Thoughts about internal linking in 2025

Ocke86

Ocke86

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Hey all

So i have a platform with about 800+ pages, how should i think about internal linking here?, should i just link from all pages to home page and also internal pages to other relavant pages on the site?, feels like a bit overkill to manage to link all pages to all pages so to speak, all pages is also accessable from the main header menu in a dropdown menu so to speak
 
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Yes, you're right! linking every page to every other page can get overwhelming. A better approach is to focus on linking relevant pages together based on content and user intent. Use hierarchical structure for main pages and link to deeper pages naturally when relevant. Since the header menu already covers all pages, internal links can be more selective, emphasizing high-priority or related content for better SEO and user experience. let me know your feedback on it!
 
1. There's no point of linking back to the home page from every post as you already have home link.
2. Yes, you should interlink your pages for 2 reasons:
a. Tell search engine more about the relevance of the pages.
b. Easier site navigation.
3. It's a very tedious task to interlink all the pages but it's well worth it. To help you, you can try LinkWhisper plugin, it'll definitely help.
4. Oh dear... "all pages is also accessable from the main header menu" - never seen such an overkill... 800 links in the header?
 
fahadahmedghazlani said:
Yes, you're right! linking every page to every other page can get overwhelming. A better approach is to focus on linking relevant pages together based on content and user intent. Use hierarchical structure for main pages and link to deeper pages naturally when relevant. Since the header menu already covers all pages, internal links can be more selective, emphasizing high-priority or related content for better SEO and user experience. let me know your feedback on it!
Click to expand...
Thanks, i am gonna try that out and let you know =)
 
praetserge said:
1. There's no point of linking back to the home page from every post as you already have home link.
2. Yes, you should interlink your pages for 2 reasons:
a. Tell search engine more about the relevance of the pages.
b. Easier site navigation.
3. It's a very tedious task to interlink all the pages but it's well worth it. To help you, you can try LinkWhisper plugin, it'll definitely help.
4. Oh dear... "all pages is also accessable from the main header menu" - never seen such an overkill... 800 links in the header?
Click to expand...
Point 4 - Yeah at this moment i have a drop down menu that has all these pages, so basically the are covering the whole computer windowo_O, think its problablya good idea to change the mega menu to

main menu > Pillar page > Sub pillar page > internal links on sub pillar page to smaller piller pages ?
 
Ocke86 said:
Point 4 - Yeah at this moment i have a drop down menu that has all these pages, so basically the are covering the whole computer windowo_O, think its problablya good idea to change the mega menu to

main menu > Pillar page > Sub pillar page > internal links on sub pillar page to smaller piller pages ?
Click to expand...
Too complicated. I, personally, can't stand sites with such huge menus.
I really see no point of doing it and that's why we use interlinking.
Not only interlinking helps with rankings but also improves UX.
 
praetserge said:
Too complicated. I, personally, can't stand sites with such huge menus.
I really see no point of doing it and that's why we use interlinking.
Not only interlinking helps with rankings but also improves UX.
Click to expand...
I get you, but the site is a suppose to be a massive site, so the plan is to add more pages with time, feel like what would help UX is for sure the (main menu > Pillar page > Sub pillar page > internal links on sub pillar page to smaller piller pages) you think if i added the sub sub internal pages on the "sub pillar page" that would effect SEO and UX positively ?
 
I use pillar pages for the main menu... and it's OK to add some sub-pillar pages as sub-menu.
The rest, I think should be interlinked for 2 reasons:
1. UX
2. SEO. Remember, if you have all your pages in the header then google will NOT read the anchor texts you use when interlinking. Let's say you have a page about "blue ribbons for b'day". Using interlinking you can use different anchors like "why choose blue ribbons for b'day", "who buys blue ribbons for b'day", "are blue ribbons for b'day good?". You tell Google that your page covers much more than just "blue ribbons for b'day".
 
praetserge said:
I use pillar pages for the main menu... and it's OK to add some sub-pillar pages as sub-menu.
The rest, I think should be interlinked for 2 reasons:
1. UX
2. SEO. Remember, if you have all your pages in the header then google will NOT read the anchor texts you use when interlinking. Let's say you have a page about "blue ribbons for b'day". Using interlinking you can use different anchors like "why choose blue ribbons for b'day", "who buys blue ribbons for b'day", "are blue ribbons for b'day good?". You tell Google that your page covers much more than just "blue ribbons for b'day".
Click to expand...
So you mean just by having the pages in the header menu, google will NOT read the anchor texts on the subpages?, so i would be better of placing a link on the home page to each page on the site then ?, im i getting that correct?
 
Ocke86 said:
So you mean just by having the pages in the header menu, google will NOT read the anchor texts on the subpages?, so i would be better of placing a link on the home page to each page on the site then ?, im i getting that correct?
Click to expand...
Google only read the first instance of the link so any other links (to the same page) you have will be ignored by google. And that's exactly why we use interlinking as to tell google more about our pages.
Since you have all pages in the header... google will ignore all other instances.
We use:
1. Interlinking... as covered above
2. Related posts/pages
3. Most read... etc

Nobody will look through the menu which has 800 links in it.
 
As someone who manages multiple sites with 1000+ pages each, here's what actually works in 2025:

Think of internal linking like a city's road system. Your homepage and category pages are highways, while content pages are local streets. You don't need every street to connect directly to every other street, but you need logical pathways.

Key principles I follow:
  • Link topically related content (not just keyword matching)
  • Keep navigation depth to max 3 clicks from the homepage
  • Use contextual links within content (not just generic "related posts")
  • Focus on the user journey rather than just SEO
Regarding your mega menu: I made the same mistake years ago. Having 800+ links in the header actually dilutes the SEO value of each link and confuses users. Instead, create strong category pages and let them funnel users naturally.

Quick question: Have you considered creating topic clusters instead of linking everything to everything? It's more manageable and actually performs better in my testing.

Remember: Google's helpful content update rewards sites that demonstrate expertise in specific topics. Your internal linking should reflect that expertise by creating clear topical relationships between pages.
 
ayushsomani said:
As someone who manages multiple sites with 1000+ pages each, here's what actually works in 2025:

Think of internal linking like a city's road system. Your homepage and category pages are highways, while content pages are local streets. You don't need every street to connect directly to every other street, but you need logical pathways.

Key principles I follow:
  • Link topically related content (not just keyword matching)
  • Keep navigation depth to max 3 clicks from the homepage
  • Use contextual links within content (not just generic "related posts")
  • Focus on the user journey rather than just SEO
Regarding your mega menu: I made the same mistake years ago. Having 800+ links in the header actually dilutes the SEO value of each link and confuses users. Instead, create strong category pages and let them funnel users naturally.

Quick question: Have you considered creating topic clusters instead of linking everything to everything? It's more manageable and actually performs better in my testing.

Remember: Google's helpful content update rewards sites that demonstrate expertise in specific topics. Your internal linking should reflect that expertise by creating clear topical relationships between pages.
Click to expand...
  • Keep navigation depth to max 3 clicks from the homepage
can you please give example?
 
You can start the internal linking slowly from the important pages and then focus on other pages. Also, it's not necessary to link to the homepage from all other articles. Add the links only if it is necessary and avoid overdoing it. It will affect your website performance and if the links are added to irrelevant articles/pages, it will affect the user experience of your website.
 
ayushsomani said:
As someone who manages multiple sites with 1000+ pages each, here's what actually works in 2025:

Think of internal linking like a city's road system. Your homepage and category pages are highways, while content pages are local streets. You don't need every street to connect directly to every other street, but you need logical pathways.

Key principles I follow:
  • Link topically related content (not just keyword matching)
  • Keep navigation depth to max 3 clicks from the homepage
  • Use contextual links within content (not just generic "related posts")
  • Focus on the user journey rather than just SEO
Regarding your mega menu: I made the same mistake years ago. Having 800+ links in the header actually dilutes the SEO value of each link and confuses users. Instead, create strong category pages and let them funnel users naturally.

Quick question: Have you considered creating topic clusters instead of linking everything to everything? It's more manageable and actually performs better in my testing.

Remember: Google's helpful content update rewards sites that demonstrate expertise in specific topics. Your internal linking should reflect that expertise by creating clear topical relationships between pages.
Click to expand...
This message should be pinned as the right and only good answer in this thread.
 
vldsam95 said:
  • Keep navigation depth to max 3 clicks from the homepage
can you please give example?
Click to expand...
The 3-click rule means any page on your site should be reachable within 3 clicks from the homepage. Here's a practical example:

Homepage (Click 1) → Category Page "Digital Cameras" → (Click 2) → Subcategory "DSLR Cameras" → (Click 3) → Individual Product/Article Page

Another example:
Homepage → Blog → Category "Photography Tips" → Individual Blog Post

This structure keeps your site shallow and easily navigable. Instead of burying content deep like:
Homepage → Electronics → Cameras → Digital → DSLR → Brands → Canon → Reviews → Specific Model

This way, both users and search engines can efficiently discover and access your content without getting lost in multiple layers of navigation.
 
ayushsomani said:
As someone who manages multiple sites with 1000+ pages each, here's what actually works in 2025:

Think of internal linking like a city's road system. Your homepage and category pages are highways, while content pages are local streets. You don't need every street to connect directly to every other street, but you need logical pathways.

Key principles I follow:
  • Link topically related content (not just keyword matching)
  • Keep navigation depth to max 3 clicks from the homepage
  • Use contextual links within content (not just generic "related posts")
  • Focus on the user journey rather than just SEO
Regarding your mega menu: I made the same mistake years ago. Having 800+ links in the header actually dilutes the SEO value of each link and confuses users. Instead, create strong category pages and let them funnel users naturally.

Quick question: Have you considered creating topic clusters instead of linking everything to everything? It's more manageable and actually performs better in my testing.

Remember: Google's helpful content update rewards sites that demonstrate expertise in specific topics. Your internal linking should reflect that expertise by creating clear topical relationships between pages.
Click to expand...
Im leaning on going with topic clusters instead, regarding this should the pillar page link to all the supporting pages and the supporting pages to the pillar page only? also should all the pages in a topic cluster have a link back to the home page ?
 
praetserge said:
I use pillar pages for the main menu... and it's OK to add some sub-pillar pages as sub-menu.
The rest, I think should be interlinked for 2 reasons:
1. UX
2. SEO. Remember, if you have all your pages in the header then google will NOT read the anchor texts you use when interlinking. Let's say you have a page about "blue ribbons for b'day". Using interlinking you can use different anchors like "why choose blue ribbons for b'day", "who buys blue ribbons for b'day", "are blue ribbons for b'day good?". You tell Google that your page covers much more than just "blue ribbons for b'day".
Click to expand...
How can a anchor text be inserted into the interlinking?
 
With 800+ pages, focus on linking relevant pages naturally instead of overlinking. Don’t link everything to the homepage; connect to key pages like categories and related content. This keeps things organized and helps users and search engines navigate your site better.
 
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