What is internal linking, and how should you do it?
Internal linking: what Google can follow, what to write, and how many links
Internal linking means linking from one page on your site to another, so people and Google can find those pages and understand what they are about. Google's guidance is that every page you care about should have a link from at least one other page on your site. Use a real `<a>` element with an `href`, write anchor text that describes the target page, and link where it helps the reader rather than to hit a number.
If you want us to look at internal linking on your site, we start from Google's own checks. We see whether every page you care about is linked from at least one other page, whether each link is a real `<a href>`, and whether the anchor text says what the target page is about. How an engagement works.
What counts as a link Google can follow
Google's link guide is plain about this. Google can generally only crawl a link if it's an <a> element with an href attribute. Relative paths like /products/category/shoes are fine, and so is an <a href> that also carries an onclick handler or a class.
What Google can't reliably use are links that only exist as script events, such as <a onclick="goto(...)">, elements like <span href>, or an href that holds javascript: instead of a real address.
Links added by JavaScript are fine if the result is ordinary <a href> markup.
If your site builds its navigation in the browser, check the rendered HTML with the URL Inspection Tool in Search Console.
Why internal links matter
Google's starter guide says it primarily finds pages through links from pages it has already crawled, and that the vast majority of new pages it finds every day are found through links. Because Google relies mainly on links, a page nothing links to is harder for it to find; you can also submit a sitemap listing the URLs you care about, though the guide says this isn't required.
Links also carry meaning. Google says the anchor text of internal links helps both people and Google make sense of your site, which is the reason for its one firm rule. Every page you care about should have a link from at least one other page on your site.
Writing anchor text
Good anchor text, in Google's words, is descriptive, reasonably concise, and relevant to both the page it's on and the page it points to. Its examples of text that's too generic include click here, read more, and website. Its test is to read the anchor text on its own and see whether you can tell what the target page is about.
Don't overcorrect. A link that wraps a whole sentence is too long, and forcing keywords into anchor text can count as keyword stuffing, which breaks Google's spam policies.
The words around a link matter too, so avoid stringing several links side by side where readers can't tell them apart.
How many links to add
Google doesn't give a number. Its guide says there's no magical ideal count, and that if you think a page has too many links, it probably does.
The practical method it suggests is to ask which other pages on your site would help a reader understand the page in front of them, and link to those in context.
Sources
- developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/links-crawlable
- developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/seo-starter-guide
Each was read on October 11, 2026.
Questions
How many internal links should a page have?
There's no set number. Google says there's no magical ideal number of links for a page, but if you think it's too much, it probably is. Link to the pages that help a reader understand the current one.
Can Google follow links added with JavaScript?
Yes, if the script produces a normal `<a>` element with an `href` attribute. Links that only work through click handlers, or that use a `javascript:` address, may not be followed. Check the rendered page with the URL Inspection Tool.
Does an image link need anchor text?
Google uses the image's alt attribute as the anchor text for an image link, so give the image descriptive alt text. An image link with empty alt text and no link text tells Google nothing about the target.
Work with us
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Tell us about your business and who buys from you. On a short call we'll show you the searches your buyers make where you don't show up yet, and what the agents would do about them in their first month.
On the call, for your site
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- Where you show up, and where you don'tOn Google and in ChatGPT's answers
- The agents' first monthThe pages, fixes and links they would start with