Internal Linking Rules – A System That Compounds

What it solves

Most sites grow links like ivy – everywhere, unpruned, and blocking light. Important pages sit orphaned while low‑value pages hoard links. Users click in circles. Crawlers waste budget. A linking system solves this by making links intentional – every link has a purpose, a target, and a reason to exist.

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Listen to this short conversation explaining the key ideas from the Internal Linking Rules, generated with Google Labs Illuminate.

Why internal links matter

• Discovery – crawlers find and refresh content through links. If a page has no links, it may as well be private.
• Authority flow – internal links distribute the equity your external links earn. Where you point, you lift.
• Relevance – anchors teach search what the target is about. Descriptive anchors are quiet ranking signals.
• User intent – good links reduce back‑button behavior and increase task completion.

Internal links are your controllable PageRank – the cheapest ranking lever you own.

Core principles

1. One intent → one URL – link to the canonical target for that job. If two URLs answer the same intent, merge and redirect first.
2. Hierarchy first – hubs route to spokes; spokes reinforce the hub; support feeds both. Keep the graph shallow.
3. Descriptive anchors – clear, stable labels that match the target’s purpose. No generic “learn more”.
4. Fewer, better links – every link must earn its place. Remove decorative, repetitive, or off‑intent links.
5. Consistency – use the same anchor for the same target across the site unless context demands a variant.

Link types and when to use them

1. Navigational links – header, footer, sidebar menus. Use for: evergreen destinations – hubs, pricing, contact, key categories. Why: persistent, sitewide equity flow. Treat each slot as premium real estate.
2. Contextual links – within paragraphs or modules. Use for: pushing readers to the next best page to satisfy intent. Why: strongest relevance signals because surrounding text explains the click.
3. Module links – cards, tiles, “related” blocks. Use for: scannable pathways from hubs and category pages. Why: scalable and visible; easy to standardize anchors.
4. Utility links – breadcrumbs, TOCs, pagination. Use for: orientation and crawl paths. - Why: improve crawl efficiency and reduce pogo‑stick risk.

Anchor taxonomy

Define a small set of anchor patterns to keep labels consistent and meaningful.

• Exact label – matches the target H1 or page purpose.
  Example: Maine Coon – Profile & Care → https://example.com/guides/cats/breeds/maine-coon
• Action label – verb + object when the page is a how-to or template.
  Example: Choose a cat breed → https://example.com/guides/cats/breeds/how-to-choose-a-breed
• Comparison label – use A vs B, A alternatives, or A vs C for decision pivots.
  Example: Ragdoll vs British Shorthair → https://example.com/guides/cats/breeds/ragdoll-vs-british-shorthair
  Example: Sphynx alternatives → https://example.com/guides/cats/breeds/sphynx-alternatives
• Category label – for hub or category routes.
  Example: Cat Breeds → https://example.com/guides/cats/breeds
  Example: Cat Care → https://example.com/guides/cats/care

Guardrails

• One primary anchor per target – don’t reuse the same anchor text for different destinations. Variants are fine if they’re semantically close.
• Keep anchors concise – 1–5 words.
• Match casing to the page’s H1 for exact label anchors.
• Avoid generic anchors like “click here” or “learn more” – describe the destination.
• Keep internal links dofollow, no UTMs, and place them where they help the reader.
• Don’t over-promise – avoid anchors that claim outcomes the page can’t deliver.
• Don’t stuff keywords – clarity beats density.