Internal linking explained simply — how to help Google understand your website

Internal linking sounds technical, but it's one of the easiest things you can do yourself. It simply means linking your pages to one another in a thoughtful way — and the effect is often bigger than people expect.

What internal linking is

An internal link is a link from one page on your website to another page on the same website. When a blog post links to a service page, or the homepage links to the contact page, that's internal linking.

External links point away from your site. Internal links stay within it — and these are the ones you have full control over.

Why it helps

Internal links do three things at once:

• They help visitors move on. Someone reading one post easily finds the next natural step — a related article or a service.
• They help Google find pages. Remember that Google follows links to discover content. A page nobody links to is hard for Google to find.
• They tell Google what pages are about. The text you link from gives a hint about what the page you link to is about.

That last point is worth dwelling on. Link to a page with the text "read more" and you've said nothing. Link with the text "our website design service" and you tell both the reader and Google exactly what's waiting.

Anchor text — the words you link from

The words you turn into a link are called anchor text. Good anchor text describes what's waiting on the other side. A few simple rules:

• Describe the target page, not the action. "How we price projects" beats "click here".
• Keep it natural. It should blend into the sentence, not stick out like an advert.
• Don't use the exact same anchor text for many different pages — it gets confusing.

You don't need to overthink this. Write the way you speak, and link on words that actually describe the destination.

Orphan pages — the problem most sites have

An "orphan" page is one that no other pages link to. It exists, but it's hidden. Google has trouble finding it, and visitors never stumble across it.

This most often happens with older blog posts or landing pages that were made for a campaign and then forgotten. A simple tidy-up — making sure every page has at least one link in — solves it.

A simple way to think about structure

You don't need a complicated diagram. A simple model works for most small businesses:

• The homepage links to your most important service and category pages.
• The service pages link to relevant blog posts that go deeper.
• The blog posts link back to the services they belong with, and to each other where the topics connect.

The result is that your most important pages get the most links in — which is exactly what you want.

Common mistakes to avoid

A few pitfalls come up again and again:

• Too many links. A page full of links becomes noise. Link where it actually helps the reader.
• Broken links. A link to a page that's been moved or deleted annoys both people and Google. Check them now and then.
• Only linking new to new. When you publish something new, remember to link to it from older, relevant pages too.

How to get started

You can begin today, with no tools:

1. Write down your three to five most important pages — the ones that actually win customers.
2. Go through your most-visited pages and add a natural link to the important ones where it fits.
3. Find a couple of older posts nobody links to, and link in to them from something newer.

It's no more mysterious than that.

It connects to the rest

Internal linking works best alongside a site Google can actually find and index. The two are closely tied: links help Google discover pages, and indexing decides whether they make it into search. Together they determine how well your website hangs together in Google's eyes.

Internal linking isn't a trick — it's just order. If you'd like someone to look at your structure with fresh eyes, have a chat with us.