What is internal linking?

When most people think about SEO, they focus on keywords, content, and rankings. But none of that works properly if the structure of your website isn’t helping Google and users understand which page connects to the other. This is how internal links work: they are the paths that tell both users and search engines which pages belong together and which pages carry more weight. For example, if a website has great content but poor internal linking, it’s like building a library with no signs; everything exists, but nothing is easy to find.

What is internal linking? 

As previously mentioned, internal linking is simply linking from one page on your website to another page on the same website. The best way to think of it is like a web (Get it… “web” site).

It helps users move naturally through your content, and it helps search engines understand the relationship between your pages. Basically, it’s less of a “technical SEO tactic” and more of giving your site a clear journey, so visitors don’t reach a dead end or miss information that would have helped them take the next step, and you potentially lose a sale or lead.

A basic guide: how internal links work in practice

The simplest way to think about internal linking is to make sure every useful page points to another relevant page that adds context or helps the user go deeper. You’re not trying to link everything to everything, as this can become confusing to anyone visiting the site. You’re just helping visitors take the next logical step. 

So, if a page answers a question, link to the place where they can act on that answer, such as a contact page or product listing. If a page explains a service, much like this one, link to the page where they can learn more about the details, such as our SEO service. It should feel like a natural next step rather than a forced route.

Why internal linking improves SEO 

Search engines use links to understand which pages you consider important. If a page sits on your website with hardly any links pointing to it, Google assumes it is not a priority. When a website has a strong internal link structure, Google finds its way around more easily and understands the hierarchy of your website. 

Why internal linking helps the user experience

Internal linking also improves user experience because people are encouraged to keep moving rather than dropping off after their first click. By having good internal linking can be the difference between your website feeling joined together and cohesive and a site that feels disconnected.

What are orphaned pages? 

Put simply, an orphaned page is a page with no internal or external links pointing to it. It’s a page that has interesting content on it, but nothing leads to it or from it. The reason orphaned pages are detrimental to your website and SEO is that Search engines will often fail to see them as part of the wider website infrastructure. This usually happens when new pages are added without being properly connected, or when old pages are left behind during a redesign. Orphaned pages rarely rank because search engines struggle to understand their purpose or find a reason to show them.

Where orphaned pages are not detrimental to your SEO efforts, is when they are used for landing pages, sign-up pages, or pages with private downloads. If you were to have these pages, then ensuring that the page can’t be indexed by setting a noindex/disallow in the robots.txt file is important. 

Why SEO professionals care so much about internal links

The reason why we SEO professionals care so much about internal links is that it’s an area that we can control to help your website grow. It’s more difficult to control the number of external websites linking to your website, whereas with internal links, we can control which pages pass value to each other. Equally, it’s one of the fastest ways to improve visibility on pages that should be performing better. When internal links are structured well, pages gain more authority, more clarity, and a much stronger chance of ranking for the right terms.

How Website Design can help

You’re probably not struggling with creating new pages for your website, but perhaps you’re struggling more with connecting them effectively. That’s where our SEO specialists can help. When we work on your SEO, we don’t just look at keywords and rankings in isolation; we look at how your pages support each other and how easy it is for both users and Google to move through your site.

We can review your existing linking structure, identify orphaned or underperforming pages, and map out a linking strategy that gives your pages more visibility by making sure the links feel natural to users rather than being added for the sake of SEO. Our goal is to help you have a website that is joined up, easy to navigate, and steadily building authority over time.

If you are concerned about your internal linking structure, or want to start increasing your SEO efforts, speak to our team today!