Internal Linking Strategy for Shopify

Here's a free SEO tactic that takes zero budget, requires no technical skills, and consistently improves rankings: internal linking.

Every link from one page on your Shopify store to another page on your store passes authority, signals relevance, and helps Google understand your site structure. And yet, the average Shopify store has almost no strategic internal linking beyond the navigation menu.

I've audited stores with 200 product pages, 30 collection pages, and 15 blog posts — all connected by nothing except the main nav. That's like having a library where every book is on a shelf but none of them reference each other. Google can find the pages, but it can't understand how they relate or which ones are most important.

Internal linking tells Google three things: which pages are most important (pages with more links pointing to them are prioritized), which pages are related (pages that link to each other are topically connected), and how to navigate your site (crawl paths that help Googlebot discover and index content efficiently).

Let me show you the strategy.

How Internal Links Affect Rankings

Every page on your site has a certain amount of "link equity" — the authority it holds in Google's eyes, accumulated from backlinks, age, and engagement. When that page links to another page on your site, it passes a portion of that authority through the link.

Your homepage typically has the most authority (it gets the most backlinks). Pages linked directly from your homepage receive the most passed authority. Pages that are 4-5 clicks deep from the homepage receive almost none.

This is why site architecture matters for SEO. If your most important product pages or collection pages are buried deep in your site structure and only accessible through multiple navigation clicks, they're not receiving enough authority to rank well.

Internal linking fixes this by creating direct paths from high-authority pages to the pages you want to rank. A link from a popular blog post (that has external backlinks) to a product page passes authority directly to that product page. A link from your homepage to a seasonal collection passes homepage authority to that collection.

The Internal Linking Audit

Before building new links, understand what you have. Here's how to audit your current internal linking:

Step 1: Use a crawl tool (Screaming Frog is the best free option for small sites, Ahrefs Site Audit for larger ones). Crawl your entire Shopify store.

Step 2: Look at the "Inlinks" count for each page. This shows how many internal links point TO each page. Sort by lowest inlinks to find orphaned or under-linked pages.

Step 3: Check crawl depth. How many clicks from the homepage does it take to reach each page? Anything deeper than 3 clicks is at risk of being under-prioritized by Google.

Step 4: Identify your most-linked pages (usually homepage, main collections, and nav pages). These are your authority hubs.

Step 5: Compare this to your priority pages. Are your highest-priority pages (best-selling products, target collection pages) also among your most-linked pages? If not, you have a gap.

Link Type 1: Product Page to Product Page

Cross-link related products within product descriptions. This is the most natural form of internal linking because it directly serves the customer.

Example: On a moisturizer product page, within the description: "For best results, pair with our Vitamin C Serum applied before this moisturizer."

This:

• Helps customers discover complementary products (increases AOV)
• Passes authority between product pages
• Creates topical relevance signals for Google

How to implement on Shopify: In your product description (rich text editor), highlight the text you want to link, click the link icon, and paste the internal URL. Use descriptive anchor text — the linked text should describe what's on the destination page.

Target: Every product page should link to 2-3 related products within the description text.

Link Type 2: Blog Post to Product Page

Your blog posts should link to relevant product pages. This is the highest-impact internal linking strategy for most Shopify stores because blog posts tend to accumulate external backlinks over time, and those backlinks' authority flows through your internal links to product pages.

Example: In a blog post about "How to Build a Morning Skincare Routine," link to specific products: "A gentle face cleanser for sensitive skin should be your first step."

The anchor text is key. Don't link "click here" or "this product." Link the descriptive phrase that a customer might search for — "face cleanser for sensitive skin" — because Google uses anchor text to understand what the destination page is about.

Target: Every blog post should include 2-5 links to relevant product or collection pages.

Link Type 3: Blog Post to Blog Post

Interlink related blog posts to create topical clusters that signal expertise to Google.

Example: In a post about "Email Marketing ROI," link to your related post: "If you're not sure which platform to use, read our Klaviyo vs Mailchimp comparison."

This keeps visitors on your site longer (good for engagement metrics) and creates a web of related content that Google interprets as topical authority.

Target: Every blog post should link to 2-3 related blog posts.

Link Type 4: Collection Page to Blog Post

Collection pages are typically thin on content (just product thumbnails and titles). Adding a brief introduction with links to related educational content improves both SEO and user experience.

Example: On your "Serums" collection page, add a 100-200 word intro: "Not sure which serum is right for your skin type? Read our complete guide to choosing a serum for a breakdown by skin concern."

This adds text content to otherwise thin collection pages and creates linking paths between commercial and informational content.

Link Type 5: Product Page to Collection Page

Link products back to their parent collection with contextual anchor text.

Example: In a product description: "Browse our full organic skincare collection for more products made with clean, plant-based ingredients."

This reinforces the relationship between the product and its category, helping Google understand your site taxonomy.

Anchor Text Best Practices

The text you link (anchor text) tells Google what the destination page is about. Get this right:

Do: Use descriptive, keyword-relevant anchor text.

• "our abandoned cart email guide"
• "vitamin C serum for sensitive skin"
• "Shopify SEO checklist"

Don't: Use generic anchor text.

• "click here"
• "read more"
• "this page"
• "learn more"

Don't: Over-optimize with exact-match keywords.

• Linking "best vitamin C serum 2025" to your product page on every blog post looks manipulative.
• Vary your anchor text naturally. Sometimes it's "vitamin C serum," sometimes it's "our brightening serum," sometimes it's "this product."

The natural test: Would the link text make sense if there was no link? If someone read the sentence without any formatting, would the linked phrase read naturally as part of the sentence? If yes, your anchor text is good.

The Link Building Schedule

Internal linking isn't a one-time project. It's an ongoing practice. Here's the schedule:

Every new blog post: Before publishing, add 2-3 links to relevant product/collection pages and 2-3 links to related blog posts.

Every new product: When adding a new product, go to 2-3 related blog posts and add a contextual link to the new product page. Also add cross-links from 2-3 related product pages.

Monthly (30 minutes): Review your top 5 blog posts by traffic. Do they link to your current priority products? Update links if products have changed or new products have launched.

Quarterly (1 hour): Run a crawl audit. Identify pages with fewer than 3 internal links pointing to them. Fix by adding contextual links from relevant pages.

Shopify-Specific Limitations and Workarounds

Shopify has some limitations for internal linking that you need to work around:

Collection pages are thin. By default, collection pages have minimal text content. Add a description section (most themes support this) with 100-300 words that includes internal links to related content.

Product descriptions are the primary link location. Since Shopify doesn't have a sidebar or related content widget on most themes, your product description is where you place contextual internal links.

Navigation menus count as internal links. Your main nav, footer nav, and any sidebar navigation all create internal links. Pages in your main nav automatically get the most internal links (from every page on the site). Use this intentionally — only put your most important pages in the main navigation.

Blog post format is limited. Shopify's blog editor supports basic rich text linking. For more complex linking (link boxes, related posts sections), you may need to add Liquid code to your blog template.

Measuring Internal Linking Impact

Track these after implementing an internal linking strategy:

Crawl stats in Google Search Console. Under Settings, then Crawl Stats, see how many pages Google is crawling per day. More internal links typically leads to more efficient crawling.

Pages indexed. In Google Search Console, check the Index report. Orphaned pages (no internal links) often go un-indexed. After adding internal links, check if previously un-indexed pages start appearing.

Ranking improvements. Track keyword positions for pages you've added internal links to. Expect 3-6 months for the full impact to show (Google processes internal link changes gradually).

Crawl depth improvements. After your linking audit, re-crawl with Screaming Frog. Pages that were 4-5 clicks deep should now be reachable in 2-3 clicks.

Internal linking is the simplest, cheapest, and most consistently effective SEO tactic available. It costs nothing, takes minimal time, and compounds with every page you publish and every link you add.

---

Want us to build an SEO strategy for your Shopify store? Book a free strategy call and we'll show you the ranking opportunities hiding in your site structure.