Strengthen your site’s SEO by crosslinking content. Learn how to create a natural, scalable internal linking structure that drives results.
When it comes to building a futureproof SEO strategy, internal linking often gets overlooked. Yet it plays a vital role in shaping your site structure, improving user journeys, and signalling topical authority to search engines.
One of the most effective internal linking approaches is crosslinking – strategically connecting related content across your website, both from top down (core pages to blogs) and bottom up (blogs linking back to service or product pages).
What is crosslinking in SEO?
Crosslinking refers to the practice of linking one page on your website to another relevant page – not just within a section or silo, but across different types of content.
For example:
A blog post about “2025 trainer trends” links to your “new arrivals” category page.
A product page for “men’s running shoes” links to a buying guide or related blog on “how to choose the right running trainer”.
Your homepage or main product page links to “editorial picks” or a “best sellers of the month” blog.
This approach helps search engines better understand your site structure, distributes authority, and keeps users engaged by offering helpful next steps.
Top-down linking
This is when your primary pages (e.g. homepage, category pages, or high-authority pillar pages) link out to supporting content. This type of linking helps search engines discover and pass value to deeper, more granular pieces of content.
Technical benefits:
Distributes PageRank from high-authority pages to newer or lower-authority ones.
Helps bots crawl content that may not be linked from the main menu.
UX benefits:
Offers users relevant background or context.
Encourages exploration of related insights.
Example: On a category page for “white trainers”, include a section linking to a blog: “Need help styling? Read our latest guide: ‘5 ways to wear white trainers this spring’.”
Bottom-up linking
This is when blog posts or long-form content link back to relevant product or service pages.
Technical benefits:
Signals to search engines which commercial pages are most important.
Supports topic clusters by reinforcing the relationship between content types.
UX benefits:
Moves users from research to purchase more efficiently.
Builds a logical content journey with minimal dead-ends.
Example: A blog on “Why retro trainers are making a comeback” might include a line: “Explore our full retro range for a dose of throwback style” – with the link leading to the Retro Collection page.
Why it works: technical and UX advantages
Technical SEO benefits:
Improved crawlability: Internal links help bots discover and index more of your site, especially if you have a deep content structure.
Link equity distribution: Crosslinks share the SEO value of high-authority pages with lower-tier content, improving visibility across the board.
Enhanced topical relevance: Linking related content together reinforces your site’s authority around a subject, which is critical for E-E-A-T and topical clusters.
Better indexation: Pages that receive internal links are more likely to be indexed and ranked, particularly when they’re not part of the primary navigation.
User experience benefits:
Guided navigation: Users can easily find next steps, related reads, or helpful context, which improves dwell time.
Reduced bounce rate: Linking to relevant internal content encourages users to stick around and explore.
Stronger narrative: You can create content journeys that mirror a logical buying or learning process.
Build a content hierarchy: the 80/20 rule
A useful rule of thumb when structuring internal links is the 80/20 rule: aim for 80% of your pages to link to the top 20% of your most commercially or strategically valuable pages. These “top 20%” pages will differ by business – they might include key product categories, landing pages, cornerstone blog content, or high-converting service pages. This creates a natural content hierarchy and signals to search engines which pages matter most.
Implementing this rule:
Helps distribute authority effectively.
Reduces orphaned content.
Prioritises high-value pathways for users.
While not a hard-and-fast rule, it’s a strategic way to ensure your internal linking structure supports your wider business and SEO goals.
But it’s a manual job – is it worth the effort?
Yes, but it requires deliberate planning. Crosslinking is not a one-click fix. It requires:
Content audits to uncover related themes.
Manual link placement to ensure relevance and contextual fit.
Regular reviews to avoid broken links or outdated connections.
Avoid automation tools that indiscriminately add links based on keywords – these can result in irrelevant or unnatural anchor text and a poor user experience.
What natural crosslinking looks like
Each internal link should:
Be relevant to the user and the topic of the page.
Use descriptive, non-keyword-stuffed anchor text.
Fit seamlessly into the sentence structure.
Good example:
“If you’re shopping for performance, our guide to the best gym shoes of the year breaks down which features actually matter.”
This example uses natural, informative language and places the link in a helpful context. The anchor text ‘guide to the best gym shoes’ clearly signals what the user will get when they click, improving user trust and meeting intent. It fits into the flow of the sentence and supports a meaningful next step in the user journey.
Poor example:
“Buy gym shoes here gym shoes for men best deals.”
This example repeats the same keyword unnaturally, which looks spammy to both users and search engines. The repetition disrupts the reading experience and doesn’t provide useful context or differentiate what each link offers. It undermines trust, may trigger spam filters, and contributes to a poor overall site experience.
Small links, big impact
Crosslinking isn’t just good SEO maintenance– it’s essential to modern, user-centric web architecture. Done manually and with intent, crosslinking can elevate your site from being a collection of isolated pages to a meaningful web of connected value.
Need help creating a content strategy that scales with structure? Explore our SEO services and learn how we help brands grow through strategic, user-focused content architecture. Get in touch for personalised guidance for your business.
