Internal Linking
Internal linking is important for both user experience and search engine crawlers, to help them find relevant and important pages. Our SEO Office Hours recaps on internal linking topics cover queries including the importance of internal links for SEO, how anchor text is used as a ranking signal, and how Google handles internally linked parameter URLs for indexing.
For more on internal linking, check out: 5 Internal Linking Strategies to Boost SEO and Drive Organic Traffic
Google Picks Link With Most Relevant Anchor Text to Understand Context With Multiple Internal Links to Same Page
When Google detects pages with multiple internal links to the same target page, it tries to pick the link which has the most relevant anchor text to understand the context.
Google Can Pick Up Links Swapped Out With JavaScript After the Page Has Loaded
Google can pick up links that are swapped out with JavaScript after the page has loaded, but not after a specific action like when a user hovers over the link.
Anchor Text is Used as a Ranking Signal to Understand Link Context
Google uses anchor text as a ranking signal to help understand the context of a link. John recommends implementing more useful anchor text which provides more meaningful information than "click here".
Internally Linked Parameter URLs Might be Indexed Even if Canonical Points to Clean Version
When using parameter URLs for internal linking, it isn’t always guaranteed that the clean version of the URL be indexed if there is a canonical tag to this version. This is because Google has to weigh up which URL should be shown in search.
Internally Link to Seasonal Content so Google Will Index It
Publish seasonal content far enough in advance for Google to index it for the required period, and also internally link to this content so Google knows these pages are important and relevant to users which will improve indexing.
Google Can Discover URLs for Crawling if They Are Included in Full as Links within JavaScript
JavaScript links aren’t the same as HTML links, but if you include a full URL within a JavaScript link then Google will try to follow it.
Don’t Nofollow Links to Standard Pages Like Terms of Service
There is no need to nofollow links to detail pages that exist on most sites, like Terms of Service. Google is good at understanding the content of pages and recognising these standard pages that most sites have.
Google Doesn’t Select Homepages as the Most Important Page by Default
Google doesn’t automatically decide that the homepage is the most important page on a site. This is an effect often seen because Google’s signals indicate the homepage is important e.g. through internal linking and backlinks.
Linking to Every Page From a Site’s Homepage Will Stop Google Understanding Site Architecture
Linking to every page on a site from the homepage means that Google will lose the structure of the website as a whole, unless the site only has a small number of pages.
Links Can be Ignored Algorithmically and Manually by Google
Links can be ignored algorithmically and manually by the Web Spam Team when they are taking manual action on a site to block the site from passing PageRank.