The short answer
An internal link should help someone take a useful next step: understand a term, compare an option or reach the service behind the advice. Start with that purpose. A target number of links cannot tell you whether the destinations are relevant or whether readers can find the pages that matter.
A link is a small promise
You are halfway through a useful article. A phrase links to a service, another to a definition, and a third to something only loosely related. By the end, there are plenty of links but no obvious next step.
A website can be well connected on paper and still be difficult to use. The better question is not how many links a writer inserted. It is what each destination helps the reader do.
Put the next question beside the moment it appears
Someone reading about a slow website may first need to understand the evidence, then decide whether they need an audit or a rebuild. A link to the relevant performance explanation belongs where that distinction becomes useful. A general sales link in every paragraph usually adds less.
Read the page as a conversation. Where might the reader ask 'What does that mean?', 'Does this apply to me?' or 'Who can help with this?' Those are opportunities for links, provided the destination actually answers the question.
A worked example
Suppose a business publishes a guide about improving product photography and also offers catalogue website work.
Where it goes wrong
Insert the same service link several times to meet a required link count, then add unrelated popular articles at the end.
What to do instead
Link to image preparation where the guide discusses source files, then to catalogue planning where it explains the product-page decision. Offer a relevant next discussion at the end.
Each connection has a clear job. The reader can follow their own question without navigating around repeated sales interruptions.
Make the destination clear before the click
A useful link tells the reader what to expect. 'How we review website performance' gives more information than 'learn more'. The linked page should then deliver that explanation, rather than drop the visitor at the top of an unrelated service catalogue.
This also makes editorial reviews simpler. You can assess whether the promise in the link matches the page it reaches. Check the destination after a redesign or content move: a technically working link can still lead to an outdated or less relevant answer.
Find the pages that nobody can reach naturally
Some pages have plenty of links while an important service sits outside the normal journey. Ask how a new visitor would discover it from the homepage, a relevant article or a related service. If the only answer is 'through the sitemap', the site may be missing a useful connection.
A design can limit a related-reading block to three cards for clarity. That is a sensible layout choice, not a universal SEO quota. Google's guidance explicitly says there is no magical ideal number of links. Judge the connections by their relevance and the route they create.
Take this into your next conversation
Questions to ask your agency
- What does this destination help the reader do?
- Does the link describe what is on the next page?
- Can someone discover our important services through relevant pages?
- Have links been checked since the last content move?
Common questions
Should every article link to a service?
Only when the relationship is useful and honest. A relevant service can be a natural next step, but an educational answer should still work for someone who is not ready to enquire.
Are related-article cards enough?
They help discovery, but a contextual link can answer a question at the exact moment it arises. Use both where they serve different purposes, and keep the overall page easy to read.
Source notes
Platform guidance behind this topic:
From explanation to implementation
This guide is published by NAVIFLARE, a website, CRM and AI workflow practice. Source notes identify the platform guidance; worked examples explain a method rather than claim a client result.
Explore seo and ai search visibilityYour next step
Choose an important service and two articles that should lead to it. Bring those URLs to a discussion about whether the current links create a clear customer journey.
Discuss your content journey
