You probably already know that search engine optimization is vital if you want your website to climb to the top of Google’s ranking algorithm. What you might not realize is that SEO is about more than well-written content and high-quality keywords. Links are one of the top two criteria Google uses to rank pages.

External links to high-ranking websites and reputable sources are important, but internal links are just as necessary. Internal links lead from one page on your website to another one on it. Too few or too many can drop your website lower in page rankings, so it is important to understand how many internal links per page SEO best practices call for.

How Many Internal Links Per Page for SEO?

The number of internal links to include on each page depends on what the page is for, how long the content is, and how relevant the links are. Although there is no set minimum, search experts recommend an average of five to 10 links for every 2,000 words. This means you should include between one and three links for every 200 words or so.

Keep relevance in mind. Google frowns upon stuffing too many internal or external links into pages in the same way that it devalues keyword stuffing. Pages that don’t have a lot of information, such as a contact page, should naturally have fewer internal links. Pages that are more information-heavy, such as trending news articles, often naturally accommodate many internal links. 

How Many Internal Links Are Too Many for SEO?

According to John Mueller, a senior search analyst at Google, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. He says that internal links can do more harm than good if there are too many of them. Too many links dilute your website’s structure and make it harder for bots to understand what your page is about.

If a page has more than 150 links, Google won’t crawl it at all, so be sure you’re only linking to relevant information within your website. Keep in mind that any links in the header, sidebar, or footer count as part of that total.

Best Practices for SEO Internal Linking

Now that you know how many internal links per page SEO requires, it’s time to learn about the best practices for SEO links. First, ensure your website already has plenty of written content and that you’re continually adding written content by publishing industry-relevant blogs. From there, you can begin using these practices to create your internal links.

Only Use DoFollow Links

Make sure your link’s HTML is not using a “nofollow” tag, as Google doesn’t index links with these tags. Ensure your HTML says “dofollow.”

Use Proper Anchor Text

The links you create should use anchor text that tells the reader what they’ll find if they click the link. The words or phrases you use should be descriptive but not exact matches to keywords. Avoid linking anything longer than a sentence and using phrases such as “click here,” which doesn’t provide any value.

Link Pages That Have Plenty of Content

The best internal links are between two content-heavy pages, such as two informational blogs about the same topic. If you write a long-form blog post about how to deep-clean a home, for example, you could link to a previously written blog post about the best products for deep cleaning. This SEO internal linking strategy potentially boosts both pages by helping Google bots understand how pages on your site are related and creating a clear path for readers to follow. 

Add New Links to Old Articles

After publishing, you can adjust how many internal links you have per page to further improve your SEO. Updating old content is recommended as a best practice and doubles as a way to add more current and relevant links to previous blog posts. Be sure to remove and replace any information that is now outdated.

Understanding Structured Internal Links

Structuring your website’s internal links is essential for ensuring Google’s robots can crawl them. The optimal internal linking structure is in the form of a pyramid.

Your website’s home page is the main page. It flows into subpages, such as one for company information, one for products, and one to contact you. Each of those pages, in turn, feeds into the pyramid. For example, a “products” page will link to individual pages for each item you sell. If you follow the pyramid structure, Google can more easily index your site and is more likely to raise your search rankings.

We Help You Determine How Many Internal Links To Use Per Page

It isn’t enough to know how many internal links per page SEO best practices advise if you are too busy running other aspects of your company to tackle the task. That’s where we come in! BKA Content’s team of experienced and professional SEO content writers is available to create new content, update old pages, and, yes, improve your internal links, too. Contact us to learn more!