How to Conduct an Internal Linking Audit

What Is an Internal Linking Audit?

An internal link points from one URL on a website to another URL on the same website.

These links can appear within:

• Primary navigation.
• Secondary navigation.
• Breadcrumbs.
• Main content.
• Related content.
• Sidebars.
• Footers.
• Pagination.
• Taxonomy pages.
• Other interface elements.

An internal linking audit evaluates whether this network supports the intended website structure.

It can help identify:

• Broken internal links.
• Links through redirects.
• Orphan page candidates.
• Important pages with weak internal visibility.
• Excessively deep pages.
• Poor contextual connections.
• Unhelpful anchor text.
• Legacy links.
• Internal links to non-canonical URLs.
• Internal links to pages that should not receive prominence.
• Opportunities to connect relevant content.

Finding these conditions does not automatically mean they are problems.

They require interpretation.

Understand the Website Before Counting Links

A page with ten internal links is not automatically weaker than a page with one hundred.

Before analysing link counts, understand:

• Which pages are commercially important.
• Which pages receive organic visibility.
• Which pages act as hubs.
• Which pages support other topics.
• Which pages are navigational.
• Which pages are intentionally subordinate.
• Which URLs should be indexed.
• How the website hierarchy is intended to work.

Without that context, link-count metrics can become misleading.

Establish Your URL Inventory

Create a working inventory of the site’s important URLs.

Useful fields can include:

• URL.
• Status code.
• Indexability.
• Canonical URL.
• Page type.
• Website section.
• Crawl depth.
• Internal links in.
• Internal links out.
• Search clicks.
• Search impressions.
• Primary query group.
• Sitemap inclusion.
• Intended page purpose.

Not every audit needs every field.

The inventory should contain enough information to determine which pages matter and how they currently participate in the internal linking system.

Crawl the Website

A crawler provides the starting representation of the internal link graph.

Collect information such as:

• Source URL.
• Destination URL.
• Anchor text.
• Link location where available.
• Follow status where relevant.
• Destination status code.
• Crawl depth.
• Number of incoming internal links.
• Number of outgoing internal links.

Remember that a crawl only reflects what the crawler discovered under the configuration used.

It is not necessarily a complete representation of every URL that exists.

Separate Link Types

Not all internal links perform the same function.

Navigational Links

These help users move through the site’s primary structure.

Examples include:

• Main navigation.
• Subnavigation.
• Breadcrumbs.

Contextual Links

These appear within content and connect information based on relevance.

For example, a guide about technical SEO may link to a deeper resource about website information architecture when architecture becomes relevant to the discussion.

Utility Links

These support functional or administrative journeys.

Examples can include:

• Login.
• Account.
• Privacy.
• Terms.

Repeated Sitewide Links

These commonly appear in headers, navigation and footers.

Separating these types prevents a sitewide footer link from being interpreted in exactly the same way as a deliberate contextual relationship within the main content.

Find Broken Internal Links

Identify internal links pointing to URLs returning errors.

Then determine:

• What page contains the link?
• What destination was intended?
• Does an appropriate replacement exist?
• Should the link be updated?
• Should the destination be restored?
• Should the link simply be removed?

Do not automatically redirect every broken URL.

Sometimes the problem is the source link rather than the missing destination.

Find Internal Links Through Redirects

Identify links pointing to URLs that redirect.

For each one, determine whether the source should link directly to the final destination.

Updating internal links can:

• Reduce unnecessary redirect hops.
• Make the intended destination explicit.
• Simplify future maintenance.

Pay particular attention to redirect chains.

For example:

Page A → Old URL → Previous URL → Current URL

Where appropriate, Page A should normally link directly to the current destination.

Check Links to Non-Canonical URLs

Internal links should generally reinforce the URLs the website intends to treat as canonical.

Investigate links pointing to:

• Duplicate variants.
• Parameterised versions.
• HTTP versions.
• Incorrect hostname variants.
• URLs canonicalised elsewhere.

If the website consistently links to one URL while declaring another as canonical, it is sending conflicting signals.

Determine why the inconsistency exists before fixing it.

Identify Orphan Page Candidates

An orphan page has no discoverable internal link path in the crawl being analysed.

A crawler alone cannot reliably find true orphan pages because pages with no links may never be discovered.

Compare the crawl against additional sources such as:

• XML sitemaps.
• Google Search Console.
• Analytics.
• CMS exports.
• Known URL lists.

Then investigate URLs that appear outside the crawl.

An orphan candidate may be:

• An important page that should be linked.
• An obsolete URL.
• A campaign page.
• A utility page.
• A duplicate.
• A page that should redirect.
• A URL that should not be indexed.

Do not add an internal link merely because a page is technically orphaned.

First decide whether the page should exist.

Analyse Crawl Depth

Crawl depth measures the number of link steps between the crawl starting point and a URL.

Use it as a diagnostic metric, not a universal rule.

Ask:

• Is the page important?
• Why is it this deep?
• Is it linked from the appropriate hub?
• Can users discover it logically?
• Is its depth consistent with its role?
• Does it receive search visibility despite its depth?

An important service page buried deep in the website may indicate an architectural problem.

A specialised supporting resource at the same depth may be completely reasonable.

Analyse Incoming Internal Links

Review which pages receive the most and fewest internal links.

But avoid treating raw link counts as a ranking formula.

Instead, investigate whether strategically important pages receive appropriate links from relevant parts of the website.

For an important page, ask:

• Which pages link to it?
• Why do they link to it?
• Are those relationships meaningful?
• Are relevant pages missing links to it?
• Is the page discoverable from an appropriate hub?

Quality of relationship matters alongside quantity.

Analyse Outgoing Internal Links

Pages should also help users continue to relevant information.

Review whether important pages link to:

• Supporting resources.
• Related services.
• Parent topics.
• Relevant child pages.
• Useful next steps.

A page with few outgoing links is not automatically defective.

The question is whether meaningful relationships are missing.

Audit Anchor Text

Anchor text should help users understand the destination.

Good contextual anchors usually describe what the linked page contains.

For example:

website information architecture

is generally more informative than:

click here

However, do not force every anchor into an exact-match keyword pattern.

Natural language matters.

Different contexts can legitimately use different anchor wording for the same destination.

The objective is clarity, not mechanical keyword repetition.

Identify Generic Anchor Text

Review repeated anchors such as:

• Click here.
• Read more.
• Learn more.
• More.
• View.
• This page.

These are not automatically wrong.

A button labelled “View Project” may be understandable because the surrounding project card establishes context.

But within body content, descriptive anchors usually provide more information about the destination.

Interpret anchor text within its interface and sentence context.

Analyse Links Between Related Topics

One of the most useful parts of an internal linking audit is identifying pages that should logically connect but currently do not.

For example:

Technical SEO Audit Guide
|
+-- Technical SEO Service
|
+-- SEO Audit Service
|
+-- Information Architecture Guide

Those relationships should exist because the topics genuinely intersect.

Do not create links merely because two pages share keywords.

Create them because one page helps someone understand or continue from the other.

Map Hub and Supporting Page Relationships

For websites with topic hubs, check whether the relationships work in both directions.

A hub should normally help users discover important supporting pages.

Supporting pages should often provide a logical route back to the broader subject where useful.

For example:

Resources
|
+-- Technical SEO Audit
|
+-- Internal Linking Audit
|
+-- Information Architecture

The Resources hub supports discovery.

The individual resources can also connect contextually where their subject matter overlaps.

Analyse Internal Links Using Search Performance

Internal linking analysis becomes more useful when combined with search data.

Google Search Console can help identify:

• Pages receiving substantial impressions.
• Pages already ranking for relevant queries.
• Pages with growing visibility.
• URLs competing across similar query groups.
• Important pages with little organic visibility.
• Pages that may deserve stronger contextual connections.

For example, if a page already receives impressions for an important query group but is weakly integrated into the site architecture, improved internal relationships may be worth investigating.

That is stronger reasoning than adding links solely because the page has a low link count.

Protect Existing Performers

Internal linking audits should not focus only on weak pages.

Identify pages already performing well.

Before changing their:

• Navigation.
• Anchor relationships.
• URL.
• Page purpose.
• Position in the architecture.

understand what currently works.

SEO optimisation should include protecting existing value.

Evaluate Internal Link Relevance

For every proposed contextual link, ask:

Would this destination genuinely help someone reading this section?

If yes, the relationship is probably defensible.

If the only justification is:

We need more internal links to this page.

the link may not belong there.

This simple test prevents much of the artificial linking found on SEO-driven websites.

Do Not Use Internal Links to Hide Architecture Problems

Internal linking cannot solve every structural issue.

If five pages serve essentially the same purpose, adding more links between them does not resolve the underlying overlap.

Likewise, if an important page sits in the wrong website section, scattered contextual links may not correct the hierarchy.

Sometimes the appropriate solution is:

• Repositioning.
• Consolidation.
• Navigation changes.
• URL restructuring.
• Content differentiation.
• Removal.

Internal linking is part of information architecture, not a replacement for it.

Identify Link Opportunities From Content

Review important pages for concepts that already mention another subject without linking to the relevant destination.

For example, a page discussing:

canonicalisation, redirects and website architecture

may naturally provide opportunities to link to deeper resources about those subjects.

Do not insert links into every possible keyword occurrence.

Choose locations where the link adds navigational or informational value.

Prioritise Pages, Not Just Links

A large site can produce thousands of possible link changes.

Prioritise according to the importance of the destination and the value of the relationship.

Consider:

Page importance: How important is the destination?

Search opportunity: Does search data suggest potential?

Relationship strength: Is the source genuinely relevant?

User value: Would the link help someone continue their journey?

Current visibility: Is the destination currently difficult to discover?

Scale: Is this an isolated issue or a template-level problem?

Implementation effort: Can the improvement be made efficiently?

This turns an enormous link export into an actionable plan.

Separate Template Problems From Page-Level Problems

Some internal linking problems occur across hundreds of pages because of templates.

Examples include:

• Navigation links pointing through redirects.
• Footer links pointing to obsolete URLs.
• Broken breadcrumb destinations.
• Related-content modules generating incorrect URLs.

Fixing the template may resolve hundreds of individual link instances.

Other issues are page-specific and require editorial decisions.

Separate these categories before implementation.

Build an Internal Linking Map

For important pages, document expected relationships.

A simple map can contain:

• Destination URL.
• Page purpose.
• Parent hub.
• Relevant sibling pages.
• Supporting resources.
• Related commercial pages.
• Existing contextual links.
• Proposed contextual links.
• Priority.

This is especially useful during website restructuring or content consolidation.

Implement Links Carefully

When adding links:

• Use the correct canonical destination.
• Use meaningful anchor text.
• Place the link where context supports it.
• Avoid unnecessary repetition.
• Do not overload paragraphs with links.
• Do not force exact-match anchors.
• Preserve readability.

Internal links exist for people as well as search systems.

Validate the Changes

After implementation, recrawl the affected website or section.

Confirm:

• Broken links were resolved.
• Redirected internal links were updated.
• New links point to the intended URLs.
• Important pages are discoverable.
• Canonical destinations are being used.
• Crawl depth changed where expected.
• No new errors were introduced.

For template changes, test multiple page types.

Measure After the Audit

Depending on the scope and purpose of the changes, monitor:

• Organic clicks.
• Impressions.
• Ranking queries.
• Ranking URLs.
• Crawl depth.
• Incoming internal links.
• Indexation.
• Search landing pages.

Do not assume that an internal linking change caused every subsequent movement.

Search performance is influenced by many factors.

Measurement should test whether the expected effect is supported by evidence.

Internal Linking Audit Workflow

The complete process can be summarised as:

1. Understand the website architecture.
2. Establish a URL inventory.
3. Crawl the website.
4. Classify important page types.
5. Identify broken internal links.
6. Identify links through redirects.
7. Check links to non-canonical URLs.
8. Identify orphan page candidates.
9. Analyse crawl depth.
10. Analyse incoming and outgoing links.
11. Review anchor text.
12. Map hub and supporting-page relationships.
13. Compare internal links with search performance.
14. Identify missing contextual relationships.
15. Prioritise pages and changes.
16. Implement improvements.
17. Recrawl and validate.
18. Monitor relevant search signals.

Internal Linking Audit Checklist

Use this after the analysis rather than as a substitute for it.

Technical links

• Broken internal links reviewed.
• Redirected internal links reviewed.
• Redirect chains investigated.
• Non-canonical destinations investigated.

Discovery

• Orphan candidates identified using multiple URL sources.
• Important pages checked for internal discoverability.
• Crawl depth reviewed in context.

Architecture

• Hub relationships reviewed.
• Parent and child relationships reviewed.
• Relevant sibling relationships reviewed.
• Navigation and breadcrumbs checked.

Contextual links

• Important pages reviewed for missing relationships.
• Existing contextual links assessed for relevance.
• Link placement reviewed.

Anchor text

• Generic anchors investigated where appropriate.
• Descriptive anchors used naturally.
• Forced exact-match repetition avoided.

Search performance

• Important search landing pages identified.
• High-impression pages reviewed.
• Existing performers protected.
• Query-to-page relationships considered.

Implementation

• Correct destinations used.
• Template-level issues separated from editorial issues.
• Changes documented.

Validation

• Website recrawled.
• Link destinations verified.
• New technical errors checked.
• Relevant search signals monitored.

What an Internal Linking Audit Should Produce

Depending on scope, useful deliverables may include:

• Internal link inventory.
• Broken-link report.
• Redirected-link report.
• Orphan candidate analysis.
• Crawl-depth analysis.
• Anchor-text analysis.
• Priority-page analysis.
• Internal linking map.
• Recommended contextual links.
• Template-level recommendations.
• Implementation priorities.
• Validation plan.

The output should tell someone what needs to change and why.

A spreadsheet containing thousands of links is data.

It becomes an audit only after the data has been interpreted.

Internal Linking Is a Relationship System

The strongest internal linking strategies do not begin with:

How many links should this page have?

They begin with:

What is this page about, what role does it play, and which other pages genuinely relate to it?

That changes internal linking from a mechanical SEO tactic into part of the website’s information architecture.

Technical SEO ensures the links function.

Information architecture defines the relationships.

Content provides the context.

Search performance data helps determine where investigation and opportunity exist.

Internal linking connects those systems.

Related SEO Resources

Continue with:

• Website Information Architecture for SEO
• Technical SEO Audit
• Search Intent Mapping
• Google Search Console Analysis
• AI Search Visibility Audit

These resources examine different parts of the same search system.