Internal links: what they are and how to optimize internal linking
In the work of optimizing a site, we are in danger of being lured by the promise of rapid ranking improvement thanks “only” to off-page linking techniques, focusing on backlinks and the relevance that link building has to push Google rankings. In reality, SEO internal link management, so-called internal linking, can also lend great support to strengthen the organic visibility of our pages: if managed properly, internal links become a very powerful tool to facilitate Google crawling by boosting SEO performance and ensuring a smooth and intuitive browsing experience for the user. So let’s delve into what exactly internal links are, why well-crafted internal link building can make a difference, and how a careful strategy can bring lasting benefits from both an SEO and usability perspective.
What are internal links
Internal links are links that point from one page to another within the same domain. Unlike external links, which point to resources on other sites, these serve to relate different content within a single website.
Internal links therefore represent a true digital connective tissue: through them, we can navigate between sections and articles on a site, finding related content or useful insights. In practice, they are an invisible guide that orients the user and search engines.
To summarize (and simplify), we can say that internal links improve site navigability, distribute page authority, and help search engines discover and index new pages.
From a technical point of view, the structure of internal links reveals thearchitecture of the site, signaling to search engines how the various sections and individual articles are connected. It is because of these links that search engine crawlers such as Google can properly explore and index pages. When a page receives many internal links, it is perceived as more relevant within that domain, and consequently may gain more importance than other pages that receive fewer. This makes the work of organizing and distributing internal links a fundamental practice for any SEO activity, directly affecting a website’s visibility and ranking.
What internal linking is used for
Internal links serve to connect the various content within our site, provide support to users and give Google an idea of the structure of the site; thanks to these links, Google can establish a hierarchy and provide more link juice to pages that are essential to us.
They are therefore a key element of a website’s architecture and play a crucial role in SEO: effective internal linking helps distribute link equity within the site, improving theauthority of specificpages and facilitating indexing by search engines. In addition, internal linking helps improve website navigability, guides users to related and relevant content, and helps search engines discover and index all pages on the site.
To put it another way, internal links to similar topics let the search engine (and visitors) know that our information does not stop at just the document they are analyzing, but there are different insights and focuses that we are covering within the website.
A good internal link strategy can improve the usability of the website, and this also indirectly affects the ranking, leading, for example, to an increase in the time spent on the site and a reduction in the bounce rate, factors that can positively influence the ranking.
How to put internal links on the site
Putting an internal link is not particularly complicated: HTML offers a simple and clear syntax for creating links, which can be used to optimize both the content and the structure of the site for SEO, and if we use a CMS the job is even easier.
From a technical point of view, in HTML there is no difference between the syntax for setting an external and an internal link, and therefore an internal link is always created using the <a> tag, which stands for “anchor.” The basic formula is as follows:
<a href=“URL-of-destination-page”>Anchor text</a>.
In detail, this structure means:
- <a> is the opening tag for a link and indicates to a browser that what follows is a clickable link.
- href=“URL-of-destination-page.” The href (hyperlink reference) attribute specifies the URL of the page to which it points. To create an internal link, the URL can be relative or absolute. A relative URL indicates a path relative to the current location; for example, if we want to link to an internal page of the site, we can use a string like href=“/folder/page.html.” If, on the other hand, we are working with an absolute link, we must also include the domain, for example: href=“https://www.tuosito.com/cartella/pagina.html”.
- Anchor text. Between the opening <a> and closing </a> tags we insert the text we want to be displayed as anchor text, chosen carefully.
You can also add additional attributes to the <a> tag to improve user experience or tracking. For example:
- title, which provides a text tooltip that appears when the user hovers over the link. It can be used to provide additional directions, avoiding overuse so as not to weigh down the code.
- target=“_blank,” an attribute that causes the internal link to open in a new browser tab or window, which is useful in cases where we want the user to continue navigating to the current page.
If, on the other hand, we use a CMS such as WordPress, Joomla or Drupal to manage our website, inserting internal links becomes an even simpler and more intuitive process, accessible even to those unfamiliar with HTML code.
Within the platform, whenever we write or edit content we have the option of selecting a portion of text and creating a link using the appropriate link insertion function. To do this, we select the text we want to turn into a link (which will become our anchor text), click on the link insertion icon in the editor toolbar (which generally represents links in a chain, more or less stylized) and enter the URL of the destination page in the window that appears.
In most CMSs it is possible to perform an internal search to quickly find the page to link to, which greatly facilitates the creation of relevant internal links without having to manually search for the URL. Once the address is entered, simply confirm the operation, and the internal link will be automatically generated within the content.
This method not only makes link insertion customized and easy to manage, but also allows us to easily update or modify links as the site structure evolves, keeping our internal linking strategy streamlined and effective.
How internal links appear
When it comes to internal links, it is important not only to understand how to place them, but also to be aware of how they appear from the user’s perspective and what visual impact they have within the web page, because the appearance and placement of internal links can affect the user experience and the effectiveness of the internal linking SEO strategy .
Usually, internal links appear as text that is underlined and colored differently than the rest of the text. The most common color for links is blue, which has long been the standard for hyperlinks, but web designers can customize the appearance of internal links via CSS to fit the overall design of the site.
In addition to appearing in a contrasting color and with underlined text, hovering over the link will change the cursor from an arrow to a hand, signaling that the area is clickable. In addition, the user may see a text tooltip if a title attribute has been added to the link, providing additional information about what to expect when clicking on the link.
From a design and usability perspective, it is critical that internal links are visually distinct from the rest of the text to avoid confusion. If links are not clearly recognizable, users may not realize that they are clickable elements, thus reducing the effectiveness of internal linking.
Another critical element is the position of the link within the content-although here we enter the realm of SEO theories. As a rule, strategically placed links follow the concept of above the fold, meaning they are in the visible part of the page without scrolling. However, internal links should also be contextual: they should appear naturally within the content, in sections where the user is likely to be interested in exploring further related topics.
As mentioned, you can customize the appearance of internal links by using CSS properties to change color, font, size, and decorations such as underlining. This customization can help make sure that links blend seamlessly with the style of the site, while remaining visible and clickable. However, it is important to use it carefully and ensure that links are always clearly discernible from the surrounding text. Ignoring this aspect can harm the user experience and make internal linking SEO less effective .
Finally, in addition to the visual effect, the accessibility of internal links should also be considered. Users with visual or cognitive disabilities, who use screen readers, rely on semantic markup and clear anchor text to effectively navigate the site. Ensuring that internal links are coded and styled correctly helps make the website more inclusive and accessible to all, while improving engagement signals and SEO.
What is internal link building and why is it important
Over years of experience in the field, we have directly verified the impact that even a single well-placed link, in the right context, can have on a website’s ranking, regardless of whether it is a link from an external site or from a heavily themed page on our own site.
As our CEO Ivano Di Biasi says, links create relationships between documents: when they are placed in the right place within a page, linking content that deals with related topics and offering specific insights, search engines begin to consider the site more authoritative and trustworthy on that particular topic. This happens because the site becomes a comprehensive and coherent resource, capable of meeting the diverse needs of users on a specific topic.
To better explain this concept we can use the term “thematic set,” which describes a group of interconnected pages that deal with various aspects of a topic in a comprehensive manner, thus creating a kind of mini-ecosystem within the site dedicated to that topic. In practice, the thematic ensemble transforms a section of the site into an extremely focused resource, offering users a comprehensive and in-depth experience on a specific topic.
Therefore, by working strategically we can achieve a kind of internal link building, which is essential to build a hierarchy of content within the site and to strategically distribute “link juice,” the authority transmitted from one page to another through links.
Well-planned internal link building means creating well-defined paths that not only facilitate navigation for the end user, but also facilitate the work of search engines, going on to positively influence the indexing of pages and thus their ranking potential.
Not all pages on a site have the same importance, and this should also be reflected in the internal link structure. Pages considered crucial to the digital marketing strategy-such as products or top content-should receive more internal links than less strategic ones. For example, if a corporate blog aims to promote a particular service, it is smart to link many articles to that specific service page, ensuring that it is easily reachable from multiple points on the site. Through skillful use of internal link building, we can then shape the flow of authority within the domain, consolidating the visibility of specific pages, both in the eyes of users and search engines.
In addition, effective internal link building helps to reduce the abandonment rate by increasing dwell time on the site. In fact, users, finding links to related content, may decide to continue browsing instead of leaving the site, thus accessing other topics of interest to them. This improved user experience also has direct effects on engagement signals, which have historically been correlated with improved rankings.
SEO and internal links, the strategic benefits
Never be afraid to link, because links are the very basis of the concept (and functioning) of the Web.
On the contrary: integrating internal and external links into your content improves navigability and authority. If external links to authoritative sources improve content credibility, inserting internal links helps users find related content on our site, and it is no coincidence that a structured internal linking SEO strategy is one of the most effective ways to boost a website’s performance.
With properly designed internal links, we can transfer some of a page’s value – in terms of authority – to less powerful pages. For example, if a particular resource on our site has many inbound links, transferring some of this value to related pages via internal links will help strengthen the latter’s ranking in search results.
The strategic benefits of internal linking also extend to user navigation. A well-articulated system of related internal links facilitates the discovery of additional, relevant content that may address users’ needs more fully. This not only enhances the browsing experience, but also reduces the possibility of users leaving the site prematurely.
Another crucial aspect is the ability to influence which pages should receive more relevance. For example, a page that is of little value but critical in terms of conversions can be improved by using internal links. In this way, this page will receive a stronger signal of importance for SEO purposes as search engines will consider its centrality within the overall context of the site.
But beware: the strategic advantage of internal links is not automatic and requires planning and precision. Without careful analysis and planning, you risk compromising the information structure of the site, directing SEO focus to less relevant pages or, even worse, creating navigation confusion. Internal links should not just be there, they should be strategically designed to best support the SEO and business goals of the site.
What internal links are good for the site and SEO.
As mentioned, proper organization of internal links generates site-wide benefits. First of all, through a hyperlink to another internal resource, an articulated path is created, which crawlers read and interpret: as a result, more linked content becomes more visible (because it is accessible from more inputs, so to speak) and the referenced page becomes more relevant to search engines.
Internal links also help to emphasize strategic content by transmitting link juice, or the “power” of the link flowing from the source page to the target page, and thus with this strategy it is possible to direct users and search engines to the content that is most relevant to our goals, such as in-depth or conversion pages.
Then there is a technical aspect that should not be overlooked: including relevant internal links also ensures that no page on the site remains isolated and, specifically, allows us to avoid the creation of dead-end pages and orphan pages.
Dead-end pages are those that contain no links to other pages on the site: these are dead ends that block readers and crawlers, preventing them from discovering (and indexing) further content. Conversely, orphan pages are those that are not linked from any other page on the site, and therefore difficult for crawlers and users to discover, at the risk of wasting all their SEO potential.
For a site, therefore, building a network of good internal links is almost as important as the domain structure, because they facilitate the work of search engine crawlers (who crawl following the criterion and path traced by the links, finding and categorizing the most relevant pages quickly and easily), help resolve any keyword cannibalization conflicts because they signal priorities, and at the same time also help the user experience.
The other benefit of internal linking is that they improve users’ enjoyment of the site: a page with cues to other quality resources can pique readers’ curiosity to read further contributions related to the topic, or it can serve to signal similar products to those being viewed or sold out, inviting customers to click on the link.
All this produces positive effects for the site and for SEO optimization, because it elevates the average dwell time of users, increases pages per visit, and reduces the bounce rate. A good internal link structure accompanies the visitor on a path that we have designed for him and that is obviously aimed at maximizing our goals, leading him as mentioned to further informative pages or to forms of direct conversion. The attempt is to keep the user who lands on a page (perhaps directed by the SERP ranking of a keyword) pushing him to visit other pages of the site that may be of his use and related to what he was initially looking for.
How to optimize your internal linking strategy
There is not always a need to rely immediately or only on link building and offpage SEO: sometimes, our site’s visibility can also achieve real improvements by optimizing small aspects of on-page SEO, and in particular by strengthening the internal linking structure strategically and meticulously.
As mentioned, proper optimization of internal links not only improves page indexing, but also guides the user through a logically structured and highly relevant navigation path, and makes the site more robust for search engines and readers, increasing its chances of ranking effectively in search results.
To achieve these results, it is essential to combine careful planning with careful choice of anchor text and the use of the right tools to monitor and manage link effectiveness, following some best practices to put in place an optimized internal linking strategy that can really make a difference to the success of our online project.
Improving internal links on the site: how to create the strategy
Let’s start with a general consideration: there is no predefined framework to refer to, because the choice depends on the type of site and business, and potentially every online project has different options and ways to manage internal links.
In any case, optimizing an internal linking strategy requires a meticulous and well-designed approach: it all starts with the organization of internal links, which must be carefully planned to maximize SEO impact and improve user experience.
The first step in planning is site analysis: we must have a clear view of the structure of the site itself, identifying the most important pages, those that generate the most traffic, and those that need more visibility. It is essential to identify the pages that we want to promote the most in Google rankings and send them a large number of links so that search engines perceive their strategic importance .
Closely related to this aspect is the selection of pages to be linked: it is not enough to insert links in every word or phrase without a criterion, but it is crucial to work considering relevance. If, for example, we are talking about a specific service we offer, we will need to link that page with other relevant pages that deal with related topics, just as it is useful to provide an in-depth link to an article that deals with a topic that might interest the reader. In this way, the internal link guides both users and search engines on a clear and logical path through our content and creates the thematic and contextual set we discussed earlier.
Once the pages to be linked have been selected, it is time to create a consistent link structure. This consistency should reflect the natural architecture of the site, respecting the content hierarchy: top-level pages should link to related second-level pages, and so on. Random or redundant links that may confuse search engine crawlers and users should be avoided.
To facilitate management, especially of very large and content-rich sites, some people find it useful to have an internal link manager, a tool designed specifically to monitor and optimize internal links. These tools allow us to view the site’s entire internal link network, identify any gaps and suggest optimization actions, and sometimes automate the insertion of links on specific words we deem strategic. However, completely devolving this activity to software, without careful planning and ongoing analysis, risks making the internal link strategy less effective and undermining the entire site ecosystem, leading to a proliferation of links of little value and utility to readers (and thus also to crawlers).
Interventions for internal link optimization
Turning to more practical aspects, choosing the right anchor text for an internal link is a crucial element of a well-designed internal linking strategy, because it is one of the main signals that search engines use to decipher the content of the linked page.
According to SEO theories, anchor text that is clickable by visitors and perceived by crawlers must possess certain key characteristics, starting even with highlighting. It sounds trivial, but if the reader does not recognize a link at first glance, he or she will not be able to click on the resource, effectively making the work in vain.Therefore, distinguishing a link with a different color or a distinctive feature from the normal content of the page is one of the priority aspects in order to implement a functional and effective internal linking strategy.
No less important, of course, is the study of the terms to be used to suggest the link, i.e., the precise handling of the anchor text: it is generally considered that the best choice is to use text links with descriptive anchors, in natural language, placed in a well-defined semantic context and relevant to the content of the target page, which can induce the reader to go deeper into the topic without misleading him, so to speak. The ability of the copywriter (or the SEO professional proceeding with page optimization) is to know how to create anchor text designed to offer added value to the reader’s experience, to prompt them to click on the link and stay on the site, making explicit the topic of the new target.
Of course, while the correct use of keywords in anchor text is important, one must on the other hand avoid the temptation to overdo it-a practice known as over-optimization. “Exact match” anchor text, i.e., exactly identical to the keyword for which the page is optimized, should be used sparingly: although there is less rigidity than with external links, even in this case, overuse could make search engines suspicious, and they may view the practice as spam or manipulative-or, they may simply not give that link the hoped-for weight.
Again, not all anchor text is equal: a mixture of branded, generic anchor text (such as “click here,” “read more”) and mixed keywords (anchor text that combines primary keywords with secondary terms) helps make the internal link network more natural and effective.
Fundamentally, then, it is essential to maintain consistency and logic: anchor text should accurately reflect the content of the page to which it refers, so that both the user and the search engine can easily predict the content they will find when they click on the link. When the content of the internal link does not match the content of the destination, it leads to confusion, a negative user experience, and worse, you may miss valuable SEO opportunities.
Finally, it is good practice not to use the same anchor text to link to different pages within the site, as this could create ambiguity for the user and search engines. Each internal link should serve a specific purpose, enhancing navigation and strengthening the SEO context of the pages involved.
If this is the general picture on internal links, let us now come to some more practical advice on how to use them: first of all, it is important to insert in the text only links that can be really relevant and important for the visitor, escaping the temptation to insert blasted cross-references, which might not get the desired results. Conversely, targeting a few links on a page could help you benefit from high-quality link juice and increase keyword indexing and ranking results.
As mentioned above, it is important for SEO goals to link to the most visited and important pages on the site, also taking advantage of anchor texts with optimized keywords to accompany the linking and remaining consistent in both anchor texts and choice of landing page.
Internal link management tools and broken links
Managing a consistent, robust and effective system of internal links becomes a particularly complex challenge as the site grows and expands.
One of the most critical aspects of this work is periodic monitoring and maintenance to prevent the occurrence of broken links or broken links, that is, those links that lead to pages that do not exist or have been removed. The presence of broken links is not only irritating to users, but also risks having negative consequences on search results and overall site authority.
For this reason, it is crucial to have the right internal link management tools that can automatically detect anomalies, such as broken or broken links, and provide suggestions for their resolution. There are several web resources that can help in this process, and for example Screaming Frog, Ahrefs, or Google Search Console itself offer detailed analyses of the status of internal links and possible corrective actions.
If we discover a broken link, the remedial action inevitably depends on the specific situation: in general, it is helpful to perform an appropriate redirect through a 301 redirect to a related page, or to manually fix the link by pointing it to the new destination. In some cases, it may be necessary to update or remove the link completely if there is no viable alternative.
Another crucial aspect of link management is to periodically check the anchor text of the internal links themselves. After a period of using a given internal link structure, an update may be necessary to reflect changes in the site content or SEO strategies adopted. Fortunately, the use of advanced tools makes it possible to generate detailed reports and analyze the organization of internal links in a granular manner, improving management efficiency.
Internal links, the mistakes that can frustrate the strategy
While it is true that a good internal linking strategy can make a difference in SEO, it is also true that it is easy to run into some mistakes in internal link building, which can cause more harm than good.
For example, a common risk is over-optimization, which occurs when people try to implement too many internal links with the intent of manipulating rankings in search results: in these cases, the page is overloaded with seo interlinking, that is, too many internal links with the same exact anchor text, frequently repeated throughout the site. This type of behavior is often perceived by search engines as artificial and manipulative, with the consequence that Google and other engines may penalize the site with a drop in ranking, or even a manual penalty.
Another critical aspect to watch out for is the number of links placed on a single page. Placing too many links is not only confusing for users, but it also dilutes the value of the link juice that is passed between pages. In practice, too many links can lead to fragmentation of page authority, thwarting internal linking SEO efforts.
Equally insidious is including links that are not relevant or useful to the context in which they are placed. This is often the case when seo internal links are forced in simply because one thinks that “the more links, the better.” But such an approach could not be more wrong.
Related internal links must have a specific goal: to provide additional value to the user and create smooth, thematically consistent navigation. Linking pages that are not closely related or inserting links that add no useful information not only disorients the user, but also gives the impression of a poorly constructed site that is not attentive to the needs of its audience. This practice not only worsens the user experience, but it can also damage the overall SEO ranking.
To avoid this mistake, it is essential to carefully select the content to be linked. Before creating an internal link, always ask whether a user who clicks on that link would find relevant and in-depth content on the site with respect to what he or she was reading. If the answer is no, that link is probably unnecessary.
The effectiveness ofinternal linking also comes from the consistency and logic of the proposed links. For example, if we are writing an article about the benefits of digital marketing, a link to a page about the SEO services offered by the company would make sense and add value to the user experience. On the other hand, linking to an unrelated page, such as an “about us” section, would take focus away from the main content and be annoying or inconsistent for the user.
Another aspect to consider is so-called “over-clustering,” when several related internal links are placed too close together in the same paragraph or section of content. This approach can easily disorient and confuse the user, being counterproductive.
In summary, it is critical to maintain a high degree of relevance and usefulness in each internal link inserted, not to try to get quick results, but to build a rich and functional browsing experience that rewards both the user and the site’s SEO in the long run. The goal is to strike the right balance between optimization and natural linking: every internal link must lead to a relevant page and must offer real value to the user. Only in this way can we build a solid SEO strategy based on interlinking without risking negative effects on site ranking.
10 common mistakes with internal links
Ultimately, internal links serve to tell Google and readers about the structure of the site, distribute link juice to the pages most relevant to us, optimize visitor dwell times, and help improve search engine rankings. Therefore, they are a useful SEO technique for all kinds of Web sites, as long as you do not make mistakes in using internal linking and do not run into any of the following (and frequent) problems.
- Not making the internal link recognizable
The first mistake is rather trivial and, in fact, should have no effect in terms of SEO, but only on the actual usefulness of the link for the reader: not using a signal to highlight the link (whether it be a different color from the other portions of text or an underlining of the anchor) does not make those on the page understand that there is precisely a resource that can offer an informative insight into the topic or lead to other useful sections of the site.
- Using the nofollow tag for internal links.
If the previous mistake had effects for readers, marking an internal link with a nofollow tag means signaling to Google and spiders not to follow the link, and thus potentially not considering the link as valid. As we know, nofollow is a useful tool when you intend to prevent bots from following and give weight to links over which there is no control or, on the internal side, to those in registration forms and similar elements, but it is generally advisable to leave internal links dofollow.
- Linking to blocked URLs in the robots.txt file.
Continuing in the technical errors, it is clearly a mistake to use internal links to send users back to resources that were previously blocked via robots.txt file.
- Leaving orphan pages
An orphan page is defined as a page on a site that does not receive any links from the other pages: these resources risk being poorly found and not being indexed by search engines, to the detriment of one’s strategy. Be careful not to confuse orphan pages withDead-End pages , which are instead those that receive incoming links but have no external links.
When identifying an orphan page you have to question its value: if it has valid content and you want to target it for indexing, you have to link it with the other resources on the site, or on the contrary you can proceed to remove it from the sitemap so as not to waste crawl budget.
- Don’t fix broken or broken links
Continuing with critical issues that are as simple as they are frequent, one problem that you often face is running into links that do not work. There can be a variety of reasons for this: the URL typing may be wrong (especially if entered manually), or the old landing page may have been deleted (generating dead links or dead links).
Such an error has an effect on the flow of link equity throughout your site and could affect rankings negatively: dead links can be a signal of a low-quality website for Google, and they are certainly an annoyance and a hindrance for readers and their user experience, as we were already talking about the factors that make UX negative.
- Exceeding in internal links
The effective management of internal links makes it possible to improve the crawlability factor and to optimize PageRank distribution from the homepage to the pages of the entire site, an activity that is called Pagerank sculpting: this, of course, does not mean that you can overdo it, inserting hundreds of internal links uncritically and illogically. In the past it was recommended not to exceed 100 links per page, but now this rule is considered obsolete because much depends on the relevance of the links and the complexity of the sites, and there is no absolute limit other than common sense.
In any case, strategies that involve linking all subpages to each other (without taking care of the similarity of on-page topics), that produce an excess of outbound links from a single page or subpage, or, conversely, that create too many links from one subpage to another subpage are potential harmful errors for SEO.
Such techniques can make the page look spammy, even damaging its ranking. In addition, you risk diluting the PageRank and link equity that is distributed among the various links, which will then convey less SEO value. Finally, using so many links can distract readers and make it complicated for them to interact and navigate the site.
- Using manipulative internal links
Another concept that should be clear is that internal links are meant to provide a useful path for user and crawler navigation, whether it is to transition between pages/categories or to delve into particular topics. Therefore, the use of internal links used purely for manipulative purposes, i.e., placed in footers, in areas of the template where a person is unlikely to actually click or with identical anchor text to always point to the same URL is potentially harmful and could expose the site to penalties.
- Don’t use in-text links
When thinking about linking strategy, one may underestimate the importance of curating the content of the page: on the contrary, if the copy is able to naturally insert a link to useful site resources within its text, it offers added value to the user experience and a good signal to search engines.
Therefore, the advice is not to limit yourself to making links only in headers or with the old footnotes, but to insert internal links at the right time and at the right place in the on-page text.
- Do not care about anchor text
As in link building strategy, anchor text plays a central role in internal link management, both to incentivize readers to click on the resource and to signal a possible keyword to Google and potentially strengthen the ranking of the target URL.
It is made clear in Google’s guidelines that “using anchor text even for internal links can help users and Google better navigate your site,” so the grammatical wording of this portion of text can also be decisive in SEO strategy.
In general, anchor texts should provide a concise indication of the specific content of the target page through the use of dry keywords or long tail keywords, which can precisely also benefit the Google ranking plan.
Thus, when choosing anchor texts for internal links, one should choose consistent keywords that describe the content of the other resource and are obviously also present on the landing page.
- Using irrelevant anchor text
A more specific error, related to the one just described, concerns the use of ineffective and irrelevant anchor texts, which do not provide useful and valid directions to readers. This includes anchor texts that are too long, those that are over-optimized (with keywords inserted ungrammatically, just to pander to search engines), the continuous repetition of the same anchor text or, again, the trivial use of expressions such as “click here” or “read more.”
