How Google follows and weighs a site's own links
Which links Google can crawl
Google can generally crawl a link only if it is an
aelement with anhrefattribute.Links inserted with JavaScript are crawlable if the rendered markup is a normal link element with an href.
Google lists root-relative (
/products/...) and dot-relative (./products/...) href values as links it can parse.Google says crawlers rarely type into site search boxes or use pulldown menus, so important pages need clickable links.
How links signal importance
Google can use the number of links pointing to a page and the clicks needed to reach it to infer the page's relative importance within a site. Google says that, starting from the homepage, it should be able to index the rest of a site when site navigation is complete and properly implemented.
Anchor text
Anchor text, also called link text, is the visible text of a link. For an image used as a link, Google uses the image alt attribute as the anchor text. Google describes good anchor text as descriptive, reasonably concise, and relevant to both the linking page and the target page.
Link architecture rules, and what to rewrite in a migration
Google defines link architecture as the method of internal linking on a site and calls it an important step in site design. Google's rules:
Google defines proper linking as every page you deem important being reachable through some form of navigation, such as menus or in-page links.
Every page you care about should have a link from at least one other page on your site.
There is no ideal number of links per page.
Link to the canonical version of a page, not to one of its duplicates; Google recommends this for internal links.
A sitemap is a supplement; Google says it does not stand in for links a crawler can follow.
The Search Console Links report shows which pages on a site link to a given page, so you can confirm that core pages are linked internally.
After a migration, old internal links still work through redirects, but they should not stay that way. In a site move, Google tells you to change internal links from the old URLs to the new URLs. For links and routing on Next.js, see the Next.js SEO guide.
For CMS setups where marketing teams manage their own pages and links, see headless CMS development for marketing.
Sources
- Link best practices for GoogleGoogle · developers.google.com
- In-Depth Guide to How Google Search WorksGoogle · developers.google.com
- Importance of link architecture (Google Search Central Blog, 2008)Google · developers.google.com
- Help Google understand your ecommerce website structureGoogle · developers.google.com
- Page indexing report - Search Console HelpGoogle · support.google.com
- What Is a SitemapGoogle · developers.google.com
- How to specify a canonical URL with rel="canonical" and other methodsGoogle · developers.google.com
- Links report - Search Console HelpGoogle · support.google.com
- Site Moves and MigrationsGoogle · developers.google.com