How should a local business website link its pages together?
Internal links are the links between pages on your own site. They decide how easily customers and crawlers reach your service and location pages, and they tell both what each page is about.
What does internal linking do for local SEO?
Internal links help search engines discover your service and location pages and understand what each one is about, and they help customers move from the page they landed on to the one they need. A location page with no links pointing to it is hard for anyone to find.
On local sites the important paths are short and predictable: homepage to services and locations, service pages to the branches that offer them, location pages back to the services available there.
The pages people land on from Maps are often location pages, while organic search visitors often land on service pages. Internal links connect the two so that each visitor can move sideways to what they need. This matters most once you follow the structure in service and location site architecture.
When does internal linking need work?
- New service or location pages were published but nothing links to them except the sitemap.
- Location pages are reachable only from a footer list of 30 towns.
- Service pages link to "Contact us" and nothing else.
- Old pages from a previous site still receive links while their replacements receive none.
- Menus built in scripts that only work after a click or hover, so the links are not plain HTML.
- Blog posts answer customer questions but never link to the service that solves the problem.
Any of these means important pages depend on luck to be found. A short link plan fixes most of them in an afternoon.
Which pages should link to which?
A link map lists, for each page type, where links should come from and go to. Use it as the standard for every new page.
| From | Links to | Example anchor |
|---|---|---|
| Homepage | Each main service; locations hub or each branch | "Drain cleaning", "Our Kanata depot" |
| Service page | Each location that offers it; 2 to 3 related services; booking | "Book drain cleaning in Orleans" |
| Location page | Services available there; locations hub; directions | "Water heater service at this location" |
| Locations hub | Every location page | "Halifax Quinpool clinic" |
| Blog or advice post | The service that solves the problem | "emergency plumbing service" |
| Footer | Locations hub, contact, key services | Short labels |
/Links down to every service and the locations hub/drain-cleaning/→ /service-area/kanata/, /service-area/orleans/, /water-heaters//water-heaters/→ both depots, /drain-cleaning//service-area/→ every depot page/service-area/kanata/→ /drain-cleaning/, /water-heaters/, /service-area//blog/frozen-pipes/→ /emergency-plumbing/How should you write anchor text for local pages?
Anchor text is the clickable wording of a link. Describe the destination in the words a customer would use, and vary it naturally.
| Type | Example | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Vague | "Click here", "Learn more" | Tells nobody what is behind the link |
| Descriptive | "drain cleaning in Orleans" | Clear for people and search engines |
| Branded location | "our Bedford clinic" | Good for location pages |
| Over-optimized | "best emergency plumber Ottawa cheap" on every link | Reads as spam and annoys readers |
| Image without alt text | A map icon linking to a branch | Add alt text describing the branch |
Use the page's main topic in most anchors and let the rest vary with the sentence. The same exact phrase on fifty links adds nothing a few clear ones do not.
Link where the customer's next question is.
A link belongs at the point a reader would naturally want more: from a symptom to the service, from the service to the nearest branch, from the branch to booking.
What does a link plan look like for a multi-location business?
A fictional clinic group with three branches audited its links. The before and after counts show where effort went.
| Page | Before | After | Change made |
|---|---|---|---|
| /locations/bedford/ | 1 | 9 | Linked from hub, homepage, 3 service pages, 2 posts |
| /locations/dartmouth-crossing/ | 1 | 8 | Same pattern |
| /massage-therapy/ | 2 | 7 | Linked from branches that offer it and related posts |
| /locations/bedford/concussion-care/ | 0 | 5 | Was orphaned; now linked from Bedford and physiotherapy pages |
| /old-services-list/ | 14 | 0 | Removed from menu, redirected to /physiotherapy/ |
The orphaned concussion page is the common case: published, listed in the sitemap, and reachable by nobody. Location pages are covered in detail at location pages.
What internal linking mistakes are common on local sites?
- Footer link farms. A list of every town you serve, each linking to a thin city page.
- Linking to redirected URLs. Each hop wastes a little time; update links after a restructure.
- Nofollow on your own links. There is rarely a reason to add it to internal links.
- Everything in the main menu. Twenty menu items on a phone is a wall of text; use hubs.
- Links only in images or scripts. Plain HTML links are the safest choice.
- Broken links after staff or services change. Remove links to departed staff pages and discontinued services.
How do you check internal links?
You do not need special software to start. Use these checks once a quarter.
| Check | Tool | Fix when |
|---|---|---|
| Most and least linked pages | Search Console Links report | Key services or branches near the bottom |
| Orphaned and broken links | A site crawler | Any orphan or 404 on an important page |
| Clicks from service to location pages | Analytics path or navigation report | Few visitors move between them |
| Taps to reach each key page | Your own phone | More than three taps |
A local SEO audit includes these checks with the rest of the site and profile work.
Frequently asked questions
What are internal links?
Links from one page of your website to another page on the same site, including menus, footer links and links inside the copy.
How many internal links should a page have?
There is no set number. Each service page should link to the locations that offer it and a few related services; each location page to the services available there.
Do footer links help local SEO?
Footer links help people find the locations hub and key pages. A long list of towns linking to thin city pages does not help and can look spammy.
What is an orphan page?
A page with no internal links pointing to it. It may be in the sitemap, but people and crawlers have no natural path to it.
Should anchor text include the city name?
When it describes the destination, yes, such as "drain cleaning in Orleans". Do not force the same city phrase into every link.
Do blog posts need to link to service pages?
Yes, when the post discusses a problem a service solves. That link is often the most useful one on the page for the reader.
How often should I review internal links?
Quarterly, and after any new page, restructure, staff change or discontinued service.