How many internal links should a page have?

There is no fixed number, but a good guideline is three to ten contextual internal links per 1,000 words of content. Every page should link to at least two or three other relevant pages, and every important page should be linked to from multiple other pages. The key is relevance - every internal link should make sense in context and provide value to the reader.

Do internal links help SEO?

Yes, significantly. Internal links help search engines discover and crawl your pages, understand site structure and content relationships, and distribute page authority throughout your site. Pages with more internal links pointing to them tend to rank higher because search engines interpret the link volume as a signal of importance within your site.

What is the difference between internal links and backlinks?

Internal links connect pages within the same website. Backlinks are links from external websites pointing to your site. Both pass authority and help SEO, but they work differently. Internal links are fully within your control and help with site structure and crawling. Backlinks are earned from other sites and are a stronger trust signal because they represent external endorsement.

What Is Internal Linking for SEO?

Internal linking is the practice of connecting pages within the same website using hyperlinks. When one page on your site links to another page on your site, that is an internal link. It is one of the most powerful and underutilized SEO techniques because it is entirely within your control - unlike backlinks, which require other websites to link to you. According to Ahrefs' analysis of ranking factors, the number of internal links pointing to a page is one of the strongest correlations with higher Google rankings, second only to the number of referring domains.

Why Does Internal Linking Matter for SEO?

Internal links serve three critical functions for search engine optimization:

Crawling and Indexing

Search engine crawlers discover new pages by following links. If a page on your site has no internal links pointing to it, crawlers may never find it - making it essentially invisible to search engines. This is particularly important for sites with large amounts of content, where crawl budget is limited and not every page gets crawled on every visit.

Authority Distribution

When one page receives a backlink from an external site, that authority (often called "link equity" or "PageRank") flows through internal links to other pages on your site. Strategic internal linking distributes this authority to your most important pages. A strong blog post that earns external links can boost the rankings of your product pages through well-placed internal links.

Content Relationships

Internal links tell search engines which pages are related to each other. When multiple pages about social media marketing all link to your "social media automation" page, Google understands that page is a central resource on that topic. This is the foundation of topical authority - internal linking creates the topic clusters that demonstrate expertise to search engines.

How Do You Build an Internal Linking Strategy?

Identify Your Pillar Pages

Start by identifying the most important pages on your site - the ones you want to rank highest. These are your pillar pages. For Conbersa, our pillar pages cover topics like social media distribution, multi-account management, and AI content operations. Every related page should link to the relevant pillar page.

Link Contextually

The most valuable internal links appear naturally within the body content, not in sidebars or footers. When you mention a related topic in a blog post, link to the page that covers that topic in depth. This is what we do across our learn pages - every mention of a concept like engagement rate or organic reach links to the dedicated page.

Use Descriptive Anchor Text

The clickable text of the link (anchor text) should describe what the linked page is about. "Learn about internal linking strategies" is far better than "click here" or "read more." Search engines use anchor text to understand the topic of the linked page.

Link New Pages to Existing Content

Every new page you publish should include three to five internal links to relevant existing pages. Equally important: go back and add links from existing pages to the new page. This two-way linking ensures new content inherits authority from established pages and gets discovered by crawlers quickly.

What Are Common Internal Linking Mistakes?

Orphan Pages

An orphan page has no internal links pointing to it. It might be indexed if submitted via sitemap, but it receives no authority from the rest of the site and is harder for crawlers to discover. Regularly audit your site for orphan pages.

Over-Optimized Anchor Text

Using the exact same keyword-rich anchor text for every link to a page looks manipulative. Vary your anchor text naturally. Link to your backlink page as "backlinks," "earning links from other sites," or "external link building" in different contexts.

Linking to Irrelevant Pages

Every internal link should make contextual sense to the reader. Linking a paragraph about Facebook Groups to a page about TikTok editing tools creates a poor user experience and sends confusing signals to search engines.

Neglecting Deep Pages

Most sites over-link to their homepage and top-level pages while neglecting deeper content. Use internal links to drive authority to pages that need ranking boosts - especially long-tail content targeting specific keywords.

How Does Internal Linking Support AI Search?

Internal linking helps AI search engines understand your site's topic structure. When AI models crawl your content and see consistent internal linking patterns around a topic, they are more likely to cite your content as an authoritative source on that subject. This is why building a strong internal link strategy supports both traditional SEO and generative engine optimization.