Search engines
Internal Linking
Internal linking is the practice of linking between pages on the same website. It does two jobs at once: it lets crawlers discover pages by following links, and it passes ranking signals between them, concentrating strength on the pages that receive the most internal links. The clickable words carry meaning too, telling search engines what the linked page is about.
Descriptive link text does more work than generic text. A link reading "how strata levies affect resale value" tells a search engine what it points to; a link reading "click here" tells it nothing.
The usual shape is a hub structure: a main page covering a topic broadly, linking down to detailed pages, each linking back up. This concentrates strength on the page meant to rank for the broad topic while giving each detail page a clear place in the structure.
Links should be in the page's HTML rather than generated by script, for the same reason all content should be: a crawler that does not run JavaScript cannot follow a link that does not exist until it does.
Why it matters
Internal links are the one ranking factor entirely within a site owner's control, needing no other website's cooperation.
Related terms
Last reviewed 2026-09-04. All Saige glossary terms.