What is internal linking?
SEO Definition and Examples
Internal linking is the practice of linking from one of your pages to other pages on your site. It distributes authority between pages and helps crawlability.
Full Definition: What is internal linking
Internal linking = hyperlinks that point from one page of your site to another on the same site. Benefits: (1) Distributes Page Authority: the link passes some of the source page's PA to the target; (2) Crawl depth: pages deep in a site (4+ clicks from the homepage) are harder to crawl — internal links reduce depth; (3) Navigation: the user moves through the site, increasing time on site; (4) SEO juice: keyword anchor text on an internal link is a local ranking signal. Best practice: thematic links (article A links to B which is similar, not random); descriptive anchor text; not too few (0 links) or too many (spammy).
Why Does Internal Linking Matter for SEO?
Internal linking distributes authority. A page with 10 external backlinks that links to 50 internal pages = each of the 50 receives authority. Internal linking is free and yours (it does not depend on others).
Source: Moz — Internal LinkFrequently Asked Questions about Internal Linking
Related Terms
Backlink
BeginnerA backlink is a hyperlink placed on an external site that points to a page on your site, signalling authority and relevance to Google.
Link Building
IntermediateLink building is the active process of acquiring backlinks from external sites in order to increase your domain's authority and improve your Google ranking.
Page Authority (PA)
AdvancedPage Authority is a Moz score from 0 to 100 that estimates how well an individual page can rank on Google, based on the backlinks pointing to that page.
Anchor Text
IntermediateAnchor text is the clickable text of a hyperlink that tells Google and users what the page the link points to is about.
Put Internal Linking into practice
Explore how to apply this concept to your industry and city.
