An internal link is a hyperlink connecting one page to another page within the same website domain. When you link from yoursite.com/page-a to yoursite.com/page-b, that's an internal link. These are distinct from external links, which point to different domains entirely. Internal links serve two critical functions. For users, they create navigation pathways through your content, keeping visitors engaged and helping them find related information. For search engines, they establish site architecture and distribute PageRank (link equity) from high-authority pages to others that need ranking help. Google's crawlers follow internal links to discover and index new pages, so proper internal linking ensures your entire site gets crawled efficiently. The anatomy of an internal link includes the anchor text (the clickable words) and the destination URL. Best practice is using descriptive anchor text that tells both users and search engines what the linked page covers. Avoid generic phrases like "click here" or "read more." Instead, use keywords naturally: "our Ottawa web design services" or "complete keyword research guide." Common internal link types include: - Navigation menus and footer links - Contextual links within body content - Related posts or product recommendations - Breadcrumb trails - Sidebar widgets and calls-to-action At Ottawa SEO Inc., we treat internal linking as architecture, not an afterthought. When managing our 500+ domain portfolio, we prioritize linking from established pages to newer content that needs ranking momentum. We also use internal links to create topic clusters, where a pillar page on "On-Page SEO" links out to supporting articles on title tags, meta descriptions, and schema markup, then those pages link back to the pillar. The tradeoff is dilution: every link on a page splits the PageRank that page passes. So 100 links means each gets roughly 1% of the equity. Keep important pages accessible within 3 clicks from your homepage, and don't spam internal links where they don't add user value.