’s important you understand exactly what it is and why internal links are so important for SEO. 

What Is Internal Linking in SEO?

In short – internal linking is the process of creating hyperlinks that connect one page on a website to another page within that same website. 

These differ to external links, which are links from one of your pages to somebody else’s website (I included one just then). If someone links to your site, then you have a backlink from them. In the same instance, if you link out to another website, they have a backlink from you. These are called external links as they are links to a completely different website. 

Internal links play a key role in helping search engines understand the structure and hierarchy of a website, and they also improve user experience by enhancing user navigation.

But for internal links to be effective, they must be implemented and optimised correctly. And lucky for you we’ve rounded up the best practices for internal linking effectively. 

The 7 Best Practices for Internal Linking

Here are the 7 best practices for internal linking  on your website:

1. Use Keyword Rich Anchor Text

It’s important that every internal link has keyword-rich anchor text to describe that link. Anchor text refers to the clickable text that is used to link to other landing pages, and it plays an important role when it comes to SEO as it provides context to Google about what that link is linking to, and in turn, improves its rankings on search engines. 

Always avoid using generic terms as anchor text, for example ‘click here’ or ‘read more’, and instead use keywords that accurately represent the linked content.

The Different Types of Anchor Text

• Exact match anchor text –  Exact match anchor text uses the exact keyword or phrase that the linked page is targeting. E.g. “Purchase Pet Supplies at Costco”
• Partial match anchor text – This type includes a variation of the keyword the linked-to page targets i.e. the keyword is partially or fully included in the linked text, along with some other words for context. E.g. “Shop the best deal on pet food and other supplies”
• Branded anchor text – This is when a brand name is used as the anchor text, without any additional words. This works well if you’re referencing a source or linking directly to a website. E.g. “Shop at Costco for fantastic deals on your favourite pet products.”
• Generic anchor text – This type of anchor text refers to a type of clickable text that is typically bland and non descriptive of the link, often using common phrases such as “click here” or “learn more.”. However, using descriptive and keyword-rich anchor text is preferred for better SEO and user experience, so avoid using generic terms as much as possible. 

Learn more about anchor text in the video below from Mediavine:

2. Monitor & Fix Any Broken Links

Monitoring and fixing any new broken links is crucial when it comes to SEO. A broken link is basically a link that points to a page that does not exist. These links typically break when the page was deleted or moved without a redirection in place, and will return as a 404 (not found) or 410 (gone) status code. 

Broken links are pretty common for websites, especially those with lots of blog posts who have linked to other product or service pages.

However, having too many broken links on a website naturally leads to a poor user experience for your visitors, as they’ll be faced with an ugly and unhelpful 404 or 410 status code. Search engines may also view lots of broken links as a sign of neglect or poor maintenance of a website, which can have a negative impact on your website’s perceived relevance and quality, and in turn, negatively impact rankings.

A great way to check for any broken links on your website is to use Semrush’s site health tool, which will flag up any broken internal (and external) links. You can also manually check each link in your website, but this might take up much more of your time. 

3. Consider Mobile Optimisation

Another important thing to think about is mobile optimisation, which is the process of optimising a website to provide optimal user experience, ensuring that it displays correctly and performs well on all mobile devices. 

These include smartphones, tablets and iPads. As these devices have significantly smaller screens than a typical computer, mobile optimisation ensures that the user can visit a website with no visual or functional issues. 

Learn more about mobile optimisation and why it’s important to a business here. 

4. Only Link to Relevant Content

Internal links should only point to relevant content that adds value to the user. Linking to related blog posts, products, or any other landing pages helps users discover more about the topic they are interested in, and, of course, increase the chance of conversions.

Remember, users should find the linked pages valuable, informative, and in line with their expectations based on the anchor text. Do not use misleading anchor text or links that lead to content unrelated to the user’s expectations, as this can have a huge impact on user’s trust. 

5. Open Links in the Same Tab

For internal links, it’s generally best to have them open in the same tab when clicked on.

This is because internal links in the same tab keeps the user on your site and maintains the continuity of their browsing experience. Users want a consistent experience when navigating within a site, and opening internal links in the same tab aligns with this, reducing confusion and potential frustration.

External links, on the other hand, should open in a new tab to ensure they do not lose their place on your website. This encourages users to continue exploring your site after viewing the external content. Also, by keeping your website open in one tab, users are more likely to continue engaging with your content after checking out the external resource, which an increase the time spent on your site and improve engagement metrics.

6.  Avoid Over-Optimising

You also want to make sure that you’re not over-optimising your internal links, as doing so, like over-optimising any SEO strategy, can have negative consequences on both SEO and user experience.

Over-optimising internal links can be in the form of:

• Using the exact target keyword as anchor text for every internal link –  Natural linking includes a variety of anchor text, and overusing exact matches might result in search engines penalising you.
• Excessively linking to the same page – For example, having 10 of the same internal links linking to the same product page. This can create an unnatural link profile.
• Unreadable links – Hiding internal links by making them the same colour as the background, using tiny font sizes, or placing them in locations where users are unlikely to see them can also be considered over-optimisation. Search engines will still pick this up.
• Keyword stuffing – Keyword stuffing can also be flagged when it comes to internal link anchor text. This is not only over-optimisation but also a violation of search engine guidelines.

7. Update Old Content with New Links

Last but not least, it’s important to update old content with new links for several reasons, all of which enhance both user experience and SEO performance.

Firstly, adding new links to old content ensures that the information remains up-to-date and useful, i.e. users reading older articles can easily find the latest and most relevant resources on your site.

Regularly updating internal links also helps search engines discover and index new content more efficiently. It signals to search engines that your site is active and continuously updated, which can positively influence rankings. Learn more about the benefits of updating old content, here.

And there we have it! We hope this helps when it comes to implementing effective internal links into your website. That being said, if you feel like you need some additional help, look no further.

At Lumen SEO, we can take care of your whole SEO strategy, including keyword research, link building and technical SEO. Learn more about what an SEO agency, like ours, does here.

If you like the sound of working with us, we also offer free, no obligation SEO audits on business websites. To claim yours, simply pop an email to aled@lumenseo.co.uk with your website URL and we will send it over to you the very same day.

Written by Kate, for Lumen SEO.