At first glance, internal linking might seem straightforward. After all, it's just linking one page on your website to another.
How could you possibly get it wrong? Would Google really penalize you for a few internal linking mistakes?
In reality, while internal linking blunders are unlikely to land you in serious trouble with Google unless you're blatantly trying to manipulate the system, these mistakes can still hurt your SEO.
Most internal linking issues arise not because something is done terribly wrong, but because you’re not fully tapping into the potential that internal links offer for boosting SEO and improving user experience.
Before diving into missed opportunities, let’s first cover the key mistakes that can cost you—without necessarily triggering a manual penalty from Google, but still negatively affecting your site's performance.
Bad Mistakes
To be clear, it’s rare for Google to issue a manual penalty solely due to internal linking mistakes.
However, certain errors can trigger parts of Google’s algorithm, potentially leading to lower rankings, which can cost you traffic, and ultimately, revenue.
And that’s something you definitely want to avoid.
No Anchor Text Diversification
Anchor texts are the clickable words or phrases in hyperlinks that guide users to another page. Without thinking about SEO, most website owners naturally avoid repeating the same anchor text.
But when SEO comes into play, the situation can change. SEOs often focus on embedding specific keywords into anchor texts to give Google signals about the content of the linked page.
This strategy works—until it’s overdone. Using the same keywords in anchor texts across multiple links can create a pattern that Google’s algorithm might flag as over-optimization.
Instead of improving rankings, it could do the opposite by lowering them or, in extreme cases, negatively affecting your entire website’s performance.
How to fix it:
To avoid anchor text over-optimization, you need to know how to use different anchor texts used across your site. Follow this approach:
Limit repetition - Keep the same keyword as an anchor text to a minimum, ideally no more than 3 times across the site.
Diversify anchor text types - Use a mix of exact match, partial match, and context-based anchor texts to create a more organic linking profile.
Create keyword variations - Use synonyms or related phrases to avoid repeating the same anchor text, e.g., switch between "best SEO agency" and "top search engine optimization company."
Maintain a balanced anchor text ratio - Aim for:
50% Exact Matches (using target keywords)
30% Partial Matches (including part of the keyword or a related phrase)
20% Contextual Matches (phrases that don't necessarily contain any keywords but are still relevant to the target page)
Too Many Internal Links on a Single Page
It’s hard to reach the point of over-linking unless you truly go overboard. Generally, I aim for 5-15 internal links per page.
Bombarding a single page with too many links dilutes their effectiveness and can overwhelm users.
How to fix it:
This issue usually occurs when links are added just for SEO benefits rather than user relevance.
To fix it, focus on linking only where it makes sense for the content.
A good rule of thumb is to place one internal link per 100 words—enough to provide value without overloading the reader.
Linking Irrelevant Pages
We’ve all been guilty of trying to force an internal link into a context where it doesn’t quite belong, usually for SEO purposes.
But this practice misguides both users and search engines.
How to fix it:
Before linking, analyze the anchor text, the sentence, and the destination page. Does the link genuinely enhance the user’s experience?
If not, reconsider or edit the content to naturally incorporate the link.
If you use tools like Linkter, you can tweak content directly from the interface, either manually or through AI, to ensure the link fits better.
Missed Opportunities: Internal Linking Errors You Can Fix
Beyond avoiding penalties, there are numerous opportunities many sites miss when it comes to internal linking.
These errors prevent you from fully maximizing the potential of your internal linking strategy.
Not Adding Enough Internal Links
Lack of internal links can hide valuable content from users and search engines alike.
If pages aren’t connected properly, critical content might remain buried, preventing it from driving the traffic it deserves.
How to fix it:
Linkter solves this for you, entirely. We created a tool that uncovers every possible internal linking opportunity on your website, by doing two different types of semantic analyses:
Topical analysis - We match every posts title and main topic with other relevant topics based on their semantic relevance.
Keyword analysis - We take the main post keyword and look for its related matches inside every page of your website. That means we analyze every sentence and every word on your website looking for what's relevant.
Nofollow-ing Internal Links
Using "nofollow" tags on internal links can prevent link equity from flowing across your site, undermining one of the primary benefits of internal linking.
How to fix it:
Ensure internal links are marked as "dofollow" so they pass authority between pages.
You can check for “nofollow” attributes by searching page sources using CTRL + F, making it easier to spot and correct any issues.
You can also leverage a tool like Screaming Frog, that can quickly analyze your website, and give you a report on all nofollow internal link instances across your entire website.
Orphan Pages
Orphan pages are pages without any internal links pointing to them, essentially making them invisible to users and search engines.
Think of them as forgotten treasures, hidden deep within your site’s structure.
How to fix it:
Again, we got the solution.
Head over to “Orphaned pages” report in Linkter and click on any of the pages that don’t have any incoming internal links.
Linkter will instantly generate you all of the relevant opportunities based on keyword and topic matching.
Broken Internal Links
Broken links can lead to frustrating user experiences and erode trust in your site. These dead-end links are not only disappointing but can also hurt your SEO because you are wasting link equity.
How to fix it:
Regularly audit your site using crawling tools to find and fix broken links.
Either remove them or set up redirects to ensure users are guided smoothly from one page to another.
Internal Link Redirects
Redirect chains can confuse both users and search engines, adding unnecessary steps that slow down navigation and hinder SEO. You need to have a max of 1 redirect chain for any link on your website.
How to fix it:
Review and streamline your redirects using any crawling tool like Ahrefs, Screaming Frog or SiteBulb.
Make sure that every link leads directly to its destination, avoiding unnecessary redirect chains that can bog down both users and crawlers.
Not Knowing Which of Your Pages Carry the Most Value
Failing to prioritize high-value pages means you miss out on amplifying your site’s impact.
Without knowing which pages carry the most SEO value, your internal linking strategy might be working against you.
How to fix it:
Use a tool like Ahrefs to identify pages that carry most link equity. You'll effectively do that by uncovering which pages on your website have the most quality backlinks pointing to them.
Luckily for you, Ahrefs has a great "Best by Links" report that shows which pages pack the most power.
Once you know which pages carry most link equity, you know which pages are top destinations to link internally towards your other pages, and spread that link equity efficiently.
Why You Need to Aim for a Perfect Internal Linking Structure
A well-executed internal linking structure is about more than SEO—it’s about making your site easier to navigate and ensuring that users and search engines can find valuable content.
No Indexing Problems
A strong internal linking structure ensures that all your pages are easily accessible to search engines.
When Google’s bots crawl your site, they follow internal links to discover and index new content. Without these links, important pages go completely unnoticed.
Since I've started applying Linkter across my entire portfolio of websites, I have experienced 0 indexing issues.
Maximize Link Equity Distribution
Internal links pass PageRank from one page to another, distributing link equity throughout your site.
A popular page with a lot of backlinks can bolster less authoritative pages by linking to them.
Maintaining a healthy internal linking structure ensures you’re passing link equity effectively and not wasting potential SEO benefits.
Improve User Experience
Internal links are like signposts guiding users through your content.
By connecting relevant pages, you help users navigate your site more easily, improving engagement and reducing bounce rates.
Plus, the more time users spend on your site, the better it looks to search engines.
How to Ensure You Have the Perfect Internal Linking Structure
It doesn’t have to be complicated.
Tools like Linkter simplify the process by analyzing your internal linking structure, identifying errors, and highlighting opportunities.
All that’s left for you to do is follow the steps, fix the issues, and keep building.
Simple, right? That’s because it is.
