Internal Link Checker: Free Page Link Audit

An internal link checker lists every link on a page that points to another page on the same site. Enter a URL and this free tool shows each internal link with its anchor text, follow or nofollow status and any issue, so SEOs, editors and developers can spot weak linking in seconds.

What Is Internal Linking in SEO?

Internal linking is the practice of linking from one page on your website to another page on the same website. Each link is an HTML anchor with a destination address (the href), visible clickable text (the anchor text) and, optionally, a rel attribute such as nofollow.

Internal links do three jobs. They help visitors move to related content, they let search engines discover pages by following links, and they give search engines context about what the linked page covers. Google's Search Central documentation says its crawlers find pages by following links and use anchor text as a signal about the destination, which is why descriptive anchors matter.

An internal link is any link whose destination is on the same host as the page you are checking. A link from your blog post to your pricing page is internal. A link from your blog post to another company's site is external. Internal links are different from backlinks, which are links that other websites point at you.

How to Use the Internal Link Checker

You can audit a page in under a minute. The tool reads one page at a time and returns a full table of its internal links.

1. Open the tool and click the URL field, which shows the placeholder https://example.com/page.
2. Paste the full address of the page you want to audit, including https://. Use the exact version of the domain your site uses (with or without www).
3. Click Check Links. The button changes to Checking... while the page loads.
4. Read the four summary counts: Total Internal Links, Unique URLs, Nofollow Links and Empty Anchors.
5. Scan the table under Internal Links Found. Each row shows the URL, Anchor Text, Rel and Issues columns.
6. Click Export CSV to download the table as a spreadsheet file named internal-links.csv, then sort or filter it in Excel or Google Sheets.

The URL must be a complete, valid address. If you see a message asking for a valid URL, add the https:// prefix. If the page cannot be loaded, check the spelling and confirm the page is publicly reachable.

Worked Example: Auditing a Blog Post

Say you check https://example.com/blog/seo-guide and the tool returns these counts: Total Internal Links 42, Unique URLs 31, Nofollow Links 2 and Empty Anchors 4.

Here is what that means. Total counts every internal link on the page, including repeats. Unique URLs counts distinct destinations, so the 11-link gap tells you some pages are linked more than once, which is normal when a menu and footer repeat the same links. The 2 nofollow links turn out to be the login and cart pages, which is a sensible use of nofollow. The 4 empty anchors are the logo link, a cart icon and two image banners, so each needs a fix such as an accessible label or descriptive text.

Your action list is short: confirm the nofollow links are intentional, fix the four empty anchors, and check that your most important pages (for example, /services/) appear in the table at all. If a page you care about is missing, this post is not passing it any link signal.

How Do You Read the Results?

The summary counts give you the big picture, and the table shows exactly which links caused them. Use this quick reference.

Total Internal Links vs. Unique URLs

A big gap between the two numbers means heavy repetition. Navigation and footer links explain most of it, but if a single article links to the same page five times in the body, trim the extras and keep the most natural placement.

Nofollow Links

Nofollow tells search engines you do not want to vouch for the destination. Google treats it as a hint. On internal links it is rarely needed, because you normally want your own pages discovered. Reasonable exceptions include account, cart and checkout pages. If you find nofollow on a key service or category page, remove it.

Empty Anchors

An empty anchor means the link has no text the tool can read. This often happens with logos, icons and image-only links. The tool reads link text, so an image link can show as Empty even when the image has alt text. Treat these as items to review, not automatic errors, and make sure each one has an accessible name.

The Anchor Text Column

Use this column to judge wording. Strong anchors describe the destination, such as "keyword research checklist". Weak ones are generic, such as "click here", "read more" or a bare URL. Ask whether someone seeing only the anchor would know what they will get.

How Do You Find Broken Internal Links and Linking Opportunities?

This tool lists the internal links on a page and flags empty anchors and nofollow, but it does not test whether each destination loads. To find broken internal links, export the CSV, copy the URL column and run it through a bulk HTTP status code checker. Any 404 or 5xx response in that list is a link to fix or redirect.

To find linking opportunities, work from two directions. First, look at the table for pages that should be linked from this page but are not. Second, see which of your pages are in search by using the Google index checker, then link to important ones that are poorly connected. When you are planning links across a whole topic, an internal link silo planner helps you organize pillar and supporting pages before you add anything.

Who Is This Internal Link Checker For?

The tool suits anyone who needs a quick, readable list of a page's internal links.

• SEO specialists auditing a landing page before a relaunch can export every internal link and its anchor text in one pass.
• Content editors can verify that a new article links to the right pillar page and uses descriptive anchors.
• Developers can confirm that templates output real text in navigation links and that nofollow is not applied by accident.
• Site owners after a redesign can compare the link list before and after to see whether important links disappeared.
• Agencies can attach the CSV to an audit report as evidence for recommended fixes.

For wider audits, the Website Audit and Performance tools cover speed, headers, indexing and page quality in one place.

Best Practices and Common Mistakes

Good internal linking is mostly about relevance and clarity, not volume. Google does not publish an ideal number of links per page, so judge each link by whether it helps a reader.

• Link in context. Links placed inside a relevant sentence usually serve readers better than a long list at the bottom.
• Write descriptive anchors. Two to five words that describe the destination work well. Vary the wording instead of repeating the same exact phrase everywhere.
• Avoid duplicate body links. If Total is much higher than Unique and the repeats are in the article text, remove the extras.
• Do not nofollow your own content. Reserve it for pages you truly do not want to endorse, such as cart or login pages.
• Link to important pages from strong pages. A page that is mentioned only once, deep in the site, is harder for crawlers and visitors to find.
• Check both versions of your domain. If you enter the www address but your links use the non-www host, the tool treats them as different sites and may show few or no internal links.

Troubleshooting a Surprising Result

If the count looks too low, check the host first. Links to a subdomain such as blog.example.com are not counted as internal for example.com. Also note that links added by scripts after the page loads may not appear, because the tool reads the page source. If you get an error instead of results, confirm the URL is public and not behind a login.

Limitations and Accuracy Notes

The tool audits one page per check, not your entire site, so run it on each template and key page you care about. It reports links found in the page's HTML. It skips empty links, jump links that only point to #, and mailto, tel and javascript links. Each URL is shown as a full address, and two links that differ only by a fragment or a trailing slash appear as separate URLs.

It does not judge whether anchor text is good for you, and it does not measure link equity or rankings. It surfaces the facts, and you decide what to change. For trust and quality signals beyond links, the E-E-A-T checker is a useful next step.

Run the internal link checker on your most important page now, fix the empty anchors and accidental nofollow links, and export the CSV to plan your next round of improvements.