Internal linking is the practice of using hyperlinks to connect one page on your website to another page on the same domain. Every time you link from your homepage to a service page, or from a blog post to a relevant product page, you're creating an internal link. These links serve three core purposes. First, they help users navigate your site and discover related content they might not have found otherwise. Second, they distribute link equity (ranking power) from stronger pages to weaker ones, helping more pages rank. Third, they signal to search engines like Google how your content is organized and which pages are most important based on how many internal links point to them. The anchor text you use matters. Instead of generic "click here" links, use descriptive text that tells both users and search engines what the destination page is about. If you're linking to a page about Ottawa web design services, anchor text like "custom web design in Ottawa" is far more valuable than "learn more." Most sites underuse internal linking. A typical blog post should have 3-8 internal links to related content, cornerstone pages, or conversion pages. Your most important pages (services, key product categories) should receive the most internal links from across your site. At Ottawa SEO Inc., we often find clients have orphaned pages with zero internal links pointing to them, which tanks their ability to rank no matter how good the content is. Common mistakes include linking only from navigation menus, using the same anchor text repeatedly for one target page (looks manipulative), and creating links that don't make sense contextually. The best internal links feel natural, add value for the reader, and strategically reinforce your site's hierarchy. Think of your internal link structure as a voting system where every link is a vote for what matters on your site.