Check your internal linking structure

SiteCurl counts the internal links on every page in your scan. Internal links are links that point to other pages on the same domain. Pages with very few internal links are flagged because they limit both visitor navigation and search engine crawling.

The check looks at anchor tags with href values pointing to the same domain. It excludes external links, anchor links within the same page, and links to files like PDFs or images.

SiteCurl reports the internal link count per page so you can identify pages that are poorly connected to the rest of your site.

Internal links serve two audiences. For visitors, they provide navigation paths between related content. A blog post that links to related posts keeps readers engaged. A product page that links to similar products increases time on site. Without internal links, visitors can only use your main navigation to move around, which limits discovery of deeper content.

For search engines, internal links define the structure of your site. Google follows internal links to discover pages and to understand relationships between them. A page with many internal links pointing to it is treated as more important than one with few. This is sometimes called 'internal PageRank' and it directly influences which pages rank higher.

Pages with no internal links pointing to them are called 'orphan pages.' Search engine crawlers cannot discover them through normal crawling. They may be indexed only through the sitemap, and even then they receive minimal ranking weight.

The distribution of internal links matters. If your home page links to 5 category pages but those category pages do not link to each other, you have a shallow site structure. Adding cross-links between related sections helps both visitors and crawlers navigate deeper.

Pages with few internal links are harder for search engines to find and harder for visitors to reach. If a page can only be reached through three clicks from the home page, it receives less crawl attention and less link value.

Internal links distribute ranking power across your site. Your home page typically has the most external links pointing to it. Internal links pass some of that value to deeper pages. Without internal links, that value stays concentrated on the home page while other pages struggle.

For visitors, internal links are the primary discovery mechanism beyond the main navigation. A blog post that links to related content keeps readers on your site. A product page that links to accessories or alternatives increases the chance of a purchase.

Content sites and blogs benefit the most from strong internal linking. Each new post should link to older related posts, and older posts should be updated to link to newer content. Without this, older content becomes isolated and loses traffic over time.

E-commerce sites with deep product catalogs need internal links between related products, between products and categories, and between blog content and products. Without these connections, long-tail product pages may never get crawled.

SaaS marketing sites often have landing pages that exist in isolation. These pages may rank for a keyword but do not link to the blog, help center, or other marketing pages. Adding internal links increases the total value of the site structure.

Step 1: Add contextual links within your content. When writing or editing a page, link to related pages on your site wherever the context is natural. A blog post about SEO should link to your SEO checker page. A product page should link to related products.

Step 2: Add related content sections. At the bottom of blog posts, add a 'Related posts' section with links to 3 to 5 relevant articles. On product pages, add 'You might also like' links. These keep visitors engaged and pass link value to deeper pages.

Step 3: Update older content. When you publish new content, go back to older related pages and add links to the new page. Internal linking should work in both directions, not just from new content to old.

Step 4: Check your navigation. Make sure your main navigation covers your most important pages. If a key page is not in the navigation, it needs extra internal links from the body content of other pages.

Only linking from new content to old. If you write a new blog post and link to three older posts, those older posts still do not link to the new one. Go back and add reverse links so the connection works both ways.

Over-linking from a single page. Adding 50 internal links to one page dilutes the value of each link. Keep links relevant and natural. Five well-placed links are more valuable than 50 random ones.

Using the same anchor text for every link. Anchor text tells search engines what the target page is about. Varying your anchor text naturally (instead of always using 'click here' or the exact same phrase) gives search engines more context about the linked page.

After adding internal links, run another SiteCurl scan. The internal link count per page should increase. Focus on pages that had the fewest links and check that they now connect to relevant content.

You can also check your site structure in Google Search Console under the Links report. The 'Internal links' section shows which pages have the most and fewest internal links.

Internal links are the connective tissue of your site. They help visitors find related content and help search engines understand which pages matter most. Every page should link to at least a few other relevant pages. Review internal links whenever you publish or update content.