Why Your Internal Links Are Worthless
- → Internal links pass PageRank and establish hierarchy
- → Most sites link randomly without strategy
- → Link from high-authority pages to priority targets
- → Use descriptive anchor text, not 'click here'
"We have great internal linking. Every page links to every other page in the footer."
I hear this constantly. And it explains why your internal linking isn't working.
Not All Internal Links Are Equal
Google treats internal links differently based on where they appear:
Navigation links: Heavily discounted. They appear on every page. Google knows they're structural, not editorial recommendations.
Footer links: Even more discounted. Often ignored entirely for ranking purposes. They're site-wide, repetitive, and usually not user-focused.
Sidebar links: Similar story. Templated, repetitive, low editorial signal.
Contextual links: These count. A link placed within the body content, in context, as part of the natural flow of information. This is an editorial decision. This tells Google something matters.
Why Contextual Links Work
A contextual link signals: "This other page is relevant to what I'm talking about right now. You might want to read it."
That's a recommendation. That's what links were designed to be.
A navigation link signals: "This page exists on our site." That's inventory management, not recommendation.
Google's systems learned this distinction years ago. PageRank flows primarily through contextual links. Boilerplate links are discounted or filtered.
The High-Traffic Page Strategy
The hub model
Your homepage and main category pages have the most authority. Use them to link strategically to priority content, not randomly to everything.
Here's the internal linking strategy that actually works:
Step 1: Identify your highest-traffic pages. Use Google Analytics or Search Console.
Step 2: Identify the pages you want to rank better.
Step 3: Add contextual links from high-traffic pages to target pages.
That's it. Link juice flows from strong pages to weaker ones. But only through contextual links in the body content.
Practical Implementation
For each high-traffic page:
- Read the content
- Find natural places to mention related topics
- Add 2-3 contextual links to pages you want to boost
- Use descriptive anchor text (not "click here")
Don't force it. If there's no natural place for a link, don't add one. Forced links look forced to users and to Google.
The Mistake Everyone Makes
People add "Related Posts" widgets to every page. Automated. Template-driven. Every page links to the same 5 "related" posts.
Google sees this as boilerplate. It's template content, not editorial content. These links are discounted just like navigation.
Manual, contextual, editorial links beat automated "related" links every time.
Stop counting total internal links. Start placing intentional contextual links from your strongest pages to the pages that need a boost. For more on external link quality, see the only link worth building.