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How-to guide

How to Do Internal Linking for AI Search

By Rahil Jain, founder of Chalk LabsUpdated How we research

The short answer

Internal linking means linking your own pages to each other so crawlers and readers can find them and understand how they relate. Link every important page from at least one other page, use descriptive anchor text, build topic hubs that link to detailed pages, and use plain crawlable links. Audit orphan pages and weak anchors each quarter.

  • Google says every page you care about should have at least one link from another page on your site.
  • Use real links with descriptive anchor text. Generic words like 'click here' tell nobody what the page is.
  • Build hubs: one overview page linking to detailed pages, which link back and sideways.
  • No source we opened proves internal links raise AI citations, but Microsoft lists them as essential for discoverability.

Why do internal links matter for AI search?

They are how crawlers find your pages and how pages show their relationships. Google says it discovers pages mainly by following links, and that most new pages it finds each day come through links 1. Microsoft's Bing team lists internal linking, with crawlability, metadata and backlinks, as remaining essential for making content discoverable, and presents them as the starting point for AI search visibility 2.

Be clear about what is not proven. Google's AI search guide does not address internal linking 3, and we found no study that links internal link counts to AI citations. The case rests on discovery and clarity, which both matter before any AI tool can use your page.

Do it step by step

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  1. Download all URLs from your sitemap or CMS. Record the page type and its job: hub, spoke, product, or support.

  2. Run a crawler such as Screaming Frog or a free alternative. Export each page with its inbound internal links and anchor text.

    Tip: Crawl with JavaScript rendering off first. If links vanish, crawlers that skip scripts will miss them.

  3. List every URL in your sitemap that has zero inbound internal links. Decide for each: link it, merge it, or remove it.

  4. Pick 3 to 6 topics your buyers ask about. Create or improve one hub page for each, linking to every related detailed page.

  5. Add a contextual link from each spoke to its hub and to two or three close siblings. Write the anchor as a short phrase naming the destination.

  6. Use the regex below to find 'click here' style anchors, then rewrite them. Replace onclick or span links with real anchors with an href.

  7. Aim for every priority page to be within three clicks of the home page (a common working target, not a Google rule). Add a link from a hub or related-pages block where it is not.

  8. Put a quarterly reminder in your calendar and repeat steps 1 to 3. Add 'link to two related pages' to your publishing checklist.

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Copy-ready templates

Regex to find weak anchor text

regex
<a\s[^>]*>\s*(click here|read more|learn more|here|this page|link)\s*</a>

Use case-insensitive mode. Run it over your page templates or exported HTML. Every match is a link whose anchor says nothing about the destination.

Crawlable link markup

html
<!-- Good: real anchor, href, descriptive text -->
<a href="/guides/boiler-pressure">how to fix a boiler losing pressure</a>

<!-- Weak: no href, depends on a script -->
<span onclick="goto('/guides/boiler-pressure')">read more</span>

Google generally follows only anchors with an href. Use the first pattern everywhere.

Internal link audit sheet columns

text
URL | page type (hub/spoke/other) | in sitemap? | inbound internal links | click depth | best anchor used | needs link from | action | done (date)

Paste into a spreadsheet header row. Sort by inbound links ascending to see orphans first.

What is hub and spoke, and how do you build it?

A hub is one page that covers a topic broadly and links to detailed pages, called spokes. Each spoke links back to the hub and to two or three close siblings. The result is a cluster where every page is a short click from the others.

Choose hubs by customer question, not by internal teams. A plumbing firm might have a hub for 'boiler problems' that links to pages on pressure loss, no hot water and servicing costs. Each spoke answers one question fully, and the hub tells a reader where to go next.

Keep the cluster tidy. Do not link every page to every other page. Google gives no ideal number of links per page and says that if you think there are too many, there probably are 4. Link where the next step is natural.

A small cluster, drawn as text
  • HUB: Boiler problems (overview)
  • SPOKE: Boiler losing pressure -> hub, 'no hot water', 'servicing cost'
  • SPOKE: No hot water -> hub, 'losing pressure', 'servicing cost'
  • SPOKE: Boiler servicing cost -> hub, 'losing pressure', pricing page
  • Rule: every spoke links to the hub plus 2 to 3 siblings. The hub links to every spoke.

What anchor text should you use?

Use words that tell the reader what they will get. Google defines anchor text as the visible text of a link, and says it should be descriptive, reasonably concise and relevant to both pages 4. It names 'click here' and 'read more' as poor examples 4.

Vary the wording naturally and avoid stuffing keywords. Google warns against keyword stuffing in anchor text and against placing many links next to each other 4. For an image link, Google uses the image's alt text, so write alt text that names the destination 4.

Anchor text, weak to strong
WeakBetterWhy
click hereboiler servicing costsNames the destination
read morehow to bleed a radiatorMatches the page topic
our guideour guide to boiler pressureAdds the topic
boiler boiler repair boilerboiler repair pricesReads like normal prose

How do you shorten the path to your important pages?

Count clicks from the home page. If a money page needs more clicks than your target, add a link from a hub, the footer for evergreen pages, or a related-pages block. Google recommends that every page you care about has at least one link from another page 4.

Breadcrumbs also help. Google says a breadcrumb trail indicates a page's position in the site hierarchy, and that it favours trails showing a typical user path over ones that simply mirror the URL 7. A sitemap helps discovery but is not required 1, and it does not replace links.

How do you audit your internal links?

Export all URLs from your sitemap and all internal links from a crawler. Compare them to find orphan pages, meaning pages with no inbound internal link. Then list the pages with the most and fewest inbound links, and check whether those match your priorities.

Next, find weak anchors with the regex below, and links that are not real anchors. Fix the highest-value pages first. Re-run the audit after big site changes and at least once a quarter.

What mistakes do people make?

Common ones: linking only from the menu, leaving new posts orphaned, using the same exact keyword as anchor for every link, and building links that exist only after a script runs. Another is changing URLs without updating internal links, which leaves redirects in every path.

A subtler one is linking everywhere to promotional pages. Link to the page that helps the reader next, even when it is not the one you want to sell. This habit also supports writing content AI engines quote and building topical authority.

When is more internal linking not the answer?

If the page is blocked, slow or not indexed, links will not fix it. Check access first with the AI crawler checker and see what an AI crawler is. Decision rule: if every priority page is already within three clicks and has at least one contextual link in, stop adding links. If a site is under 20 pages, a clean menu and a few contextual links are enough, and you can skip a formal hub plan.

Frequently asked questions

How many internal links should a page have?

Google gives no ideal number. It says to link to related resources in context, and that if a page seems to have too many links, it probably does 4. A useful working rule is a link to the hub plus two or three close siblings.

Do internal links help AI search directly?

We found no study proving it. Microsoft's Bing team lists internal linking, with crawlability, metadata and backlinks, as remaining essential for discoverability, and presents them as the starting point for AI search visibility 2. The safe claim is that links help crawlers find and understand your pages.

Should internal links be nofollow?

Normally no. Google says to use nofollow only when you do not trust the source, and to use sponsored or nofollow for paid links 4. Your own pages are not untrusted sources.

What is an orphan page?

A page that no other page on your site links to. Crawlers may never find it, apart from a sitemap, and readers cannot reach it. Google advises that every important page has at least one link from another page 4.

Does a sitemap replace internal links?

No. Google says a sitemap lists the URLs you want discovered but is not required 1. Links also show how pages relate, which a sitemap cannot.

About the author

Rahil Jain

Rahil Jain is an AI SEO (answer engine and generative engine optimisation) consultant and co-founder of Chalk Labs.

LinkedIn · Method and credentials

Sources

  1. SEO Starter Guide: The Basics · Google Search CentralOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Google mainly discovers pages via links, and most new pages come through links; sitemaps list URLs but are not required. Last updated 2025-12-10.
  2. Optimizing Your Content for Inclusion in AI Search Answers · Microsoft Advertising (Bing)Opened October 20, 2026. Supports: Published 8 October 2025 by Krishna Madhavan: crawlability, metadata, internal linking and backlinks remain essential for discoverability.
  3. Optimizing your website for generative AI features on Google Search · Google Search CentralOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: The guide does not address internal linking; content should be crawlable. Last updated 2026-07-10.
  4. Link best practices for Google Search · Google Search CentralOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Crawlable anchor markup, descriptive anchor text, image alt text, at least one internal link per important page, nofollow and sponsored guidance. Last updated 2025-12-10.
  5. Understand JavaScript SEO basics · Google Search CentralOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Pages are queued for rendering; server-side or pre-rendering is still a great idea because it makes your website faster for users and crawlers.
  6. Googlebot · Google Search CentralOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Googlebot crawls the first 2MB of a supported file type, measured on uncompressed data, then stops the fetch. Page showed last updated 2026-02-03.
  7. Breadcrumb (BreadcrumbList) structured data · Google Search CentralOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: A breadcrumb trail indicates a page's position in the site hierarchy; Google recommends trails that represent a typical user path rather than mirroring the URL. Last updated 2026-09-08.
How this page was made. Built on Rahil Jain's AI SEO method and drafted with AI research assistance. Every statistic links to the page we read it on (opened October 20, 2026 or nearby). Published October 20, 2026; last updated October 20, 2026. Chalk Labs sells AI SEO services, so we have a commercial interest in this topic. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will fix it.