Free Internal Link Checker: Audit the Internal Links on a Page
Enter a page URL. We count its unique internal and external links, flag generic anchors like click here, and find internal links marked nofollow.
Free with a Brainito account. No credit card required.
example.com/blog/sourdough-tips
ExampleInternal linking can be improved.
- Internal links3
- External links6
- Generic anchor text2
- Nofollowed internal links0
- How to fixAdd 5-15 contextual links
Example result with sample data. Yours uses live data for your inputs.
How it works
From your input to a prioritised list of fixes in under a minute.
- Step 1
Enter your details
Your website, business or the item you want checked. Nothing to install.
- Step 2
We run live checks
Brainito fetches live data and tests it against the rules that matter.
- Step 3
Fix what matters first
Clear results with what to fix, in order of impact, and where to go next.
What you get
What the result tells you, and why it is worth the minute it takes.
Internal Link Count
See how many unique pages on your site this page links to, graded against a simple target of five or more.
Weak Anchors Flagged
Spot links whose whole text is click here, read more, learn more or here, so you can rewrite them to name the target.
Nofollow Leaks Found
Find internal links marked nofollow that stop your own pages from passing value to each other, with a fix for each issue.
The guide
What the internal linking structure checker does, how to use it, and what to do with the result.
An internal link checker reviews the links on a web page that point to other pages on the same site. Enter a page URL and our checker fetches the page, collects every link, and reports four things: the number of unique internal links, the number of external links, how many links use generic anchor text such as click here or read more, and how many internal links carry a nofollow attribute. Each row is graded pass, warn, fail or info, and you get a short list of fixes. It checks one page at a time, which makes it quick for reviewing key templates.
How to Check Internal Links on a Page
Paste the URL of the page you want to review and run the check. Good first choices are your home page, a main category or service page and a popular blog post, since these pass the most value to the rest of your site. Our checker fetches the page, renders it first if the content loads with JavaScript, and reads every link with an href. Links on the same host as the page count as internal, and everything else counts as external. Jump links within the page, mailto: and tel: links are skipped, and repeat links to the same URL are counted once. You then see a one-line summary, four graded rows and a How to fix list. Results for the same URL are saved for up to seven days.
What the Internal Link Check Reports
Internal links shows how many unique pages on your site this page links to. It passes at five or more, warns at one to four and fails at zero, because a page with no internal links is a dead end for visitors and crawlers. External links is shown for context only. Generic anchor text counts links whose entire text is click here, read more, learn more or here, and warns if there are any, since these anchors tell search engines nothing about the target page. Nofollowed internal links counts links to your own site that carry rel=nofollow and warns if any exist. The summary reads Internal linking looks healthy on this page when you have five or more internal links and no generic anchors.
What Is Internal Linking in SEO?
Internal linking means linking from one page of your website to another page on the same website, through menus, footers, breadcrumbs and links inside your content. Internal links do three jobs. They help search engines discover pages and understand how your site is organised. They pass authority from strong pages, such as your home page, to the pages you want to rank. And they guide visitors to the next useful page. Your internal linking structure is the pattern those links form across the whole site. A healthy structure keeps important pages a few clicks from the home page and links related pages to each other, so no page is left stranded with no way in.
Internal Linking Best Practices With Examples
Aim for 5 to 15 contextual links on a typical content page, pointing to related pages that genuinely help the reader. Use anchor text that names the target. Instead of click here, write see our wedding cake prices. Instead of read more, write how to store sourdough bread. Link from your strongest pages to the pages that earn revenue, such as services and best-selling products. Link new posts from older, established ones so they are found sooner. Keep internal links followed, because nofollow on your own pages only stops value from reaching places you want it to go. And do not let menus and footers carry all the weight: links inside the body text give search engines more context about the target.
Common Internal Linking Problems and Fixes
Thin linking is a frequent problem: a blog post or product page whose only internal links sit in the menu and footer. Add links from the body text to two or three closely related pages. Generic anchors often come from a theme that prints read more under every post excerpt; change the template so the link text includes the post title. Nofollowed internal links usually come from an old plugin setting or a habit of nofollowing login and cart links; remove the attribute and keep private pages out of search with noindex instead. Watch for mixed host names too. A page on example.com that links to www.example.com is counted as linking externally, which points to inconsistent internal URLs worth tidying up.
Internal Linking Structure Checker Limits and Next Steps
This is a single-page internal link checker. It does not crawl your whole site, so it cannot find orphan pages, measure click depth or show which pages link to a given URL. It also does not test whether links work. For that, the Broken Links Checker requests up to 30 internal and 10 external links from a page and reports any that fail or return an error. To plan new links across the site, the Internal Linking Structure Generator reads your sitemap and suggests hub pages, 10 to 15 specific page-to-page links with anchor text, and three quick wins. Use the three together: check a page here, fix any broken links, then add the links the plan suggests.
Frequently asked questions
Something else? Email support@brainito.com
How do I check internal links on my website?
Enter a page URL in the internal link checker. It counts the unique internal and external links on that page, flags generic anchor text and finds nofollowed internal links. Check your home page and main templates first, one page at a time.
Is this internal link checker free?
Yes. The internal link checker is free with a Brainito account and uses 0 credits per check. Enter a page URL and you get the link counts, anchor text warnings and fixes in seconds.
How many internal links should a page have?
There is no fixed rule, but a typical content page does well with 5 to 15 contextual links to related pages. The checker passes a page at five or more unique internal links, warns at one to four and fails at zero.
Does the internal link checker find orphan pages?
No. It reviews the links on one page and does not crawl your site, so it cannot see pages that nothing links to. Compare your sitemap with your menus and hub pages, or use the Internal Linking Structure Generator to plan links site-wide.
What is generic anchor text?
Link text that says nothing about the target page, such as click here, read more, learn more or here. The checker counts links whose whole text matches one of those phrases. Replace them with words that name the page, like sourdough storage tips.
Should internal links be nofollow?
Usually not. Nofollow on links to your own pages stops them from passing value, so the checker warns when it finds any. To keep a page such as a login or cart page out of search results, use a noindex tag instead.
Where to go from here
The internal linking structure checker answers one question. These are the next ones worth asking.
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