How to Create Internal Links That Actually Improve Your Website Rankings
Internal links are one of the most overlooked parts of SEO.
I have seen websites invest a huge amount of time creating new content, optimizing title tags, writing detailed service pages and building backlinks, while barely paying attention to how those pages are connected to one another.
That is a missed opportunity.
If you are not doing internal linking properly, you are missing out on a lot. Internal links can help visitors discover other relevant pages on your website, make it easier for them to move through your content, and help search engines understand the relationship between different pages.
But there is an important distinction I always keep in mind: internal links should be created for users first, not Google.
When you approach internal linking from the perspective of helping visitors find the information they actually need, the SEO benefits can follow naturally.
What Are Internal Links?
An internal link is a link that points from one page on your website to another page on the same website.
For example, imagine you have a website selling GPS tracking devices. You publish an article explaining how GPS trackers work. Within that article, you could link to another article about choosing the right GPS tracker or link directly to a relevant GPS tracking product.
The visitor does not have to return to the main menu, search through your website or try to figure out where the relevant information is located.
You have already presented the next useful option to them.
This is what I believe internal linking should accomplish.
It should make your website easier to navigate while creating logical connections between your content.
Why Are Internal Links Important for SEO?
Internal links can play an important role in how both visitors and search engines understand your website.
From a user’s perspective, internal links help people discover information that they may not have found otherwise.
Someone might land on your blog because they searched for a specific question. While reading, they may discover that you have another article that answers a related question, or perhaps a product or service that solves the problem they are researching.
Without an internal link, the visitor may never find that page.
They might leave your website and search again.
With a relevant internal link, you make that next step much easier.
From an SEO perspective, internal links also help establish relationships between pages. When several relevant pages are connected, it becomes easier to understand how your content fits together and which topics your website covers.
However, I would not recommend creating internal links simply because you think Google wants to see them.
That usually leads to unnatural linking.
Instead, ask yourself:
“Would this link genuinely help someone reading this page?”
If the answer is yes, there is probably a good reason to include it.
Start With Relevance, Not Keywords
The first thing I consider when deciding where to create an internal link is relevance.
If I am writing an article about a particular subject, I look for other pages that are closely related to that subject.
This could be:
- An older blog article
- A related guide
- A service page
- A product page
- A category page
- Another useful resource
I don’t add a link just because I have a page that I want to promote.
There needs to be a logical connection between the two pages.
For example, if you are writing about choosing the right GPS tracking device, linking to a relevant GPS tracking product makes sense if the reader is likely to be interested in purchasing one.
Likewise, linking to another article explaining GPS tracking technology can make sense if it provides additional information that the reader may want.
The connection needs to be obvious.
Think About the User Journey
One of my priorities when creating internal links is the user journey.
Think about what someone is likely to want to know next.
A visitor rarely arrives on a website knowing exactly which five pages they need to read.
They might start with a broad informational search, read an article and then become interested in a particular topic, product or service.
Your internal links can guide them through that journey.
For example:
A visitor reads a blog post → discovers a related article → learns more about the subject → discovers a relevant service or product → takes action.
That is a much better use of internal linking than simply inserting links wherever you can.
Don’t Make Visitors Search for Relevant Pages
One of the biggest benefits of internal linking is that it removes unnecessary friction.
Sometimes it is difficult for visitors to find a relevant page through the main navigation.
They might have to:
- Go back to the homepage
- Open the main menu
- Find the right category
- Search through several pages
- Use the website’s search function
Why make the visitor do all of that if you are already discussing the relevant subject?
If you mention a service, product or related topic within your article, and you have a useful page covering that subject, linking directly to it can be much more helpful.
The visitor can simply click and continue.
Add Internal Links When You Publish the Article
I strongly recommend adding your internal links when you publish the article rather than waiting until later.
If you already know which existing pages are relevant, there is little reason to publish the article without those connections.
When Google crawls and indexes the new article, the internal links are already there and form part of the page’s structure.
This is particularly important when you are deliberately building relationships between new content and your existing content.
Before publishing a new article, I would therefore ask:
- Which older articles are relevant to this topic?
- Which service pages are relevant?
- Which product pages could help the reader?
- Are there category pages that make sense?
- Is there another resource the reader is likely to want next?
Add those links before the article goes live.
How I Decide Which Pages to Link To
My process is fairly straightforward.
I primarily look for two types of pages.
Older Articles on Closely Related Topics
If I am publishing a new article, I look at the existing content on the website and identify older articles covering closely related subjects.
This is useful because the new article can introduce readers to content that they may otherwise never discover.
It also creates a stronger topical connection between pieces of content on the website.
For example, if you previously published an article explaining one aspect of a topic and have now written another article that goes deeper into a related issue, connecting the two makes sense.
The visitor gets additional information and the website develops a more connected content structure.
Important Service, Product and Category Pages
The second area I look at is commercially important pages.
If the website has a service, product or category that is genuinely relevant to the article, I want the visitor to be able to find it easily.
This is particularly important for businesses that use their blog as part of their customer acquisition strategy.
A blog should not exist in isolation.
If someone arrives on an informational article and the subject naturally relates to one of your products or services, an internal link can bridge the gap between information and action.
My Approach to Homepage Internal Links
I also use a fairly simple approach when it comes to homepage links.
If the website’s name appears naturally within an article, I may link that brand mention back to the homepage.
I don’t believe you need to artificially manufacture mentions of your brand just so you can create a homepage link.
If the brand naturally appears in the content, linking it can provide a useful way for readers to get back to the main website.
Again, the important word here is naturally.
Use Related Articles Toward the End of the Content
I also like to use related article links toward the end of an article.
Someone who has reached the end of your content has already demonstrated that they are interested in the subject.
That makes the end of the article a natural place to suggest additional reading.
For example, you could introduce a few relevant articles with a sentence such as:
“If you found this guide useful, you may also want to read our article about…”
The important thing is that the suggested articles should actually be related.
Don’t use this area as an excuse to link to completely unrelated content simply because you want to increase the number of internal links.
Add Contextual Links Within the Content
While related articles at the end can be useful, I also like adding contextual internal links when there is a genuine mention of another page.
Suppose you are writing about a particular service and naturally mention that service in the article.
If you have a dedicated service page, that is an obvious opportunity for an internal link.
The same applies to:
- Products
- Categories
- Related blog posts
- Guides
- Resources
The link should appear where it makes sense in the conversation.
This makes the link useful rather than disruptive.
How Many Internal Links Should You Add?
There is no magic number of internal links that every page needs.
As a general guideline, I think around 3–4 internal links per 1,000 words is a reasonable starting point.
But I would not treat that as a strict SEO rule.
The appropriate number depends on the subject, the depth of the article and how many genuinely relevant pages you have available.
A 1,000-word article may naturally have three excellent opportunities for internal links.
Another article might have five or six.
And another might only have two.
I would rather have three highly relevant internal links than ten links that have been forced into the article simply to hit a target.
Don’t Overdo Internal Linking
One mistake I see people make is trying to direct visitors to too many other pages.
Remember that you have created the current article for a reason.
You want the visitor to read it.
If you constantly interrupt the reader with links pointing them somewhere else, you can make the article difficult to consume.
There is also a user-experience issue here.
If visitors are constantly encouraged to leave the page before they have finished reading it, you may end up sending them away from the content they originally came to consume.
Internal links should help the user journey, not derail it.
The goal isn’t to make someone click five different links within the first few paragraphs.
The goal is to give them a useful next step when that next step is genuinely relevant.
You Don’t Need to Link Every Page
Another misconception is that every page on a website must have a certain number of internal links.
I don’t believe that is necessary.
Some pages will naturally have more opportunities for internal linking than others.
Some pages may be highly specific and have very few relevant destinations.
Don’t force links into those pages simply because you believe every URL needs to contain internal links.
Focus on creating logical relationships between pages.
Don’t Forget About Your Older Content
One of the easiest internal-linking opportunities is often sitting inside your existing content.
You may have hundreds of older blog posts that were published before you had a proper internal-linking strategy.
Those articles can potentially link to newer articles, products, services and other relevant resources.
This is why internal linking should not be treated as a one-time activity.
When you publish something new, look at your existing content and ask whether there are older articles that should also link to the new page.
You don’t always have to wait for the new article to link to the old article.
The relationship can work in both directions.
A Real-World Example: MooveTrax
I have recently been working on improving the internal linking structure for an article produced for MooveTrax, a website focused on GPS tracking devices.
In this case, we are talking about different GPS tracking devices within the content.
Rather than leaving the discussion there, we are connecting that content with other relevant blog articles as well as the appropriate products.
This creates a much better journey for someone who arrives on the article.
A visitor might be researching GPS tracking devices purely to understand what options are available. As they read, they may become interested in a particular device.
If the relevant product is already linked within the article, they don’t have to go searching through the website to find it.
They can simply click through.
At the same time, someone who wants more information can find another relevant blog article.
This is exactly how I believe internal linking should work.
It connects informational content with other useful information and, where appropriate, with the products that solve the reader’s problem.
The SEO benefit is important, but the user experience is what drives the decision to create the link in the first place.
Broken Internal Links Are a Problem
If you are working on internal linking, don’t just focus on adding new links.
You also need to make sure your existing links work.
Broken internal links are one of the common mistakes I come across.
A link that points to a page that no longer exists is not useful to the visitor.
It creates a poor experience and means the internal link is no longer serving its original purpose.
This is one reason I recommend conducting an internal-link audit regularly.
Audit Your Internal Links Every Month
For websites that publish content regularly, I think once a month is a good practice for reviewing internal links.
You don’t necessarily need to rebuild the entire internal-linking structure every month.
Instead, look for obvious problems and new opportunities.
Your monthly review can include checking:
- Broken internal links
- Newly published articles that need links
- Older articles that could link to newer content
- Important service pages that aren’t being referenced enough
- Relevant product pages that could be easier to discover
- Pages that are difficult to reach from other content
- Internal links that no longer make sense because the content has changed
This makes internal linking an ongoing part of your SEO process rather than something you remember once every few years.
Internal Linking Should Be About People, Not Just Google
If there is one point I would want readers to take away from this article, it is this:
Create internal links for your visitors first.
Don’t sit there thinking, “I need to add five internal links because this will help my rankings.”
Instead, think:
“Someone reading this paragraph would probably benefit from knowing more about this topic.”
That’s when you add the link.
Or:
“This person is reading about a problem that our service solves.”
That’s when you link to the service.
Or:
“This product is exactly what we are discussing.”
That’s when you link to the product.
When you approach internal linking this way, it becomes much more natural.
Internal Linking Should Support the Purpose of Your Content
Every page on your website has a purpose.
A blog post might be designed to answer a question.
A product page might be designed to generate sales.
A service page might be designed to generate enquiries.
A category page might help visitors navigate a particular group of products or services.
Your internal links should support those purposes.
A blog article can introduce a visitor to another article.
An informational article can introduce someone to a relevant service.
A product comparison can direct someone to the products being discussed.
A category page can help visitors discover individual products.
The links become part of the website’s overall journey rather than isolated SEO tactics.
Common Internal Linking Mistakes to Avoid
If you are reviewing your website’s internal links, these are some of the things I would look out for.
Adding Links That Aren’t Relevant
Don’t link to a page simply because you want to give that page more visibility.
There should be a genuine connection.
Adding Too Many Links
More links don’t automatically mean better SEO.
Too many links can distract visitors and make your content difficult to read.
Ignoring Older Content
Don’t focus exclusively on linking from your new articles.
Your older content may contain excellent opportunities to link to newer pages.
Forgetting Product and Service Pages
Blogs shouldn’t exist separately from the commercial parts of your website.
When relevant, connect informational content with the products and services that can help the reader.
Leaving Broken Links Untouched
A broken internal link doesn’t help your visitor.
Include broken-link checks as part of your regular website maintenance.
Forcing Exact Keywords Into Every Link
Internal linking should sound natural.
If the only reason you are using particular anchor text is because you think it will manipulate rankings, reconsider whether the link belongs there in the first place.
A Simple Internal Linking Process You Can Follow
You don’t need a complicated strategy to get started.
When publishing a new article, I would work through this process.
Step 1: Identify Closely Related Existing Articles
Search your website for older articles that cover similar or complementary topics.
Choose the ones that genuinely provide additional value to the reader.
Step 2: Identify Relevant Commercial Pages
Look for products, services and categories that naturally relate to the subject of the new article.
If you mention one of these naturally, consider adding a link.
Step 3: Add Links Before Publishing
Don’t publish the article and tell yourself that you will add internal links later.
Build them into the article before it goes live so they are present when search engines crawl the new page.
Step 4: Add Related Content Toward the End
If there are useful related articles, provide readers with additional reading toward the end of the article.
Step 5: Review the Existing Website
After publishing the new article, look at older relevant content and consider whether those pages should also link to the new article.
Step 6: Review Your Internal Links Monthly
Check for broken links and identify new opportunities as your website grows.
The Bottom Line
Internal linking doesn’t need to be complicated.
You don’t need to calculate a perfect internal-link ratio or insert links into every possible sentence.
Start with relevance.
Think about what the visitor is likely to need next.
If you are discussing a subject and have another article that explains it in greater detail, link to it.
If you mention a product that the reader may want to purchase, link to it.
If you mention a service that solves the problem being discussed, link to the service page.
And if your brand is naturally mentioned, linking back to the homepage can make sense.
My general rule of thumb is around 3–4 internal links per 1,000 words, but relevance matters far more than hitting a specific number.
Most importantly, don’t think of internal linking as something you do purely to make Google happy.
Do it for your visitors.
Make it easier for them to discover your content, products and services. Make the next step obvious. Remove unnecessary navigation barriers.
When your internal linking genuinely improves the way people move through your website, you are not just doing SEO busywork. You are building a website that is easier to understand, easier to navigate and more useful—and that is the kind of internal linking strategy worth having.