Internal Linking Issues | Blue Frog Docs

Internal Linking Issues

Diagnose and fix poor internal linking structure that prevents search engines from discovering content and dilutes page authority

Internal Linking Issues

What This Means

Internal linking refers to links that connect one page of your website to another page on the same domain. A well-structured internal linking strategy helps search engines discover and understand your content, distributes page authority throughout your site, and guides users to relevant information. Poor internal linking leaves pages orphaned, wastes crawl budget, and fails to leverage your site's full SEO potential.

Types of Internal Linking Issues

Orphaned Pages:

  • Pages with no internal links pointing to them
  • Can only be found through sitemap or direct URL
  • Search engines may not discover them
  • Users can't navigate to them naturally

Shallow Link Depth:

  • Important pages buried too deep in site structure
  • Requires many clicks to reach from homepage
  • Indicates low importance to search engines
  • Difficult for users to find

Broken Internal Links:

  • Links pointing to 404 pages
  • Redirected URLs not updated
  • Incorrect URL formatting
  • Impacts user experience and crawling

Poor Anchor Text:

  • Generic "click here" or "read more" links
  • Missing keyword relevance
  • No context for users or search engines
  • Wasted opportunity for keyword signals

Over-Optimization:

  • Excessive exact-match keyword anchors
  • Unnatural linking patterns
  • Footer/sidebar link spam
  • Manipulative linking schemes

Missing Breadcrumbs:

  • No hierarchical navigation
  • Users can't see their location
  • Search engines can't understand structure
  • Poor user experience on deep pages

Impact on Your Business

Search Engine Discovery:

  • Orphaned pages won't be indexed
  • Important content gets missed
  • New pages take longer to index
  • Sitemap alone isn't sufficient

Page Authority Distribution:

  • PageRank flows through internal links
  • Strategic linking strengthens important pages
  • Poor structure wastes link equity
  • Deep pages receive little authority

User Experience:

  • Difficult navigation frustrates users
  • Relevant content hard to find
  • Increased bounce rates
  • Lower engagement and conversions

Crawl Budget:

  • Search engines waste time on unimportant pages
  • Important pages get crawled less
  • Inefficient crawling slows indexing
  • Larger sites particularly affected

Rankings and Traffic:

  • Key pages don't rank for target keywords
  • Link equity not flowing to money pages
  • Lower overall domain authority
  • Reduced organic traffic

How to Diagnose

Method 1: Google Search Console

  1. Log into Google Search Console
  2. Navigate to "Links" report
  3. Review "Top linked pages" (internal links)
  4. Check "Internal links" column
  5. Identify pages with:
    • Zero or very few internal links
    • Unexpected link distribution
    • Important pages with low link count

What to Look For:

  • Important pages with <5 internal links
  • Unimportant pages with many links
  • Pages missing from report (orphaned)
  • Imbalanced link distribution

Method 2: Screaming Frog SEO Spider

  1. Download Screaming Frog
  2. Crawl your entire website
  3. Navigate to "Internal" tab
  4. Review key metrics:
    • "Inlinks" column (number of internal links)
    • "Outlinks" column (links to other pages)
    • "Link Score" (calculated importance)
  5. Use "Bulk Export" → "All Inlinks" for analysis

What to Look For:

  • Pages with 0 inlinks (orphaned)
  • Important pages with few inlinks
  • Pages with 0 outlinks (dead ends)
  • Broken links (404 errors)
  • Redirect chains

Method 3: Crawl Depth Analysis

  1. In Screaming Frog, check "Crawl Depth" column
  2. Sort by depth
  3. Identify important pages deep in structure
  4. Review "Tree View" for site hierarchy

What to Look For:

  • Important pages at depth >3
  • Product/service pages at depth >4
  • Uneven crawl depth distribution
  • Illogical hierarchy

Method 4: Site Search Analysis

Find orphaned pages:

# Google Search Console or Screaming Frog
# Compare pages in sitemap vs pages with internal links
# Pages in sitemap but no internal links = orphaned
  1. Export sitemap URLs
  2. Export crawled URLs with inlink count
  3. Compare lists to find orphaned pages
  4. Identify important orphans needing links

What to Look For:

  • Pages in sitemap but not crawlable
  • Blog posts never linked internally
  • Product pages without category links
  • Landing pages with no navigation

Method 5: Manual Anchor Text Audit

  1. Use Screaming Frog "All Inlinks" export
  2. Review "Anchor Text" column
  3. Analyze patterns:
    Generic anchors:
- "click here"
- "read more"
- "learn more"
- "here"

Good anchors:
- "SEO best practices guide"
- "website performance optimization"
- "how to improve page speed"

What to Look For:

  • High percentage of generic anchors
  • Missing keyword-rich anchors
  • Over-optimization (100% exact match)
  • Irrelevant anchor text

General Fixes

Ensure every page has internal links:

  1. Add contextual links in content:

    <article>
  <p>Website performance is crucial for SEO. Learn how to
     <a href="/guides/improve-page-speed/">improve your page speed</a>
     and boost your Core Web Vitals scores.</p>

  <p>After optimizing performance, focus on
     <a href="/guides/on-page-seo/">on-page SEO factors</a>
     to maximize your rankings.</p>
</article>

  2. Add to relevant category pages:

    <!-- Category page for SEO guides -->
<div class="guide-list">
  <article>
    <h3><a href="/guides/improve-page-speed/">Complete Page Speed Guide</a></h3>
    <p>Learn how to optimize your website performance...</p>
  </article>
</div>

  3. Include in related content sections:

    <!-- Bottom of blog post -->
<section class="related-posts">
  <h2>Related Articles</h2>
  <ul>
    <li><a href="/guides/core-web-vitals/">Understanding Core Web Vitals</a></li>
    <li><a href="/guides/image-optimization/">Image Optimization Guide</a></li>
    <li><a href="/guides/mobile-performance/">Mobile Performance Tips</a></li>
  </ul>
</section>

  4. Add to navigation when appropriate:

    <!-- Main navigation or footer -->
<nav>
  <ul>
    <li><a href="/guides/">All Guides</a>
      <ul>
        <li><a href="/guides/seo/">SEO Guides</a></li>
        <li><a href="/guides/performance/">Performance Guides</a></li>
        <li><a href="/guides/analytics/">Analytics Guides</a></li>
      </ul>
    </li>
  </ul>
</nav>

Fix 2: Optimize Site Architecture

Create logical, shallow hierarchy:

  1. Ideal site structure:

    Homepage (Level 0)
├── Category 1 (Level 1)
│   ├── Subcategory 1A (Level 2)
│   │   └── Product/Article (Level 3)
│   └── Subcategory 1B (Level 2)
│       └── Product/Article (Level 3)
├── Category 2 (Level 1)
│   └── Product/Article (Level 2)
└── Category 3 (Level 1)
    └── Product/Article (Level 2)

Goal: Keep important pages within 3 clicks of homepage

  2. Add category pages for deep content:

    <!-- Instead of: Homepage → Blog → Post (orphaned) -->
<!-- Use: Homepage → Blog Categories → Category → Post -->

<nav class="blog-categories">
  <h2>Blog Categories</h2>
  <ul>
    <li><a href="/blog/seo/">SEO (23 posts)</a></li>
    <li><a href="/blog/performance/">Performance (15 posts)</a></li>
    <li><a href="/blog/analytics/">Analytics (18 posts)</a></li>
  </ul>
</nav>

  3. Flatten excessively deep structures:

    Before: Homepage → Products → Type → Brand → Color → Size → Product (Depth: 6)
After: Homepage → Products → Category → Product (Depth: 3)
       Use filters instead of deep hierarchy

Fix 3: Implement Strategic Internal Linking

Link to high-priority pages:

  1. Identify target pages:

    • Money pages (products, services)
    • High-converting landing pages
    • Cornerstone content (ultimate guides)
    • Pages targeting competitive keywords

  2. Create supporting content:

    <!-- Blog post about "improving website speed" -->
<article>
  <p>One way to improve website speed is through our
     <a href="/services/performance-optimization/">
     performance optimization services</a>.</p>

  <p>For DIY optimization, check our
     <a href="/ultimate-guide-website-performance/">
     ultimate guide to website performance</a>.</p>
</article>

  3. Link from high-authority pages:

    • Homepage to most important pages
    • Popular blog posts to money pages
    • High-traffic pages to conversion pages
    • Resource pages to related content

  4. Create hub pages:

    <!-- Ultimate Guide Hub Page -->
<article class="hub-page">
  <h1>Complete SEO Guide</h1>

  <section>
    <h2>On-Page SEO</h2>
    <ul>
      <li><a href="/guides/title-tags/">Title Tag Optimization</a></li>
      <li><a href="/guides/meta-descriptions/">Meta Descriptions</a></li>
      <li><a href="/guides/header-tags/">Header Tag Structure</a></li>
    </ul>
  </section>

  <section>
    <h2>Technical SEO</h2>
    <ul>
      <li><a href="/guides/page-speed/">Page Speed Optimization</a></li>
      <li><a href="/guides/mobile-seo/">Mobile SEO</a></li>
      <li><a href="/guides/structured-data/">Structured Data</a></li>
    </ul>
  </section>
</article>

Fix 4: Improve Anchor Text

Use descriptive, keyword-rich anchors:

  1. Replace generic anchors:

    <!-- Bad - generic -->
<p>We offer SEO services. <a href="/services/seo/">Click here</a> to learn more.</p>

<!-- Good - descriptive -->
<p>We offer <a href="/services/seo/">professional SEO services</a> to improve your rankings.</p>

  2. Natural keyword inclusion:

    <!-- Bad - over-optimized -->
<p>Our <a href="/seo-services/">SEO services</a> include
   <a href="/seo-services/">SEO services</a> for
   <a href="/seo-services/">SEO services</a> optimization.</p>

<!-- Good - natural variation -->
<p>Our <a href="/services/seo/">SEO services</a> include keyword research,
   <a href="/services/on-page-optimization/">on-page optimization</a>, and
   <a href="/services/link-building/">link building strategies</a>.</p>

  3. Contextual relevance:

    <p>Core Web Vitals measure user experience through three key metrics.
   Learn how to <a href="/guides/improve-core-web-vitals/">
   improve your Core Web Vitals scores</a> with our comprehensive guide.</p>

  4. Anchor text best practices:

    • Be specific and descriptive
    • Include target keywords naturally
    • Avoid exact-match over-optimization
    • Match user expectations
    • Keep anchors concise (2-5 words ideal)
    • Vary anchor text to same page

Fix 5: Implement Breadcrumb Navigation

Add hierarchical navigation:

  1. HTML breadcrumbs:

    <nav aria-label="Breadcrumb">
  <ol class="breadcrumb">
    <li><a href="/">Home</a></li>
    <li><a href="/blog/">Blog</a></li>
    <li><a href="/blog/seo/">SEO</a></li>
    <li aria-current="page">How to Improve Page Speed</li>
  </ol>
</nav>

  2. With structured data:

    <script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
  "itemListElement": [{
    "@type": "ListItem",
    "position": 1,
    "name": "Home",
    "item": "https://example.com/"
  },{
    "@type": "ListItem",
    "position": 2,
    "name": "Blog",
    "item": "https://example.com/blog/"
  },{
    "@type": "ListItem",
    "position": 3,
    "name": "SEO",
    "item": "https://example.com/blog/seo/"
  },{
    "@type": "ListItem",
    "position": 4,
    "name": "How to Improve Page Speed"
  }]
}
</script>

Fix 6: Add Related Content Links

Help users discover relevant content:

  1. Automatic related posts:

    <!-- At end of blog post -->
<section class="related-content">
  <h2>You Might Also Like</h2>
  <div class="related-posts">
    <article>
      <h3><a href="/blog/core-web-vitals/">Understanding Core Web Vitals</a></h3>
      <p>Learn about Google's user experience metrics...</p>
    </article>
    <article>
      <h3><a href="/blog/image-optimization/">Image Optimization Guide</a></h3>
      <p>Reduce image file sizes without losing quality...</p>
    </article>
    <article>
      <h3><a href="/blog/mobile-performance/">Mobile Performance Tips</a></h3>
      <p>Speed up your mobile website...</p>
    </article>
  </div>
</section>

  2. Contextual in-content links:

    <article>
  <p>Improving page speed requires multiple optimizations.
     Start with <a href="/guides/image-optimization/">image compression</a>,
     then tackle <a href="/guides/javascript-optimization/">JavaScript optimization</a>,
     and finally implement <a href="/guides/caching/">browser caching</a>.</p>
</article>

  3. Sidebar navigation:

    <aside class="sidebar">
  <nav class="category-nav">
    <h3>Popular Guides</h3>
    <ul>
      <li><a href="/guides/seo-checklist/">Complete SEO Checklist</a></li>
      <li><a href="/guides/page-speed/">Page Speed Optimization</a></li>
      <li><a href="/guides/mobile-seo/">Mobile SEO Guide</a></li>
    </ul>
  </nav>
</aside>

Update or remove broken links:

  1. Find broken links with Screaming Frog:

    • Filter by "Status Code" → "Client Error (4xx)"
    • Export broken links report
    • Identify source pages

  2. Fix broken links:

    <!-- Option 1: Update to correct URL -->
<a href="/old-url/">Link</a>
<!-- Change to: -->
<a href="/new-url/">Link</a>

<!-- Option 2: Remove if page deleted -->
<!-- Delete the link entirely -->

<!-- Option 3: Redirect old URL -->
<!-- Add 301 redirect from old to new URL -->

  3. Update redirected URLs:

    <!-- Don't link to redirecting URLs -->
<a href="/old-page/">Link</a> <!-- Redirects to /new-page/ -->

<!-- Update to final destination -->
<a href="/new-page/">Link</a>

  4. Regular monitoring:

    • Monthly Screaming Frog crawls
    • Check Google Search Console for 404 errors
    • Monitor Analytics for 404 page visits
    • Fix new broken links promptly

Platform-Specific Guides

Detailed implementation instructions for your specific platform:

Platform Troubleshooting Guide
Shopify Shopify Internal Linking Guide
WordPress WordPress Internal Linking Guide
Wix Wix Internal Linking Guide
Squarespace Squarespace Internal Linking Guide
Webflow Webflow Internal Linking Guide

Verification

After improving internal linking:

  1. Screaming Frog re-crawl:

    • Verify orphaned pages now have links
    • Check inlink counts increased
    • Confirm broken links fixed
    • Review crawl depth improved

  2. Google Search Console:

    • Wait 2-4 weeks for re-crawling
    • Check "Links" report
    • Verify internal link distribution
    • Monitor pages getting indexed

  3. Check indexing:

    • Google: site:yourwebsite.com
    • Verify previously orphaned pages now appear
    • Check important pages indexed
    • Monitor index coverage report

  4. Analytics monitoring:

  5. Rankings tracking:

    • Monitor target page rankings
    • Check if strategic pages improved
    • Track overall organic traffic
    • Review keyword positions

Common Mistakes

  1. Too many links per page - Over 100 links dilutes value
  2. All exact-match anchors - Looks manipulative
  3. Footer link spam - Sitewide links from footer
  4. Ignoring orphaned pages - Pages never get crawled
  5. Generic "click here" anchors - Wasted opportunity
  6. Only homepage links - Not distributing authority
  7. Linking to unimportant pages - Wasting link equity
  8. Broken links left unfixed - Poor user experience
  9. No breadcrumbs - Confusing navigation
  10. Deep site architecture - Important pages buried

Internal Linking Checklist

Site Structure:

  • No orphaned pages (all pages have ≥1 inlink)
  • Important pages within 3 clicks of homepage
  • Logical hierarchy and categorization
  • Breadcrumb navigation implemented
  • Shallow site architecture
  • Clear category structure

Link Implementation:

  • Contextual links in content
  • Related content sections
  • Hub pages for topic clusters
  • Navigation includes key pages
  • Strategic links from high-authority pages
  • Pagination properly handled

Anchor Text:

  • Descriptive, keyword-rich anchors
  • Varied anchor text
  • No over-optimization
  • Natural language
  • Relevant to target page
  • No excessive generic anchors

Maintenance:

  • No broken internal links
  • Redirected URLs updated
  • Regular link audits scheduled
  • New content properly linked
  • Old content reviewed and updated
  • Monitoring process in place

Additional Resources

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