Internal Linking Best Practices (2026)

Internal linking isn't complicated. But it's easy to do poorly, or not do at all.

These best practices reflect what actually works in 2026, based on Google's guidance, SEO research, and real-world testing. Follow them, and your internal linking will help both users and rankings.

The 12 Internal Linking Best Practices

1. Link From High-Authority Pages to Priority Pages

Some pages on your site have accumulated authority through backlinks. Others need help ranking.

Strategic internal linking connects them.

How to implement:

Identify your top 10-20 pages by backlinks (use Ahrefs, Moz, or similar)
Identify pages you want to rank better (money pages, new content)
Find natural opportunities to link from authority pages to priority pages
Add contextually relevant links

This "authority transfer" is one of internal linking's most powerful effects.

2. Use Descriptive Anchor Text

Anchor text (the clickable words in a link) tells readers and Google what to expect.

Good examples:

"our complete marathon training guide"
"learn more about anchor text optimization"
"content clusters help build topical authority"

Bad examples:

"click here for more"
"read this article"
"check it out →"

Descriptive anchors help users decide whether to click and help Google understand page relationships.

3. Keep Anchor Text Natural and Varied

While descriptive anchors are good, repeating identical anchor text looks manipulative.

If every link to your "running shoes" page uses "best running shoes" as anchor text, Google notices. It looks like you're trying to manipulate rankings for that phrase.

Vary your anchors:

Exact match: "running shoes"
Partial match: "shoes for running"
Related phrase: "footwear for marathons"
Natural phrase: "the right pair"
Branded: "our shoe guide"

Mix them up. Write naturally. The goal is helping readers, not gaming algorithms.

4. Link Contextually, Not Just Navigationally

Two types of internal links exist:

Navigational: Menu, sidebar, footer (appears on every page)
Contextual: Within content, specific to that page

Contextual links carry more weight. They're editorial choices. You deliberately linked because the content is relevant.

Navigational links are expected infrastructure. They help users navigate but don't signal specific content relationships.

Best practice: Every important page should have multiple contextual links from relevant content, not just navigational links.

5. Eliminate Orphan Pages

Orphan pages have zero internal links pointing to them. Google struggles to find them. They rarely rank.

How to find orphan pages:

Crawl your site with Screaming Frog or similar
Compare crawled pages to your sitemap
Pages in sitemap but not found via crawling are orphaned

How to fix them:

Add 2-3+ internal links from relevant existing content
Add to relevant navigation or category pages if appropriate
Consider whether the page should exist (delete or consolidate if not)

Fixing orphan pages often produces quick ranking improvements.

6. Link Deep Into Your Site

Most internal links point to:

Homepage
Main category pages
Recent posts

These pages usually don't need help. They're already visible.

Better approach: Link to deep pages. Older posts, specific product pages, detailed guides buried in your archive.

These pages benefit most from internal links because they're otherwise hard to discover.

7. Don't Stuff Links

More links isn't always better. A paragraph with five links is hard to read. A page with 100 links dilutes the value of each one.

Guidelines:

Short posts (under 1,000 words): 3-5 internal links
Standard posts (1,000-2,000 words): 5-10 internal links
Long-form guides (2,000+ words): 10-15 internal links

These aren't hard rules. The real test: does each link genuinely help readers? If not, remove it.

8. Keep Priority Pages Within 3 Clicks

"Click depth" measures how many clicks from your homepage to reach a page.

Homepage: 0 clicks
Main categories: 1 click
Subcategories: 2 clicks
Individual posts: 3+ clicks

Pages buried deep (4+ clicks) get crawled less frequently and rank worse.

Best practice: Keep important pages within 3 clicks from the homepage. Add direct links if needed.

9. Update Old Content With New Links

When you publish new content, it has no internal links pointing to it. It's essentially orphaned.

Fix this immediately:

Identify 2-3 existing posts on related topics
Add links from those posts to your new content
Add links from new content to relevant existing posts

This bidirectional linking helps new content get discovered and keeps old content relevant.

10. Use Dofollow Links (Not Nofollow)

"Nofollow" tells Google not to pass authority through a link. For external links to untrusted sites, this makes sense.

For internal links? Almost never.

You want authority flowing through your site. Nofollow blocks that flow. Unless you have a specific reason (login pages, user-generated content), keep internal links as standard dofollow.

11. Fix Broken Internal Links

Broken internal links (404s) waste authority and frustrate users. They also signal poor site maintenance to Google.

Audit regularly:

Use Screaming Frog, Ahrefs, or Google Search Console
Fix or remove broken links
Set up redirects for moved content

A monthly broken link check takes minutes and prevents accumulated damage.

12. Build Internal Linking Into Your Workflow

Internal linking fails when it's treated as an occasional project. Make it routine:

When publishing new content:

Add 3-5 internal links within the new post
Update 2-3 existing posts with links to new content

Monthly:

Check for orphan pages
Audit for broken links
Review priority page link counts

Quarterly:

Assess content cluster completeness
Identify new linking opportunities
Review strategy effectiveness

Consistent small efforts beat occasional large projects.

Best Practices by Site Type

Different sites need different approaches:

Blogs

Build content clusters around pillar topics
Link new posts to related older posts immediately
Update cornerstone content with links to recent posts
Focus on contextual links within articles

E-commerce

Link product pages to relevant category pages
Cross-link related products ("customers also bought")
Link blog content to relevant product pages
Ensure product pages aren't orphaned

Affiliate Sites

Create clear linking paths to money pages
Use supporting content to funnel authority
Balance informational and commercial linking
Build topical authority through clusters

Service Businesses

Link blog content to service pages
Create location-specific linking for local SEO
Connect case studies to relevant service offerings
Build expertise clusters around service areas

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake 1: Homepage Obsession

Your homepage probably ranks fine. It gets links naturally from your logo, navigation, and external sources.

Stop adding more links to your homepage. Focus on pages that need help.

Mistake 2: Keyword Stuffing Anchor Text

Using exact-match keywords as anchor text every time triggers over-optimization filters.

Google's 2024-2025 spam updates specifically target repetitive anchor text patterns. Vary your anchors naturally.

Mistake 3: Linking for Linking's Sake

Adding links without considering relevance creates noise. Readers learn to ignore your links. Google learns they're not meaningful signals.

Every link should answer: "Would a reader find this helpful here?"

Mistake 4: Ignoring the Archive

Your older content is a goldmine of linking opportunities. It has accumulated some authority. It covers topics you're still writing about.

Don't treat old content as finished. Update it with links to new content regularly.

Mistake 5: Set and Forget

Internal linking isn't a one-time task. Sites grow. Content changes. What worked last year might not be optimal now. Consider automating your workflow.

Build ongoing maintenance into your process.

Quick Implementation Checklist

This week:

Audit for orphan pages and fix the top 10
Identify your 5 highest-authority pages
Add links from authority pages to 5 priority pages

Ongoing (per new post):

Add 3-5 internal links within new content
Update 2-3 existing posts to link to new content
Verify new post isn't orphaned