How internal linking helps SEO

How do internal links help search engines find pages?

Google Search is an automated search engine that uses software called web crawlers to explore the web and find pages to add to its index. These crawlers regularly download text, images, and videos from pages. Google primarily finds new pages by extracting links from pages it has already crawled. In fact, Google states that the vast majority of new pages it discovers daily are found through links, making them a crucial resource for page discovery and potential inclusion in search results.

Once Google discovers a page's URL, it may visit, or "crawl," that page to understand its content. Googlebot, Google's crawler, uses an algorithmic process to decide which sites to crawl, how often, and how many pages to fetch. Crawling depends on whether the crawlers can access the site. During the crawl, Google renders the page, running any JavaScript it finds using a recent version of Chrome, similar to how a browser displays a page. This rendering is important because many websites rely on JavaScript to bring content to the page, and without it, Google might not see that content.

For Google to crawl a link, it generally needs to be an <a> HTML element, also known as an anchor element, with an href attribute. Google uses these links as a signal when determining the relevancy of pages and to find new pages to crawl. This means that properly structured internal links are essential for guiding search engines through your site and helping them understand the connections between your content.

What is anchor text, and why is it important?

Anchor text, also known as link text, is the visible, clickable text of a link. This text provides information to both people and search engines about the page it links to. Google documents that with appropriate anchor text, users and search engines can easily understand what your linked pages contain before they visit.

Google documents that good anchor text is descriptive, reasonably concise, and relevant to both the page it is on and the page it links to. The quality of your anchor text directly impacts how easily people can navigate your site and how well Google understands the topic of the linked page. Clear and relevant anchor text helps Google categorize and rank your content more effectively.

Why do pages need internal links?

Every page on your website that you consider important should have at least one link from another page on your site. Without internal links, pages are less likely to be discovered and crawled by Google, potentially preventing them from appearing in search results. Ensuring all relevant pages are linked helps Google fully explore and index your site's content.

How does site structure and internal linking improve user experience?

Organizing your website in a logical way, especially when setting it up or redoing it, benefits both search engines and users. Google states that this structure helps them understand how your pages relate to the rest of your site. Links are an effective way to connect users and search engines to other parts of your site or to relevant pages on external sites.

Specifically, using directories or folders to group similar topics can help Google learn how often the URLs in individual directories change. This organization contributes to a clearer understanding of your site's content hierarchy. When designing your internal links, Google advises against chaining links directly next to each other. This practice can make it harder for readers to distinguish between links and reduces the surrounding text available for each link, which can diminish the descriptive context for users.

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