Internal links are one of the most underused SEO levers in e-commerce. They decide how search engines discover your pages, how important each page seems, and how shoppers move through your store. Unlike backlinks, they are completely under your control.
This guide shows how to build an internal linking strategy for an online store.
Why internal links matter
- Discovery: search engines find pages by following links. Pages without internal links are often crawled late or not at all (see Discovered – currently not indexed)
- Importance: pages with more and better internal links are seen as more important
- Context: anchor text tells search engines what the target page is about
- Conversion: good links guide shoppers to the right products
1. Start with a clear site architecture
A typical store structure:
Home
├── Category (e.g. Shoes)
│ ├── Subcategory (e.g. Trail Running Shoes)
│ │ └── Products
│ └── Subcategory (e.g. Road Running Shoes)
└── Category (e.g. Clothing)
Guidelines:
- Important categories within one or two clicks from the home page
- Products within about three or four clicks
- Categories based on how customers search and shop, not on internal warehouse logic
- Avoid very deep structures and isolated pages
2. Main navigation
The main menu is linked from every page, so it passes the most internal authority.
- Include your most important categories
- Use clear, descriptive labels that match search terms (“Trail Running Shoes” rather than “Off-Road Collection”)
- Avoid giant mega menus with hundreds of links; they dilute focus and can confuse users
- Make sure the menu links are in the HTML, not only loaded by JavaScript after interaction
3. Breadcrumbs
Breadcrumbs link products and subcategories back up the hierarchy. They help users and search engines, and with BreadcrumbList structured data they can appear in search results.
4. Category page links
- Link to subcategories at the top of category pages
- Link to related categories (“Also see: trail running socks”)
- Add helpful content with links to buying guides
- Use normal, crawlable pagination links
5. Product page links
- Related products (similar alternatives)
- Complementary products (accessories, cross-sells)
- Links to the category and brand pages
- Links to buying guides relevant to the product
Use real HTML links for these blocks. Recommendation widgets that only load after interaction or via JavaScript may not be followed.
6. Blog and content links
Your blog and buying guides can pass authority and traffic to commercial pages:
- Every guide should link to the relevant categories and best products
- Use descriptive anchor text (“waterproof trail running shoes”), not “click here”
- Link from new posts to older related posts, and update older posts with links to new ones
7. Faceted navigation: link carefully
Filters can create thousands of crawlable URLs. Link only to filter combinations that deserve to rank (with search demand and unique content). Others should not be linked in crawlable form or should be blocked from crawling (see the robots.txt guide).
8. Home page links
The home page usually has the most authority. Use it to link to:
- Main categories
- Seasonal categories and campaigns (for example a Black Friday landing page in November)
- Best sellers and new arrivals
9. Anchor text
- Descriptive and natural
- Varied, not the exact same keyword everywhere
- Consistent with the target page’s topic
10. Avoid common problems
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| Links to redirected URLs | Update links to the final URL |
| Links to 404 pages | Fix or remove |
| Orphan pages (no internal links) | Add links or remove the page |
| Links to non-canonical URLs | Link to the canonical version (e.g. Shopify /products/ URLs) |
nofollow on internal links |
Remove; use robots/noindex for pages you want excluded |
| Important pages too deep | Add links from higher-level pages |
How to audit internal links
- Crawl the site with a crawler and look at click depth, inlinks per page and orphan pages
- Compare crawled pages with your sitemap: pages in the sitemap but not found in the crawl are orphans
- Check Search Console → Links → Internal links for the most-linked pages. Are those your most important ones?
- Fix the biggest gaps first: important categories and best sellers with few links
Seasonal opportunity
Before peak season, add links to seasonal landing pages from the home page and main categories weeks in advance, so they are crawled and ranking in time. See the Black Friday checklist.
Frequently asked questions
How many internal links should a page have?
There is no fixed number. Every link should be useful for the visitor. Hundreds of links on every page dilute their value and make navigation harder.
Do footer links count?
Yes, but footer links on every page are seen as site-wide navigation. Use the footer for service pages and key categories, not keyword-stuffed link lists.
Should I use automatic internal linking plugins?
They can help on content sites, but automatic links can become spammy or irrelevant. Review what they create.
Want a stronger store structure?
I audit and improve site architecture and internal linking for online stores. See my technical SEO service or request an SEO audit.