Before searching for another website to link to you, check how well your own pages connect. A useful article can be difficult to discover when nothing on your site points to it. Internal linking is the work of building those connections deliberately.
Google recommends crawlable links and descriptive anchor text to help people and its systems understand linked pages. For your editorial workflow, translate that into a simple question: what would this reader reasonably need next?
Map a short reader journey
Choose an important service, product, or topic. List the questions someone asks before making a decision, then match each question to a page that answers it. For an accounting business, that journey might run from a bookkeeping checklist to a guide about choosing software, then to a service page.
This is an example of planning, not a mandatory funnel. Some readers need only the checklist. Give them choices that make sense in context rather than repeatedly pushing them towards a sale.
Write links that explain the destination
Compare “read more” with “compare bookkeeping software for small teams.” The second phrase gives the reader a clearer idea of what happens next. Keep the wording short enough to read naturally within the sentence.
You do not need to repeat the exact same keyword phrase every time. If adding a link makes a paragraph awkward, rewrite the sentence or choose a better location. Avoid strings of adjacent links that leave readers guessing which page to open.
Use real links in the page
For a standard web page, a link should use an <a> element with an href pointing to a valid destination. A visual label or a click handler by itself does not provide the same straightforward link structure.
Our own guide to what backlinks are is a useful next step if you are comparing internal and external links. The wording tells you what the page covers before you leave this article.
Review older content when you publish
Adding a new article is only half the job. Look for two or three existing pages where the new resource answers a question already being discussed. Add a link where it improves the explanation. Then check that the new article points back to any background material its reader needs.
For a small site, a plain list of important URLs is enough to start. Record the page’s purpose, relevant incoming links from your own site, and any missing next step. There is no need to buy a tool before understanding that list.
Keep the links useful over time
When a destination moves or disappears, update the references that point to it. Review navigation on mobile as well as desktop, and make sure important links remain readable and usable. Combine this with the technical SEO checklist during routine maintenance.
Further reading: Google’s link best practices.