A hyperlink connecting two pages on the same domain, distributing authority and establishing topical relationships.
An internal link is a hyperlink that connects two pages within the same domain, pointing from one page on your website to another page on the same website. These links serve multiple crucial functions: they distribute link equity (PageRank) throughout your site, help search engines discover and understand your content relationships, and guide users through your website's information architecture.
Internal links form the backbone of your site's navigational structure and topical organization. When implemented strategically, they signal to search engines which pages are most important, how content relates to each other thematically, and create pathways for both users and crawlers to explore your site efficiently.
Why It Matters for AI SEO
Modern AI systems like BERT and MUM rely heavily on understanding context and relationships between pieces of content. Internal links provide crucial signals about these relationships, helping AI algorithms comprehend your site's topical authority and content hierarchy. Google's AI systems use internal linking patterns to determine which pages deserve more ranking authority and how content clusters relate to each other. AI-powered search features like featured snippets and People Also Ask boxes often pull content from sites with strong internal linking structures, as these signals help AI understand which content is most authoritative and comprehensive on a given topic. When AI crawlers encounter well-structured internal linking, they can better map your content's semantic relationships and entity connections.
How It Works
Internal links work by passing link equity from the source page to the destination page, similar to how external backlinks pass authority. The anchor text you use in internal links helps search engines understand what the target page is about. For example, linking with "keyword research strategies" tells search engines the destination page covers that specific topic. Strategic internal linking involves connecting related content through topic clusters, linking from high-authority pages to pages that need more ranking power, and ensuring important pages receive multiple internal links from relevant sources. Tools like Link Whisper automate internal link suggestions based on content relevance, while Screaming Frog helps audit your existing internal link structure. Ahrefs and Semrush provide internal link analysis to identify opportunities and measure link equity distribution across your site.
Common Mistakes
The most common mistake is overlinking with exact-match anchor text, which can appear manipulative to search engines. Many sites also create internal linking patterns that don't reflect their content priorities, sending the most link equity to navigation pages rather than money pages. Another frequent error is neglecting to update internal links when content changes or gets deleted, creating broken internal links that waste crawl budget and harm user experience.