Internal linking is the practice of linking from one page on your domain to another page on the same domain. Unlike external links that point to other websites, internal links keep users within your site and create a network of related content that search engines can crawl. The main purposes are crawlability, authority distribution, and user experience. When you link from your homepage to a service page, or from a blog post to a related guide, you're telling Google which pages matter and how they relate to each other. Pages that receive more internal links typically rank better because they accumulate more "link equity" from the rest of your site. There are several types of internal links: - Navigation links in your header, footer, and sidebar that appear sitewide - Contextual links within your content that point to related articles or pages - Breadcrumb links showing the page hierarchy - Related posts or recommended content modules At Ottawa SEO Inc., we typically aim for 2-5 contextual internal links per 1,000 words of content, focusing on relevance over volume. We prioritize linking to pages that need ranking help and ensure our most important pages get linked from multiple sources across the site. The anchor text matters significantly. Instead of generic "click here" links, use descriptive phrases that include relevant keywords. If you're linking to a page about local SEO, anchor text like "Ottawa local SEO strategies" works better than "this article." Common mistakes include orphan pages with zero internal links, over-optimization with exact-match anchors on every link, and circular linking patterns that waste crawl budget. Your internal linking should feel natural to readers while creating clear pathways for search engines to understand your site's structure and topic authority. Done properly, internal linking is one of the easiest on-page wins that costs nothing but improves rankings measurably.