How to Decide Which Ecommerce Categories Deserve More Internal Links
Deciding where to place internal links on an ecommerce site is not a matter of simply adding more links everywhere. As Toby Brissett observed in Search Engine Land, “Internal linking is an allocation problem. Not every category deserves more support, and not every internal link has equal value.” That distinction matters when your site has hundreds or thousands of category and subcategory pages competing for attention.
Internal links guide both visitors and search engines. They influence which categories are discovered quickly, how link equity flows through the site, and which pages are prioritized in indexing and ranking. A careful approach helps you direct authority to categories that support your business goals without diluting the value of each link.
What to look for when prioritizing categories
Start with business context. Which categories contribute most to revenue, margin, or strategic growth? Look beyond raw traffic: low-volume categories that convert well can be worth more internal support than high-traffic pages that rarely convert.
Next, evaluate search opportunity and stability. Does the category show consistent search demand? Is inventory and merchandising stable enough to sustain sustained traffic? If the answer to these questions is no, adding internal links will not reliably produce value.
Common mismatch: site importance vs. business importance
Many ecommerce sites carry legacy architecture that reflects past priorities. A category may be prominent in navigation because it was once a bestseller, while a newer, higher-margin category remains buried several clicks deep. Brissett’s recommendation is to identify these mismatches and correct them with targeted internal linking rather than wholesale restructuring.
Choose the right pages to supply links
Don’t scatter links at random. Select pages that already have relevance and authority—parent categories, buying guides, editorial content, and high-traffic blog posts are typical candidates. The goal is relevance: would a visitor naturally click from the linking page to the category you’re promoting?
When in doubt, prefer contextual links within body content over bulk navigation changes. Contextual links tend to pass stronger signals and feel more useful to users.
Quality over quantity
Yoast’s Ahad Qureshi puts it plainly: “Internal linking is one of those underrated SEO strategies that quietly does the heavy lifting for your website.” Use that leverage sparingly and purposefully—each link should have a clear reason to exist, and anchor text should describe the destination in a natural way.
Make the smallest useful change
Small, surgical changes are often the most effective. Instead of moving categories within the main navigation, add a few well-placed links from authoritative pages that already receive traffic. Examples:
- Add links from a high-traffic guide or blog post to the under-supported category.
- Link from the parent category page to the child category to improve internal prominence.
- Create contextual callouts on related product pages that point to the target category.
These small changes are easier to implement and evaluate than large structural edits—and they let you test whether the category responds before making bigger investments.
How to measure success
After implementing internal linking changes, measure the impact using a blend of metrics:
- Search Console: impressions and average position for category landing pages.
- Organic traffic: trends in users and sessions for the category pages.
- Engagement and conversion metrics: add-to-cart rate, transactions, and revenue attributed to those pages.
- Crawl and index checks: ensure the pages are being crawled and that the site’s link graph reflects the new links.
Look for directional change rather than expecting immediate, large lifts. Ecommerce sites have many moving parts—inventory, promotions, seasonality—that influence outcomes. If you see progress in impressions or sessions, that’s evidence your internal links are correcting previous mismatches.
Practical checklist for implementing this approach
Follow this checklist to apply the strategy with minimal disruption:
- Define business priorities: list categories with strategic importance (revenue, margin, growth)
- Audit the site: identify where those categories sit in navigation and how many internal links currently point to them
- Shortlist candidate linking pages: select authoritative, relevant pages to supply links
- Add contextual links with descriptive anchor text; avoid bulk or irrelevant placements
- Monitor Search Console and analytics for 4–8 weeks and adjust as needed
Conclusion
Internal linking is not a one-size-fits-all tactic; it is a strategic allocation of site authority. As Toby Brissett wrote, “Internal linking is an allocation problem. Not every category deserves more support, and not every internal link has equal value.” By aligning links with business priorities, choosing natural linking sources, making small changes, and measuring outcomes, ecommerce sites can improve category visibility and drive measurable business impact.
Read the original Search Engine Land article by Toby Brissett: https://searchengineland.com/how-to-decide-which-ecommerce-categories-deserve-more-internal-links-492671
By SEOteric | https://www.seoteric.com
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