Internal Links for SEO: How to Connect Related Pages

Internal links connect pages on your own website: place them where a related page answers the reader’s next question, and use link text that makes the destination clear.

A useful link gives someone a reason to keep reading. It also creates a route through your site: Google discovers pages partly by following links from pages it already knows. Google’s SEO Starter Guide explains this discovery process.

1. Choose the next question before the destination

Read a section of your article and ask what the reader might need next. That question gives the link a purpose.

Someone learning how to choose a blog topic might need help comparing keywords. Someone who has already chosen a keyword might need help deciding whether to write a tutorial or a comparison. Sending both people to the homepage leaves that work to them.

For an article about planning content, your link map could look like this:

Use the map to choose destinations, then write normal sentences. The published article does not need to show your planning table.

2. Put the link where it helps

Add a contextual link beside the idea it explains. For example: “Before drafting the outline, check the keyword’s search intent to decide which kind of page to create.”

The reader can act on that sentence immediately. A related-articles section at the bottom is useful for further reading, but it serves a different moment: someone who has finished the page.

Keep the explanation needed to complete the current step on the current page. Link out for a deeper method, supporting example, or separate task. If every sentence requires another page, the article becomes an obstacle course.

3. Make the anchor describe the page

Anchor text is the clickable wording. Compare these illustrative edits:

• “Read more” → “follow a keyword research example.”

• “Our guide” → “compare backlinks and referring domains.”

• “Click here for information” → “turn search results into an article outline.”

The revised wording tells readers what they will get. It still needs to fit the destination: do not promise a template when the page contains only an explanation.

Google’s link guidance recommends descriptive, concise anchors and considers their surrounding context. Write the sentence naturally; repeating the same keyword several times does not make the link clearer.

4. Give new pages a route from existing pages

When you publish, look for an older page whose readers would benefit from the new one. Add a link in the relevant section, updating the surrounding explanation if necessary.

For example, a broad content-planning article could introduce a new, detailed keyword research walkthrough. The walkthrough might link back when readers need the wider planning process. Each direction should solve a reader’s need; reciprocal links are not a requirement.

Use navigation and topic indexes for browsing the collection. Use links within paragraphs for specific next steps. Google’s starter guide recommends logical organization, which helps readers understand how pages fit together.

5. Check the destination and the link itself

Open each link in the published page. Confirm that it reaches the intended content and that its wording still describes what is there. When a page moves, update the link to its current address.

For custom website controls, use ordinary HTML links with an href destination. Google’s link guidance explains that a button or script-only interaction is not a reliable substitute for a crawlable link.

To choose which page needs investigation before editing its links, use the website SEO performance scorecard.

There is no ideal number of internal links per article. Review their usefulness instead:

• Does each destination answer a relevant next question?

• Can someone understand the link text without guessing?

• Can readers find the new page from an existing page or index?

• Does the current article still make sense without opening every link?