Internal linking in SEO is a method of establishing a connection between one website page and another page of the same website using hyperlinks. When someone reads one article and follows a link that leads to another article on the same domain, they use an internal link.
The notion seems straightforward, but sometimes it is confused by terminology. An internal link is just the connection itself, while internal linking is the usage of internal links.
What Is an Internal Link?
The source and the destination of an internal link should belong to the same website.
For example, a website published an article that explains different types of backlinks. There is a link in this article to another page explaining editorial backlinks. Since both pages belong to the same website, the link is internal.
A link that points from this article to another website is an external link.
Internal links can connect any number of different types of pages: articles to articles, category pages to their relevant content, and navigation menus to important parts of the website.
In all these cases, the basic relationship stays the same: a page establishes a link to another page from the same website.
An Internal Link vs. Internal Linking
There is a clear differentiation between an internal link and the process of internal linking.
An internal link is just a connection.
For example:
Article A → Article B
Internal linking is the process that emerges when these connections exist on multiple pages.
Article A can connect to Article B. Article B can connect to Article C, while Article C establishes a connection to another relevant page. By adding more connections, you build up a network of links between pages of your website.
This distinction is important since internal linking is not just a single hyperlink. It is rather the process of establishing links between different pages.
Internal Links Provide Visitors with Paths to Related Pages
Without links, pages will be completely independent destinations. Someone will come to one page, read it, and find themselves needing to find another page to continue.
Internal links provide direct paths.
For instance, someone reads an article about backlink quality. While reading it, they will meet the term “referring domains.” If your website has an article explaining referring domains, you can establish an internal link from the first article to the second one. It will provide a direct path for the reader to find the explanation.
It gives a practical advantage. The reader will not need to go somewhere else, use the search engine on your website, or manually find the needed page.
This is one of the most basic features of internal linking on a website: providing a path to related content from your content.
Internal Linking Is Used Beyond Articles
It may seem that internal linking is used only to add links into the content of articles, but a website has many more places where links can be added.
Navigation menus are the most common example. Other examples can be category pages, breadcrumbs, related content sections, and any other navigational elements that can contain links to pages on the same website.
These links perform different tasks. Navigation menus provide access to different sections of the website, while contextual links in articles connect two related pieces of information.
Nevertheless, these are still internal links.
That is why internal linking in SEO cannot be reduced to a special type of link or a place on the website where links are established. It is rather the process of creating connections between pages of the website.
Internal Linking Is Built on Connections Between Pages
The simplest way of thinking about internal linking is the creation of connections between pages of the website.
One page has a link. This link points to another page on the same website. Over many pages, these individual connections create paths that can be used by visitors while navigating the content.
Of course, there are more profound questions about how internal links can be used in SEO, but this distinction should be made first.
An internal link is one connection between pages, while internal linking in SEO is the process of establishing connections between pages of the website.
