Link to every indexable page with crawlable <a href> links and descriptive anchor text
| Impact | Evidence | Applies to | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | Official guidance | Google, Bing, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude | Oct 30, 2026 |
Why it matters
Google generally only follows <a> elements with an href, and links built on javascript: URLs or click handlers may not be extracted. Every page you want indexed needs at least one internal link. Anchor text tells crawlers what the target page is about, so 'click here' wastes the signal.
How to do it
- Replace button or onclick navigation with real <a href> links
- Link related pages in context, inside body copy
- Use concise anchor text that names the target topic, without keyword stuffing
- Find orphan pages by comparing your sitemap against crawled internal links
Sources
- Link best practices for Google · Google Search Central, Dec 10, 2025
Change history
| Date | Change | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 30, 2026 | Added | Added to the rulebook. |
Checked against its sources every Monday. Only content changes are listed.