50 Internal Link Ideas You Can Steal
Never run out of linking opportunities again. 50 proven ideas organized by impact and priority.
Internal linking is one of the most powerful SEO levers you can pull. It helps Google understand your site structure, distributes link equity across pages, and guides users to relevant content.
But most sites get it wrong. They either ignore internal links entirely, or they implement them haphazardly without a strategy.
The result? Silent SEO killers that are choking your rankings. Here's how to spot them.
The 10 Signs Your Internal Linking is Killing Your SEO
1. Orphan Pages Exist
What it looks like: You have pages that zero internal links point to. They exist on your server, but they're invisible to both users and search engines navigating through your site.
Why it hurts SEO: Orphan pages are almost never indexed by Google because crawlers discover pages through links. Even if indexed, they have zero link equity flowing to them, so they can't rank.
Quick diagnostic: Use Google Search Console's Coverage report to find pages marked "Discovered - currently not indexed." These are often orphans.
2. Homepage Only Links to 5-7 Pages
What it looks like: Your homepage has a navigation menu with a handful of links (Home, About, Services, Blog, Contact). That's it.
Why it hurts SEO: Your homepage typically has the highest authority on your site. If you only link to 5-7 pages, you're wasting all that authority. You should be linking to 15-20 of your most important pages.
Quick diagnostic: Count the links on your homepage. If it's under 10 (excluding nav/footer), you're leaving authority on the table.
3. Generic Anchor Text Dominates
What it looks like: Your internal links use phrases like "click here," "learn more," "read this," or "download" as the anchor text.
Why it hurts SEO: Anchor text tells Google what the destination page is about. "Click here" says nothing. "Internal linking guide" tells Google exactly what to expect. Generic anchors waste a valuable SEO signal.
Quick diagnostic: Search your site for "click here" or similar phrases. If you find 50+ instances, you have an anchor text problem.
4. No Content Clusters
What it looks like: You publish blog posts, but they don't link to each other. Each post stands alone, disconnected from related content.
Why it hurts SEO: Content clusters (pillar pages linking to cluster content) tell Google you're a topical authority. When you cluster content around a topic, you rank higher for all related keywords. Without clusters, you're just publishing isolated pages.
Quick diagnostic: Pick your top 5 blog posts. Do they link to each other? If not, you don't have content clusters.
5. Blog Posts Have 0-2 Internal Links
What it looks like: Your blog posts only link to external sources or have zero links at all.
Why it hurts SEO: Blog posts should be link hubs. Each post should have 5-10 internal links pointing to other relevant content, product pages, or resources. This keeps users on your site longer and distributes authority.
Quick diagnostic: Check your last 10 blog posts. Count the internal links in each. If the average is under 3, you're under-linking.
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6. Important Pages Are 3+ Clicks from Homepage
What it looks like: Your key content is buried deep in your site structure. It takes 4-5 clicks to reach it from the homepage.
Why it hurts SEO: Link equity dissipates with each click. Pages 1 click from the homepage get the most authority. Pages 4+ clicks get almost none. Your most important pages should be 1-2 clicks away.
Quick diagnostic: Navigate from your homepage to your 3 most important pages. Count the clicks. If it's more than 3, restructure your site.
7. No Contextual Links
What it looks like: Your internal links only appear in navigation menus and sidebars. There are no links within the actual content.
Why it hurts SEO: Contextual links (links within paragraphs) are the most valuable type of internal link. They're surrounded by relevant text, users actually click them, and Google weights them heavily. Nav/sidebar links are easily ignored.
Quick diagnostic: Look at a random blog post. Are there links within the paragraphs? Or are all links in the header/footer/sidebar?
8. Broken Internal Links
What it looks like: You have internal links pointing to 404 pages. Maybe you deleted a page but forgot to remove links to it.
Why it hurts SEO: Broken links waste crawl budget, create a terrible user experience, and tell Google your site is neglected. Google explicitly recommends fixing all broken links.
Quick diagnostic: Use Screaming Frog or a similar tool to crawl your site. Look for "404 Not Found" response codes on internal links.
9. No "Related Posts" Sections
What it looks like: When a user finishes reading a blog post, there are no suggestions for what to read next.
Why it hurts SEO: Related posts sections keep users on your site longer (reducing bounce rate) and help Google discover more pages through internal links. It's an easy win that most sites skip.
Quick diagnostic: Read 5 blog posts on your site. Scroll to the bottom. Is there a "Related Posts" or "You Might Also Like" section?
10. Inconsistent Link Distribution
What it looks like: Some pages have 50+ internal links pointing to them, while others have 2-3. There's no rhyme or reason to it.
Why it hurts SEO: You should be intentional about which pages get the most links. Your most valuable pages should have the most internal links. Random distribution means your important pages aren't getting the authority they deserve.
Quick diagnostic: Use a tool to count internal links to each page. You'll likely see a power law distribution—a few pages have way too many, most have way too few.
How to Fix Each Sign
Here's your one-line fix for each problem:
- Orphan pages: Find them in Google Search Console, then add 2-3 internal links from related content to each orphan.
- Homepage link poverty: Add 3-5 internal links from your homepage to your highest-priority pages (not just nav items).
- Generic anchor text: Replace "click here" with descriptive anchors like "internal linking guide" or "SEO checklist."
- No content clusters: Group related content together. Create a pillar page that links to all posts on that topic. Have each post link back to the pillar.
- Few internal links in posts: Aim for 5-10 internal links per blog post. Link to related posts, product pages, and resources.
- Important pages too deep: Add links to key pages from your homepage or top navigation. Get them 1-2 clicks away from homepage.
- No contextual links: Edit your top 20 posts. Add 2-3 contextual links within the content of each post.
- Broken internal links: Crawl your site to find all 404s. Either fix the URLs or remove the links pointing to them.
- No related posts sections: Add a "Related Reading" section at the bottom of each post. Link to 2-3 related articles.
- Inconsistent link distribution: Create a spreadsheet of all pages and their internal link counts. Prioritize links to your most valuable pages.
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- Orphan page detector
- Anchor text analyzer
- Link equity tracker
- Quick wins backlog