Most sites link from important pages to unimportant pages.
Homepage → about page → privacy policy.
That's backwards.
Link equity should flow TO money pages, not away from them.
Client had 10,000 internal links.
95% were pointing the wrong direction.
Fixed it. Rankings jumped 40% in 6 weeks: 🧵👇
1/ How internal linking should work
Link equity = ranking power.
Every page has it.
Links pass it to other pages.
The rule:
Link FROM less important pages TO more important pages.
Not:
Homepage → Privacy Policy
But:
Product pages → Homepage
Blog posts → Product pages
Support docs → Product pages
Flow equity upward to money pages.
Link equity = ranking power.
Every page has it.
Links pass it to other pages.
The rule:
Link FROM less important pages TO more important pages.
Not:
Homepage → Privacy Policy
But:
Product pages → Homepage
Blog posts → Product pages
Support docs → Product pages
Flow equity upward to money pages.
2/ The hub and spoke model
Create content hubs that feed main pages.
Example for "running shoes" category:
Hub (money page):
/running-shoes/
Spokes (supporting content):
- /blog/best-running-shoes-for-marathons/ → links to hub
- /blog/running-shoe-sizing-guide/ → links to hub
- /blog/running-shoe-care-tips/ → links to hub
- /blog/trail-vs-road-running-shoes/ → links to hub
10 spokes = 10 internal links pointing to your money page.
Client implemented for 20 categories.
All categories ranked page 1 within 8 weeks.
Create content hubs that feed main pages.
Example for "running shoes" category:
Hub (money page):
/running-shoes/
Spokes (supporting content):
- /blog/best-running-shoes-for-marathons/ → links to hub
- /blog/running-shoe-sizing-guide/ → links to hub
- /blog/running-shoe-care-tips/ → links to hub
- /blog/trail-vs-road-running-shoes/ → links to hub
10 spokes = 10 internal links pointing to your money page.
Client implemented for 20 categories.
All categories ranked page 1 within 8 weeks.
3/ The orphan page problem
Pages with ZERO internal links pointing to them.
Google finds them through:
- Sitemap
- External backlinks
- Direct crawl
But they have no internal link equity.
They struggle to rank.
Found 847 orphan pages on client site.
Added 3-5 internal links to each.
67% saw ranking improvements.
Tool: Screaming Frog
Filter: Inlinks = 0
Pages with ZERO internal links pointing to them.
Google finds them through:
- Sitemap
- External backlinks
- Direct crawl
But they have no internal link equity.
They struggle to rank.
Found 847 orphan pages on client site.
Added 3-5 internal links to each.
67% saw ranking improvements.
Tool: Screaming Frog
Filter: Inlinks = 0
4/ Link equity distribution errors
Common mistakes:
❌ Every page links to every other page (footer links)
❌ Homepage links to 500 pages
❌ Important pages get 1-2 internal links
❌ Unimportant pages get 50+ links
Fix:
- Remove sitewide footer links (except legal)
- Limit homepage links to 50-100
- Give important pages 20+ internal links
- Give unimportant pages 2-5 links
Audit with Screaming Frog:
Export Inlinks report.
Sort by Link Score.
Common mistakes:
❌ Every page links to every other page (footer links)
❌ Homepage links to 500 pages
❌ Important pages get 1-2 internal links
❌ Unimportant pages get 50+ links
Fix:
- Remove sitewide footer links (except legal)
- Limit homepage links to 50-100
- Give important pages 20+ internal links
- Give unimportant pages 2-5 links
Audit with Screaming Frog:
Export Inlinks report.
Sort by Link Score.
5/ Anchor text strategy
Most sites use:
- "Click here"
- "Read more"
- "Learn more"
Worthless for SEO.
Use descriptive anchor text:
- "best running shoes for flat feet"
- "complete guide to keyword research"
- "how to fix crawl budget issues"
Target keyword in anchor text = ranking signal.
But: Don't over-optimize.
Vary your anchors:
- 40% exact match
- 40% partial match
- 20% branded/generic
Most sites use:
- "Click here"
- "Read more"
- "Learn more"
Worthless for SEO.
Use descriptive anchor text:
- "best running shoes for flat feet"
- "complete guide to keyword research"
- "how to fix crawl budget issues"
Target keyword in anchor text = ranking signal.
But: Don't over-optimize.
Vary your anchors:
- 40% exact match
- 40% partial match
- 20% branded/generic
6/ The contextual linking opportunity
Links in content > links in navigation.
Why?
- Surrounded by relevant context
- Google understands relationship
- More natural
- Better user experience
Implementation:
When writing blog post, link to:
- 3-5 related blog posts
- 1-2 product/service pages
- 1 category page
Every piece of content = link building opportunity.
Client published 200 blog posts.
Each linked to 5 internal pages.
= 1,000 new contextual internal links.
Links in content > links in navigation.
Why?
- Surrounded by relevant context
- Google understands relationship
- More natural
- Better user experience
Implementation:
When writing blog post, link to:
- 3-5 related blog posts
- 1-2 product/service pages
- 1 category page
Every piece of content = link building opportunity.
Client published 200 blog posts.
Each linked to 5 internal pages.
= 1,000 new contextual internal links.
7/ Monitoring internal link health
Check monthly:
□ Screaming Frog: Inlinks report
□ Which pages have most internal links?
□ Should be: Money pages
□ Google Search Console: Links report
□ Top linked pages from your site
□ Are they the right pages?
□ Broken internal links
□ Fix all 404 internal links
□ Update links to redirects
Client had 2,400 broken internal links.
Wasting link equity.
Check monthly:
□ Screaming Frog: Inlinks report
□ Which pages have most internal links?
□ Should be: Money pages
□ Google Search Console: Links report
□ Top linked pages from your site
□ Are they the right pages?
□ Broken internal links
□ Fix all 404 internal links
□ Update links to redirects
Client had 2,400 broken internal links.
Wasting link equity.
Internal linking checklist:
✅ Important pages get 20+ internal links
✅ Blog posts link to product pages
✅ No orphan pages (all have 3+ links)
✅ Use descriptive anchor text
✅ Remove excessive footer links
✅ Contextual links in body content
✅ Fix all broken internal links
✅ Link deeper (not just homepage)
Internal linking = free SEO boost.
Most sites completely ignore it.
✅ Important pages get 20+ internal links
✅ Blog posts link to product pages
✅ No orphan pages (all have 3+ links)
✅ Use descriptive anchor text
✅ Remove excessive footer links
✅ Contextual links in body content
✅ Fix all broken internal links
✅ Link deeper (not just homepage)
Internal linking = free SEO boost.
Most sites completely ignore it.
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