Quick answer:
Internal linking in WordPress means linking your own pages together with descriptive anchor text. Build hub pages for each main topic, link supporting posts to the hub and to each other, point more links at the pages that earn you money, keep important pages within three clicks of the home page, and fix orphan pages that have no internal links. In the block editor, select text and press Ctrl+K (Cmd+K on Mac) to search your site and add a link.
FoundHint Local SEO WordPress
Optimize your Google Business Profile without leaving WordPress
Connect your GBP profile, compare it with your website and fix the gaps FoundHint finds.
- Business Profile audit and optimization
- Google Post scheduling
- Review management and replies
- Local rank tracking on a map grid
You published a great guide six months ago.
It’s still sitting on page three. Meanwhile, your “Hello World” post from 2019 has more internal links pointing to it than your main service page, because it’s in your sidebar’s “Recent Posts” widget forever.
Internal links are the one ranking signal you control completely.
They tell Google which pages matter most, how your topics relate, and where to find new content. They cost nothing, need no plugin, and most WordPress sites use them almost at random.
This guide gives you a seven-step strategy: how to structure your site, which pages to link from, what anchor text to use, how to find orphan pages, and how to keep it all working as you publish.
Why Internal Links Matter for SEO?
- Discovery: Google finds most new pages by following links. A page with no internal links may be crawled late or not at all, even if it’s in your sitemap.
- Importance: Pages that receive more internal links, especially from strong pages like your home page, are treated as more important within your site.
- Context: Anchor text tells Google what the target page is about. “Emergency drain cleaning in Austin” says far more than “click here”.
- Engagement: Good links keep visitors moving to the next useful page, toward a call or a purchase.
The 7-Step Internal Linking Strategy
Step 1: Decide which pages matter most
List your money pages: services, products, location pages, and your best lead-generating content.
These should receive the most internal links on the site. Write the list down; everything else in this strategy points toward it.
Step 2: Organize content into hubs and spokes
For each main topic, create one hub page (a comprehensive guide or a core service page) and several supporting posts that cover narrower questions.
- The hub links to every supporting post.
- Every supporting post links back to the hub.
- Supporting posts link to each other where it genuinely helps the reader.
Example for a dental practice: the hub is “Dental Implants”, with spokes like “How much do dental implants cost?”, “Implants vs bridges” and “Dental implant recovery timeline”.
Use WordPress categories to mirror the same structure so archive pages reinforce it.
Step 3: Keep important pages close to the home page
Any page you want to rank should be reachable within three clicks from the home page.
Use your main menu for top-level services, the footer for secondary pages such as locations, and a breadcrumb trail on posts so every page links back up the structure.
Step 4: Add contextual links inside your content
Links within the body text carry more weight and get more clicks than menu or footer links. In the block editor:
- Highlight the words you want to link.
- Press Ctrl+K (Cmd+K on Mac).
- Type part of the page title. WordPress searches your posts and pages; select the right one.
Aim for three to eight contextual internal links in a typical 1,500-word post, placed where the reader would actually want more detail.
Earlier links in the content tend to get clicked more, so put the most important one in the first few paragraphs.
Step 5: Write descriptive, varied anchor text
| Anchor type | Example | Use it |
|---|---|---|
| Exact match | dental implants | Sometimes, for your most important page |
| Partial match | how dental implants are placed | Often |
| Descriptive phrase | our guide to replacing a missing tooth | Often |
| Branded | Smile Dental’s implant service | Occasionally |
| Generic | click here, read more | Avoid |
Internal links don’t carry the over-optimization risk that external backlinks do, but a natural mix reads better and gives Google more context.
Step 6: Link from new posts AND to new posts
Most people remember to add links from a new post. Few go back and add links to it. Every time you publish:
- Search your site in WordPress (Posts > All Posts > search box) for the new post’s main keyword.
- Open two or three relevant older posts that already rank or get traffic.
- Add a sentence and link pointing to the new post.
Links from established pages are the fastest way to get a new page crawled and ranked.
Step 7: Find and fix orphan pages
An orphan page has no internal links pointing to it. To find them, crawl your site with Screaming Frog (connect your sitemap and Search Console in the crawl config) and filter for orphan URLs. You can also compare your sitemap URLs with the pages listed under Search Console > Links > Internal links.
For each orphan: link to it from a relevant hub, merge it into a stronger page, or delete and redirect it if it no longer serves a purpose.
Internal Linking Mistakes to Avoid
- Linking to redirected URLs. After changing a slug, update internal links to the new URL instead of relying on the redirect.
- Sitewide widgets as your strategy. “Recent posts” and “Popular posts” widgets give the same links to every page. They help a little; contextual links help far more.
- Two pages, same anchor. Using “dental implants” to link to two different pages confuses which one should rank.
- Hundreds of links per page. Huge mega-menus and tag clouds dilute the value of every link on the page.
- Nofollow on internal links. There’s almost never a reason to nofollow your own pages.
- Ignoring links after a redesign. New themes can drop breadcrumbs, related posts and footer links overnight. Crawl before and after.
Internal Linking for Local Businesses
If you serve several towns or neighborhoods, internal links are how Google understands your service area. Build a “Service Areas” or “Locations” hub page that links to every location page, link each location page back to the relevant service pages, and link nearby locations to each other (“We also serve Round Rock and Cedar Park”).
FoundHint makes this structure easy to build. It creates unique location pages for each area you serve, each with its own schema, and its blocks and shortcodes let you drop location lists and maps into hub pages so the links stay consistent as you add areas.
FoundHint Local SEO WordPress
Optimize your Google Business Profile without leaving WordPress
Connect your GBP profile, compare it with your website and fix the gaps FoundHint finds.
- Business Profile audit and optimization
- Google Post scheduling
- Review management and replies
- Local rank tracking on a map grid
To decide where to place your city and service keywords on those pages, read Local On-Page SEO.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many internal links should a WordPress post have?
There’s no fixed number. For a typical 1,500-word post, three to eight contextual links to genuinely related pages is a sensible range. Add more on long hub pages.
Do internal links help SEO?
Yes. They help Google discover pages, understand how topics relate, and judge which pages are most important on your site. Pages with more relevant internal links usually rank better than orphaned ones.
How do I add an internal link in WordPress?
In the block editor, highlight the text, press Ctrl+K (Cmd+K on Mac), type the page title to search your site, and select it. In the Classic editor, use the link button in the toolbar.
Should internal links open in a new tab?
Usually no. Internal links should open in the same tab, which is what visitors expect. Reserve new tabs for downloads or external tools.
What is an orphan page?
A page with no internal links pointing to it. Search engines may struggle to find it and treat it as unimportant. Find orphans by crawling your site and comparing with your sitemap.
Do I need an internal linking plugin?
No. You can build a strong structure with the editor’s link search and a spreadsheet of your key pages. Plugins mainly help large sites find link suggestions faster.
