The short answer
Google says every page you care about should have at least one link from another page on your site, that links should be <a> elements with an href, and that anchor text should be descriptive, reasonably concise and relevant to both pages1. On a B2B site, that means linking supporting content to your pipeline pages in context, fixing pages nothing links to, and replacing "click here" and "read more" with words that say where the link goes.
Why internal links matter on a B2B website
Internal links do three jobs, and each one is documented by Google.
- Discovery. Google primarily finds pages through links from pages it has already crawled2. A new case study that no other page links to may be found late, or not at all, unless it is in your sitemap.
- Understanding. Google has "various systems that understand how pages link to each other" to work out what pages are about and which might be most helpful for a query; PageRank, one of the original systems, is still part of its core ranking systems3. Anchor text tells users and Google something about the page you link to2.
- Navigation for buyers. A buyer who lands on a blog post from search needs an obvious next step: the service it relates to, a relevant case study, the pricing page. The same links that help Google help them.
Check one pattern on your own site. Open Search Console's Performance report and see which pages get the search clicks. If most land on blog posts and guides, while the pages that turn visitors into leads (services, solutions, industries, pricing, demo) have few links from inside the site, internal links are the cheapest way to connect the two, and unlike a redesign, you can change them one page at a time.
Google's rules for links it can follow
Google's link documentation is short and specific1:
| Google can reliably follow | Google may not follow |
|---|---|
<a href="/services/data-migration/"> | <span href="/services/"> |
<a href="/pricing/" onclick="track()"> (extra attributes are fine) | <a onclick="goto('/pricing/')"> (no href) |
Links added by JavaScript, if they use the same <a href> markup | <a href="javascript:goTo('products')"> (not a real URL) |
Google says it can still try to parse the second column, but it does not recommend relying on it1. Where B2B sites go wrong:
- Mega menus and tabs built from buttons. Some themes open menus or tabbed "Solutions" panels with
<button>or<div>elements and navigate with script. Check that each destination is a real<a href>in the rendered HTML. - Cards where only the image is a link. If a case study card wraps only the logo in a link, the anchor is the image's alt text. Google uses alt text for image links and says empty alt text is bad1.
- Resources behind forms. A white paper that exists only as a gated PDF, reached through a form submission, has no crawlable link. Give it a public landing page that is linked normally.
To check JavaScript-inserted links and anchor text, Google suggests looking at the rendered HTML in the URL Inspection tool1.
Anchor text: say where the link goes
Google's guidance on anchor text: descriptive, reasonably concise, relevant to the page it is on and the page it links to; not generic ("click here"), not overly long, and not stuffed with keywords. It suggests reading the anchor text on its own to see whether it makes sense, and giving each link some surrounding context rather than chaining links one after another1.
| Weak anchor text | Better anchor text | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Click here | our payroll outsourcing service | Says what the destination is |
| Read more | our logistics onboarding case study | Tells the reader what kind of page they will reach |
| Learn more about our award-winning end-to-end managed IT services and solutions for UK businesses | managed IT support for UK businesses | Concise, and still specific |
| Services | see pricing for the Growth plan | Matches what the buyer is about to do |
The examples in the right-hand column are illustrations of the pattern, not text to copy. Use the words your buyers use for the service, which you can find in the queries in Search Console's Performance report.
Vary anchor text naturally. Linking to the same page with exactly the same keyword phrase from every blog post reads as forced, and Google specifically warns against keyword stuffing in anchor text1.
A link plan for a B2B site
You do not need a complex model. Decide which pages matter most, then make sure the right pages point at them. This is a starting point; adjust it to how your buyers actually move through the site.
| Page type | Should link to | Should be linked from |
|---|---|---|
| Service or solution page | Relevant case studies, industry pages, pricing, the demo or contact page | Main navigation, related blog posts and guides, case studies, industry pages |
| Industry page | The services that industry buys, case studies from that industry | Navigation or a services page, case studies in that sector |
| Case study | The service delivered, the industry page, a next step | The service and industry pages it supports, related blog posts |
| Blog post or guide | The service or solution it relates to, one or two related guides | A topic or hub page, other related posts |
| Topic hub | Every guide in the topic, the related service page | Navigation or a resources page, every guide in the topic |
| Pricing page | Plans or service pages, the demo or contact page | Main navigation, service pages, relevant guides |
The hub and spoke pattern in the last rows is how this guide is organised: the B2B website SEO guide links to every guide in the section, and each guide links back to it. It gives Google a clear signal of which pages belong together, and gives readers a way to the next question.
Navigation, footers and how many links
Navigation and footer links count as links, and they are useful for pages every visitor might need. They are not a substitute for links in context. A link from the paragraph that describes the problem a service solves carries surrounding words that explain the relationship; a footer link does not.
Google says there is no ideal number of links on a page, with the caveat that "if you think it's too much, then it probably is"1. A footer listing every page on the site is rarely helpful to anyone.
Competing pages
Two pages that target the same query, such as an old blog post and a newer service page, can split links and attention. Internal links are one way to show which one you prefer: point related content at the page you want to rank, with anchor text that describes it. If the two pages serve the same intent, it is usually better to merge them and redirect the weaker URL. Google treats a redirect as a strong signal that the target should become the canonical URL6.
Audit your internal links in an afternoon
- List your pipeline pages. The 10 to 30 pages that generate enquiries or influence them: services, solutions, industries, pricing, demo, your best case studies. Our B2B website SEO audit checklist starts the same way.
- Check internal links in Search Console. Open the Links report, look at the internal links table of your top linked pages, and click a URL to see which of your pages link to it4. Note that the report is a sample, capped at 1,000 rows per table, and can omit some URLs4. Use it to spot pipeline pages with very few internal links, not as an exact count.
- Find orphan pages. Crawl the site with a crawler that starts from the home page and follows links, then compare the URLs it found with the URLs in your sitemap. A page in the sitemap that the crawl never reached has no internal links pointing to it. Google notes that if your pages are properly linked, it can usually discover most of your site, and that a sitemap does not guarantee every URL is crawled and indexed5.
- Check that links are crawlable. For your main templates (home, service, blog post), inspect a live URL in Search Console and look at the rendered HTML for
<a href>elements in the menu, tabs and cards1. - Review anchor text. In the crawl export, sort internal links by anchor text and look for "click here", "read more", "learn more", empty anchors and image links with no alt text.
- Fix broken internal links and redirect chains. Update links that point at 404 pages or at URLs that redirect, so they point straight at the final URL.
- Add contextual links from your traffic pages. In Search Console's Performance report, find the blog posts and guides with the most clicks. Add one relevant, descriptive link from each to the pipeline page it relates to.
Mistakes to avoid
- Using
nofollowon your own links. Google documentsnofollow,sponsoredandugcfor qualifying links to other sites, such as sources you do not trust or paid links1. They are not a tool for pages on your own site. If a page should not appear in search, usenoindexinstead. - Relying on the sitemap alone. A sitemap helps Google find URLs, but it is not a substitute for links from related pages5, and it gives buyers no route at all.
- Linking to non-canonical URLs. Links to tracking-parameter URLs, old HTTP URLs or versions without the trailing slash send mixed signals. Link to the canonical URL every time6.
- Mass changes in one go. Rewriting every link on the site at once makes it impossible to tell what helped. Change a group of related pages, record the date, and compare like for like. Our guide to measuring the impact of a website change explains how.
Internal linking checklist
- Every page you want found has at least one link from another page on the site1.
- Every link is an
<a>element with anhrefthat resolves to a real URL1. - Anchor text says where the link goes, in the buyer's words; no "click here".
- Image links have descriptive alt text.
- Each service page links to its case studies, industries and next step, and is linked from related guides.
- Each topic hub links to all its guides, and each guide links back.
- No internal links to 404s, redirects or non-canonical URLs.
- No
nofollowon links between your own pages. - Changes are recorded with a date so their effect can be measured.
Where Artiweave fits
Link gaps show up in the evidence Artiweave reads, a crawl of your site and your Search Console data, so a pipeline page with few links pointing to it can become a specific proposed change, such as a new link from a related guide. A marketer approves, edits or rejects it before it is published.
Frequently asked questions
How many internal links should a page have?
Google says there is no ideal number. Link where it helps the reader, and if a page feels like it has too many links, it probably does. Every page you care about should have at least one link from another page on your site.
Do footer and navigation links count?
Yes, they are links Google can follow if they are standard <a href> elements. They work well for pages every visitor might need, but they lack the surrounding context of a link in the body of a related page, so use both.
If I have a sitemap, do I still need internal links?
Yes. Google says a sitemap does not guarantee that the URLs in it will be crawled and indexed, and that a well-linked site can usually be discovered without one. Links also help visitors find the page, which a sitemap never does.
Should I add exact-match keywords to every internal link?
No. Google asks for descriptive, concise anchor text and warns against keyword stuffing. Describe the destination naturally and vary the wording from page to page.
More in this section: B2B website SEO, Search Console quick wins and the B2B website SEO audit checklist.
Sources
- Google Search Central: SEO link best practices for Google (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Google Search Central: SEO Starter Guide (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Google Search Central: A guide to Google Search ranking systems (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Google Search Console Help: Links report (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Google Search Central: What is a sitemap (accessed 3 November 2026)
- Google Search Central: How to specify a canonical URL with rel="canonical" and other methods (accessed 3 November 2026)
Turn your link gaps into approved changes.
Artiweave proposes specific changes from evidence, your team approves each one, and approved changes are published with automatic rollback. It is in private beta.