Definition
Internal linking refers to the practice of creating links between different pages of the same website. It serves three essential SEO functions: facilitating site exploration by search engine bots (crawlability), strategically distributing authority (PageRank) toward priority pages, and improving user experience by guiding visitors to complementary content. Well-designed internal linking follows a topical and hierarchical logic, with descriptive and varied anchor texts. It is one of the most powerful SEO levers because it is entirely under the webmaster's control, unlike external backlinks.
Key Points
- Link anchors should be descriptive and varied, avoid 'click here'
- Every important page should receive a sufficient number of internal links
- Linking should follow a topical logic to reinforce semantic relevance
Practical Examples
Contextual blog article linking
In an article about link building techniques, internal links naturally point to pages covering guest blogging, link purchasing, and backlink profile analysis, with descriptive anchors integrated into the text.
Strategic linking to commercial pages
Informational blog articles contain internal links to corresponding service pages, directing both PageRank and qualified visitors to conversion pages.
Frequently Asked Questions
There is no universal optimal number, but a page should contain between 3 and 10 relevant contextual internal links, in addition to navigation links. Google recommends keeping a reasonable number of links per page. The key is that each link provides real value to the user by directing them to complementary and relevant content.
Internal linking and backlinks are complementary. Backlinks bring external authority to the site, while internal linking distributes that authority to strategic pages. Excellent internal linking without backlinks will lack power, and backlinks without optimized internal linking will waste their potential. Both levers must be worked on together.
Go Further with LemmiLink
Discover how LemmiLink can help you put these SEO concepts into practice.
Last updated: 2026-02-07