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This is a NEW guide to internal linking for SEO in 2025.
So if you want an easy way to get:
Then you should get a ton of value from this actionable guide.
Internal linking is the SEO practice of strategically using hyperlinks that point from one webpage to another webpage on the same domain.
When done right, internal linking is an SEO strategy that can help improve your organic visibility.
For example, here’s a link from one page on our website (ExplodingTopics.com) to another page on our website:
This is different from a link that sends users to another website (external link)…
… or a link from another website to our website (backlink).
Bottom line: Internal links only link to other pages on the same website. And when used correctly, they can help you get higher Google rankings.
According to Google rep John Mueller, internal linking is “super critical for SEO”:
So Google themselves confirm that internal links are a key part of SEO.
I’d have to agree.
In my experience, internal linking can improve your site’s SEO performance by 5-10%.
(That assumes your internal linking is PERFECT. Which it should be if you follow the tips in this guide 😁)
In other words:
Internal linking isn’t going to shoot your site’s traffic to the moon.
But it’s still one of the easiest ways to get a small-yet-significant boost in your organic traffic.
For example, a while back we added these “You may also like:” sections to the top of a few of our blog posts:
And after Google crawled and indexed the new versions of these pages, we noticed a solid lift in organic traffic:
Nice.
And there’s data to back this up.
An industry study from last year found that internal links were positively correlated with more traffic from Google:
Internal linking isn’t JUST about SEO.
(Even though that’s probably why you’re reading this guide)
When done right, internal linking can also:
For example, check out this one paragraph from one of our recent blog posts about semantic SEO/semantic keywords:
First, we link to a helpful tool on our site (specifically, a free keyword tool). That way, someone looking to put the tips from the content into action has a resource they can use.
Second, we added an internal link to our post about related keywords:
This is a resource that’s super relevant to what the person is reading about.
As you can see, this isn’t about stuffing internal links all over the place.
Instead, you want to strategically place internal links where they:
AND
With that, here’s how to do internal linking the right way:
Google gives more weight to links that appear earlier in the content.
This makes sense if you think about it:
Links buried in the footer of a page aren’t probably super important.
(That’s why links to things like “terms of service” and “privacy policy” pages are usually found in footers):
For example, we often include several internal links above the fold on each of our blog posts:
These links are mostly there to help users find relevant content from our site.
But these internal links also pass a LOT of authority through them.
(Because they’re so high up. Even above the first paragraph of the article)
That said:
Internal links still “count” if they’re lower on the page.
(Just not as much)
For example, we often add internal links at the end of an article:
These internal links aren’t as effective as those in the body of the article. Or at the very top of the page.
But they still pass some authority to key pages.
So they’re worth using.
Action Item: Add your most important internal links above the fold or within the first 25% of your content.
Anchor text tells Google and users what a linked page is about.
This is true for external links (backlinks).
It’s also true for internal links.
In fact, SEO expert Cyrus Shepard analyzed over 20 million internal links.
And one of his key findings?
“URLs with a larger number of anchor text variations from internal links are highly correlated with more Google search traffic.”
In practical terms:
Yes, you want your anchor text to describe the page you’re linking to.
But you don’t want to spam the same anchor text over and over again.
Instead, mix it up.
For example, here’s a page on our site optimized for the keyword "technology trends”.
Sometimes we use the exact match anchor text "technology trends” in our internal links:
But we also use lots of other anchor text variations:
As you can see, this anchor text accurately describes the page we’re linking to. But it’s not the same anchor text over and over again.
Action Item: Keep your internal link anchor text natural and descriptive.
It’s no secret:
When it comes to SEO, certain pages are MUCH more important than others.
Which is why your internal linking should push traffic and authority toward high-value pages like:
As it turns out, Google uses internal links to help determine which pages on your site are important.
For example, our list of Google Trends alternatives is a key page for our business:
So we make sure to include internal links to that page wherever it makes sense.
You can easily check your current internal link distribution using Semrush Site Audit.
This report gives you a breakdown of your site’s internal linking (including a 1-100% score).
Notably, you can also see your “Internal Link Distribution”.
This shows you how many of your internal links are going to a wide (or tiny set) of pages.
You can even click on “Strong Pages” or “Weak Pages” to see which pages are getting lots of (or very little) internal link action.
Action Item: Identify your top priority pages and strategically link to them.
When it comes to internal linking, more links isn’t always better.
In fact: too many internal or external links can dilute link equity and hurt UX.
Google’s own documentation states that’s it’s possible to go overboard with internal links:
A good rule of thumb that I like to follow is:
2-5 internal links per 1,000 words.
For example, you may notice that this post from our blog has a few internal links sprinkled in:
That’s how you want to do it.
That said:
Certain pieces of content (like massive guides) will sometimes have quite a few internal links.
And other pages (like product feature announcements) will have less.
It’s not about reaching a specific number with your internal linking.
Instead, you just want to avoid using so many internal links that it detracts from readability and SEO.
Action Item: Focus on quality over quantity. Each internal link should serve a clear purpose. Whether it’s for SEO, UX or both.
Google looks at the surrounding text of an internal link to understand its relevance.
To be clear:
Google primarily uses anchor text to understand relevance.
But the text around the internal links algo plays a role.
For example, this internal link from our site is surrounded by relevant terms, like “JungleScout”, “e-commerce platform” and “tool”.
This wasn’t strategic.
This kind of contextually relevant text happens 100% naturally when you use internal links logically.
Action Item: Place links where they make logical sense within the content. When you do, the links will automatically be surrounded by relevant text.
Your site architecture is how all of the pages on your site are linked together.
And the right internal links can help reinforce site architecture.
This can make it easier for Google to find, crawl, and index key pages on your site.
For example, our site’s homepage navigation links to our newsletter sign up page.
But we also link to the page from our blog content.
In other words:
This page is getting internal links from high up in our site’s navigation.
But also from within blog content.
This reinforces to Google that our newsletter page is super important.
Action Item: Use internal links to support linking that’s already happening thanks to your site’s architecture.
Internal links can help give specific pages on your site a rankings boost.
First, use Semrush Organic Research to find pages on your site that are ranking in positions #11-20 for important keywords
Next, add internal links FROM other pages on your site TO the underperforming page.
Ideally, you want to link from pages on your site that already have some authority.
That way, you’ll send significant link authority to the pages that need it.
Finally, wait a few weeks for Google to crawl the internal links. And track your rankings to see if they improve.
For example, our list of AI tools wasn’t performing as well as we’d hoped.
So I edited a few of our existing posts. And added a few internal links to point to our AI tools page:
Simple. Yet effective.
Action Item: Find underperforming pages and link to them from high-ranking content.
“Hub and spoke” is a more advanced form of internal linking that boosts topical authority.
Hub and spoke internal linking definitely isn’t required to rank in Google.
(Back when I ran Backlinko, I basically ignored hub and spoke. Instead, I just used internal links strategically and where they made sense. And the site performed well regardless).
But I do think the hub and spoke approach can help a little.
Here’s how it works:
First, publish a hub page (aka a “pillar page”).
Then, publish supporting articles (“spokes”) that cover subtopics.
Finally, link each spoke back to the hub.
Semrush’s Keyword Strategy Builder can help you set all of this up.
Just enter the topic (or target keyword) of your hub page.
And Semrush will generate related spoke topics for you.
Action Item: Use the hub-and-spoke model to structure internal links strategically.
Orphan pages are pages with no internal links pointing to them.
Since Google relies on links to find and rank content, orphan pages rarely get indexed.
And if they DO get indexed, they don’t tend to rank well.
To find orphan pages, run a site audit in Semrush.
Then, head over to the “Internal Linking” report.
Keep an eye out for any notices regarding “Orphaned sitemap pages”.
If it’s a page you don’t need users to find, you may want to remove the page from your sitemap.
But if these orphan pages are pages that you want users to find in search, then you definitely want to point some internal links their way.
Action Item: Identify orphan pages and add internal links from relevant pages.
Internal links aren’t just for SEO.
Internal linking can also:
In fact, the best overall approach to internal linking is to focus on UX first…
…and the SEO benefits will usually follow.
For example, we have a free keyword research tool on our site.
This tool is super helpful for people getting into SEO. It also helps people discover Semrush.
Which is why we strategically link to this tool inside of our content:
Action Item: Use internal links to guide users toward pages that help users… and your bottom line.
As your site ages, internal links can break. Or just need some freshening up.
Which is why you want to regularly review and update internal links for:
Fortunately, you don’t need to check every link one by one.
Instead, just make sure to regularly check Site Audit to see if any errors or warnings crop up:
Action Item: Run a regular SEO site audit to make sure your internal links are optimized.
If you want to maximize your SEO results, internal links are a must.
Like I mentioned earlier, internal linking probably won’t double your organic traffic.
But when used strategically, internal links CAN make a serious difference.
Use real-time topic data to create content that resonates and brings results.
Exploding Topics is owned by Semrush. Our mission is to provide accurate data and expert insights on emerging trends. Unless otherwise noted, this page’s content was written by either an employee or a paid contractor of Semrush Inc.
Use real-time topic data to create content that resonates and brings results.
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Written By
Brian Dean
Founder
Brian is the co-founder of Exploding Topics. He is an internationally recognized SEO expert and also the founder of Backlinko. Bri… Read more
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