Did you know?
One of the most underrated SEO strategies is internal linking.
It not only helps establish your site’s information hierarchy but also directs the crawl bots to your most authoritative pages, increasing site visibility.
…but only when you follow the recommendations of Google internal links best practices search central.
So, let’s discuss the internal linking SEO best practices as suggested by Google for seamless distribution of link authority, higher search engine rankings, and reduced bounce rates.
Why Are Internal Links Important?
Before we talk about the internal links SEO best practices, let’s first understand why they are so important.
Internal links organize your webpages by linking them on the basis of topical relevance. A well-structured website helps the search engine crawl & index your webpages much faster due to a better understanding of its content.
✔️Improves search engine rankings
✔️Distributes link equity
✔️Enhances user experience
✔️Establishes a site hierarchy
But the real secret behind true SEO success lies in the proper optimization of internal links.
The Reasons for Internal Link Optimization for SEO
The best practices for internal linking SEO include the strategic optimization of the internal links on your site that align with Google’s latest guidelines.
In fact, the search engine recommends the best practices for internal linking SEO 2026 that accelerate the positive outcome.
Optimizing the internal links on your site not only results in faster page indexing but also leads to a better user experience due to easy navigation & access to the most relevant pages.
This, in turn, leads to reduced bounce rates, increased average time spent on the website, enhanced user engagement, and improved conversion rates.
Internal Links Best Practices Google Search Central
Google Search Central (formerly Google Webmasters) is Google’s official one-stop shop for tools, advice, and best practices to help your website get noticed and listed on the SERPs.
To ensure the right people find your content, Google suggests some internal linking best practices, anchor text search central, leading to improved site visibility & online web performance.
Let’s Quickly Check Out Google Link Best Practices Internal Links
Pillar-Cluster Model
Google recommends creating a “pillar” page (content that covers a broad topic) first, and linking it up with “cluster” pages (subtopic content) to create a structured site hierarchy.
Descriptive Anchor Text
As per the Google Search Central internal links anchor text guidance, the anchor texts must be concise and descriptive.
Easy to Access Webpages
One of the crucial SEO internal linking best practices includes internally linking the relevant cluster pages with the pillar page in a way that makes them accessible in just 3 to 4 clicks.
Balancing Contextual And Navigational Internal Links
Google Search Central recommends including links within the content body, header, footer, and sidebar menu to guide users to relevant articles, resulting in enhanced user engagement.
Breadcrumbs
Google recommends using breadcrumb trails (horizontal text-based paths that work as a secondary navigation scheme) just below the navigation bar to help your users understand their current location in the website’s hierarchy.
The Right Number of Internal Linking for SEO Best Practices
According to the recommendations of internal linking SEO best practices Google Search Central, it’s better to add 3 to 10 internal links per article.
Also, the best practices for internal linking in blog content include using 3 internal links per 200-300 words. Needless to say, internal links added at the beginning of the content carry more weight than those added elsewhere.
Site Structure Recommended by Google for Internal Linking
According to Google Search Central internal links best practices site structure includes a hierarchical, almost a pyramid-like site design in which the homepage links to the main categories, then the sub-categories, and then individual blog posts.
Let’s Discuss The Best Practices Internal Linking SEO 2026
➡️The best practices for internal linking in SaaS blogs include a top-down approach (e.g., Homepage>Category page>subcategory page>blog pages) to help the search engine understand the site structure in a better way and ensure equal distribution of link equity.
➡️To establish topical authority, Google suggests grouping related content around a “pillar” page and then interlinking those “cluster” pages with each other and the “pillar” page.
➡️The best practices for internal linking on product pages or any other industry website include not exceeding 100 links per page (including the header, footer, sidebar, contextual internal links, navigational, and CTA links) for the best user experience.
➡️Also, Google always suggests against linking to 404 pages and using rel=”nofollow” internal links for the best outcome.
So, if you fix the site structure and abide by these guidelines, you are already following the internal linking best practices for SEO.
But the real question is how to improve internal linking?
Google Search Central internal links best practices anchor text optimization and selection is the key.
Google Anchor Text Best Practices for Internal Links
The selection of the right anchor text is crucial when it comes to internal linking because it directly works as a semantic signal for the search engine to understand the page relevance, leading to higher keyword rankings and improved SEO.
Here are some Google Search Central internal linking best practices regarding anchor text selection
👉Use descriptive keywords/phrases that clearly hint at the topic of the linked page
👉Keeping the anchor text brief, typically around 5 words/fewer, is the key to success
👉Never use generic keywords such as “Click here”, “Read more”, etc., as anchor texts
👉Make sure the anchor texts naturally fit within the context of your content
👉Never forget to use alt texts if you’re planning to link to an image
👉Refrain from using the same anchor texts repeatedly within your content. Instead, try to think of something unique.
👉For the best performance, use a combination of branded and descriptive anchor texts
Isn’t that easy?
But, did you know?
Internal link plugins can make all these things even simpler and faster.
Well, that’s exactly what we’ll talk about next.
Improve Page Linking with Internal Link Plugin
Internal link plugins are WordPress tools that automate, manage, and optimize your internal links, which significantly improve your site’s SEO score and user navigation, while cutting down your manual effort to a great extent.
But, Why Use These Plugins?
✔️Time efficient
✔️Automate time-consuming tasks
✔️Improve site structure
✔️Results in consistent linking
✔️Reduces the risk of orphaned pages
✔️Helps you map specific anchor texts
✔️Provides you with detailed reports on link performance
All these lead to a faster webpage indexing and crawling, well-established topical authority, and enhanced user experience.
With these plugins, their transparent reporting & analytics, you can identify the most relevant cluster pages easily and faster, leading to a thorough internal link profile optimization.
Boost Your Site with Best Internal Linking Practices
This Google Search Central internal links guidance will help you in strategically interlinking your webpages to ensure maximum SEO benefits for your website.
However, using some tools like Ahrefs, SEMRush, and Screaming Frog will help you perform a thorough website audit regularly and find out the best internal linking opportunities.
So, run a site crawl using Ahrefs first, identify the high-authority/high-value pages to internally link up, implement a keyword-driven structural hierarchy, select contextual anchor texts, and incorporate contextual links within the content for better search engine and user experience.
Have a doubt?
Talk to our link-building experts now.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. What type of internal linking should not be used as per the internal linking best practices Google Search Central?
Ans: Google suggests not to use broken links, internally link pages that take your visitors to redirected pages (302), include generic anchor text links, nofollow links, and links to pages with irrelevant content.
Q2. What should be avoided in a website’s internal link profile according to Google internal linking best practices Search Central?
Ans: As per Google’s recommendations, you should avoid linking webpages with spammy/manipulative content internally, as this might trigger search engine penalties.
Q3. Does Google Search Central link best practices internal links affect SEO?
Ans: Yes, they do, and quite significantly.
When you follow Google-recommended best practices for internal linking, you help the search engine get a better understanding of your site structure and distribute authority to the key pages seamlessly. This not only leads to higher search engine rankings but also increases user engagement by guiding your visitors to relevant web pages faster.
Q4. How to optimize internal links according to internal linking best practices Google documentation?
Ans: The key strategies to optimize internal links are to use descriptive, long-tail, and unique anchor texts, incorporating contextual+navigational links within content, organizing your content pages according to the Pillar-Cluster model, and internally linking the high-authority pages with the low-performing ones and vice versa.
Q5. Where should the internal linking best practices SEO be implemented?
Ans: Internal links should be implemented within the website content (mainly), navigation menus, footers, headers, and breadcrumbs for improved performance on the search engine and enhanced user experience. When it comes to placing the links in content, try to add them within the first few paragraphs and especially on high-authority pages to optimize user journeys.
Q6. What is the purpose of referring to Ahrefs internal linking best practices guide?
Ans: This will help you optimize your site’s SEO and ensure seamless distribution of link equity from the high-authority pages to the ones with poor online visibility. Not just that. It will also help you improve your site’s structure, enhance crawler efficiency, boost user navigation, and identify the internal linking opportunities.
