Internal Linking Audits: What to Check Every Quarter

Internal linking isn't a "set it and forget it" task. Websites constantly evolve: content gets added, updated, or removed; site structures change; technical issues arise. To maintain a healthy and effective internal linking structure, performing regular technical audits is essential. A quarterly audit provides a good cadence for catching issues before they significantly impact SEO or user experience.

This chapter of the Technical SEO for Internal Linking series outlines the key checks to include in your quarterly internal linking audit. We've discussed measuring effectiveness and fixing specific issues like orphan pages; now we'll establish a routine maintenance process.

Why Quarterly Audits?

• Catch Errors Early: Identify broken links, redirect chains, or new orphan pages before they accumulate and harm SEO or UX[1].
• Maintain Structure: Ensure the linking structure remains logical and efficient as content changes.
• Optimize Authority Flow: Check that link equity is still flowing correctly to important pages.
• Identify New Opportunities: Discover opportunities to link new content from relevant older pages, or vice-versa[2].
• Ensure Consistency: Verify adherence to anchor text guidelines and linking best practices.

Tools Needed for an Internal Linking Audit

• Website Crawler: Essential for gathering link data. Examples: Screaming Frog SEO Spider, Sitebulb, Ahrefs Site Audit, Semrush Site Audit[1].
• Spreadsheet Software: Excel or Google Sheets for data analysis and manipulation.
• Web Analytics: Google Analytics 4 or similar, for cross-referencing with traffic and engagement data.
• Google Search Console: For checking indexation status and reported errors.

Key Quarterly Audit Checks

Perform these checks using data from your website crawler and other tools:

1. Broken Internal Links (404s):

   • Check: Identify all internal links pointing to URLs that return a 404 (Not Found) status code[1].
   • Action: Update the source link to point to the correct, relevant live URL, or remove the link if the destination page was intentionally deleted and has no suitable replacement. Implement 301 redirects from the old URL to a relevant new one if appropriate.

2. Internal Links Pointing to Redirects (3xx):

   • Check: Find internal links pointing to URLs that redirect (301, 302, etc.) to another URL[1].
   • Action: Update the source link to point directly to the final destination URL. This saves crawl budget and prevents minor PageRank dilution associated with redirects.

3. Orphan Pages:

   • Check: Compare a full list of site URLs (from sitemaps, GSC, etc.) against the list of URLs found by the crawler. Identify valuable pages not found by the crawl (potential orphans)[3].
   • Action: Find relevant pages within your site structure to link to these orphaned pages, integrating them properly.

4. Pages with High Click Depth:

   • Check: Identify important pages that require an excessive number of clicks (e.g., >4-5) to reach from the homepage[4].
   • Action: Find opportunities to link to these deep pages from pages higher up in the site structure (e.g., homepage, category pages, relevant pillar content) to reduce their click depth.

5. Pages with Few Incoming Internal Links:

   • Check: Identify potentially important pages that receive very few internal links (even if not technically orphaned).
   • Action: Assess if these pages warrant more internal promotion. Find relevant contextual linking opportunities from other pages to boost their internal authority and visibility.

6. Anchor Text Review (Spot Checks):

   • Check: While a full anchor text distribution analysis might be less frequent, perform spot checks during your quarterly audit. Look for excessive use of generic anchors ("click here") on important pages. Check the anchor text profile of key landing pages for potential over-optimization[5].
   • Action: Manually update problematic anchor text identified during spot checks. Schedule a deeper anchor text audit if widespread issues are suspected.

7. Indexation Status of Key Pages:

   • Check: Cross-reference your list of important pages with Google Search Console's Index Coverage report. Ensure key pages linked internally are actually indexed.
   • Action: Investigate reasons for non-indexation (e.g., noindex tags, robots.txt blocks, crawl issues) if valuable linked pages aren't indexed.

8. Review Links on New/Updated Content:

   • Check: Briefly review recently published or significantly updated pages. Do they link appropriately to relevant existing content? Have relevant older pages been updated to link to this new/updated content[2]?
   • Action: Add necessary links to ensure new content is well-integrated. This relates closely to strategies for refreshing links on evergreen content.

Streamlining the Audit

• Use Saved Crawl Configurations: Save your crawler settings to ensure consistency between audits.
• Focus on Deltas: Compare current crawl data with the previous quarter's crawl to quickly identify new issues.
• Automate Reporting: Set up dashboards or templates to visualize key metrics (broken link counts, average click depth, etc.) over time.

Conclusion

A quarterly internal linking audit is a proactive measure to maintain site health and optimize SEO performance. By regularly checking for broken links, redirects, orphan pages, high click depth, and performing spot checks on anchor text, you can catch and fix issues before they escalate. This routine ensures your internal linking structure remains efficient, supports crawlability, distributes authority effectively, and provides a positive user experience.

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Simplify Your Audits with Meshr

Performing comprehensive internal linking audits requires time and the right tools. Identifying issues like orphan pages or suboptimal link placements across a large site can be challenging.

Meshr acts as your automated internal linking assistant. Our platform continuously analyzes your site, helping to identify potential issues like poorly integrated content and suggesting relevant links to strengthen your structure, making your quarterly audits faster and more effective.

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References

[1]: Screaming Frog - Outlines key checks like broken links and redirects in an internal linking audit. [2]: KlientBoost - Mentions linking to new content and updating old content. [3]: Ahrefs - Explains how to find orphan pages, a key audit task. [4]: Prerender.io - Discusses the importance of reducing crawl depth. [5]: LinkedIn Pulse - Lists generic and over-optimized anchor text as mistakes to check for.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How often should I audit internal links?

A quarterly (every 3 months) internal linking audit is a good frequency for most websites, especially those that regularly add or change content. This allows you to catch technical issues like broken links or orphan pages relatively quickly. More dynamic or larger sites might benefit from more frequent checks.

What is the most important thing to check in an internal linking audit?

Fixing broken internal links (404 errors) is often considered one of the most critical checks, as these directly waste crawl budget and create a poor user experience. Identifying and fixing orphan pages and ensuring important pages have low click depth are also high priorities.

What tools do I need for an internal linking audit?

The primary tool needed is a website crawler (e.g., Screaming Frog, Sitebulb, Ahrefs Site Audit, Semrush Site Audit) to gather data on all internal links, status codes, and anchor text. Spreadsheet software (Excel/Google Sheets) is essential for analysis. Access to Google Search Console and your web analytics is also crucial.