Setting up internal linking on a new website (with no existing content)

Setting up an internal linking structure on a new website is not something you do only once you have dozens of pages, but from the very first one. The short answer: define in advance how pages refer to one another through fixed navigation, contextual links in the text and related-content blocks, and build the right fields into your CMS for that. Then your linking structure grows along with your content instead of you having to spend months repairing it afterwards. In this article you will read how to approach this on a site that still has few pages.

Why start with internal links when you still have few pages?

It is precisely on a small site that the structure you choose now is decisive, because everything you add later conforms to that pattern. If you start without a plan, within a year you end up with a collection of pages that refer nowhere: orphaned content that neither your visitor nor Google finds properly.

Internal links tell search engines which pages belong together and which are most important, and they guide visitors to the next logical step. That is exactly what we also explain in our article on internal links as a general SEO gain. The difference on a new site is that you have nothing yet to link to. That is why the focus shifts: not “which links do I lay now”, but “which agreements ensure that the right links will emerge on their own later”.

Those agreements do not have to be much work. A few choices about your navigation, about how you group your content and about which fields sit in your CMS lay the foundation. That is cheaper and faster than restructuring an existing site afterwards, and it fits a well-considered website architecture for SEO.

Which kinds of internal links do you need from day one?

A good linking structure leans on three layers that each have a different job, and you are best off setting them up together right away.

• Fixed navigation. Your main menu, footer and any sidebar link to your most important pages: services, about us, contact. These links appear on every page and give your core pages structural weight. How you order that menu determines a lot; for that, read our tips on website navigation.
• Contextual links. These are links in the middle of your running text, with a descriptive anchor text that says where the link goes. They are valuable because they show relevance: you link to a page because it deepens the story, not because a menu forces it.
• Related-content blocks. A row of “read also” or “related services” at the bottom of a page. On a new site you fill these partly by hand at first, but you can build them so your CMS fills them automatically later.

The art is not to see these three as separate add-ons, but as one system. Your navigation covers the fixed, important routes. Your contextual links establish the substantive connections. Your related-content blocks catch what you could not fit into the text. Together they ensure that every page gets at least a few incoming links as soon as your site grows.

How do you set up your CMS so links appear on their own?

The difference between a linking structure that grows along and one you have to update by hand every time lies in your CMS fields. By providing a few extra fields when building your site, you automate the largest part of the work.

Think of these fields per page or article:

• Topic or cluster. A field with which you indicate which theme a page belongs to. With that, your CMS can automatically show other pages from the same theme in a related-content block.
• Related pages. A reference field in which you link a few related pages by hand, for the cases where automatic grouping is not enough.
• Linked service. A field that connects a knowledge article to the service page it belongs to, so the link to your commercial page is always correct.

This approach works in just about every modern system, whether you build in Webflow, WordPress or a headless setup. Which platform fits best depends on your team, your budget and your growth plans, not on a fixed preference. If you want to understand how content and fields can sit separately from your presentation, our explanation of a headless CMS helps. The principle stays the same: record the relationships between pages as data, and your site can assemble the links itself.

A practical rule of thumb: work out your cluster layout before you start building. Write down which big topics your site will eventually cover, including the pages that do not exist yet. That way you know which fields you need and you avoid having to rebuild your data model later.

How do you lay contextual links when you have almost no content yet?

With few pages it feels as though there is nothing to link to, but you always have your core pages: your services, your about-us and your contact page. Let your first content refer to them consistently.

Start with a simple hierarchy. For your most important topic, create an overview page, a so-called pillar page, that treats the theme broadly. Every new page that goes deeper into a sub-topic links upward to that pillar, and the pillar links back to its underlying pages. That way you build a small cluster ready to grow. Our guide on building a B2B website shows how such a structure fits into a larger whole. A special type of site too, like a wholesale site without a webshop with a catalogue and customer portal, leans on precisely this cluster-and-link setup.

A few guidelines that already apply on a small site:

• Use a descriptive anchor text. Words that say where the link goes, not “click here” or “read more”.
• Only link where it helps the reader. Do not force links to hit a number. Relevance weighs heavier than quantity.
• Make sure every page has at least one incoming link. A page that nothing refers to, no one finds. With every new page, plan straight away where you link to it from.
• Vary your anchor texts. Do not use exactly the same words to the same page everywhere.

Because you have few pages, keeping track takes little effort. Make it a habit: every time you publish a page, add a link from at least one existing page. With a handful of pages that is a matter of minutes, but the habit pays off as soon as your site counts dozens of pages.

Which mistakes do new sites make with internal links?

The biggest mistake is waiting until “there is enough content”, because then you repair afterwards what you could have built in for free up front. A few other pitfalls you can already avoid now:

• Linking only from the navigation. A menu is no replacement for contextual links. Pages that are only reachable via the menu miss the substantive connections that show relevance.
• No plan for growth. Without cluster or topic fields in your CMS, every new link becomes manual work, and manual work is the first thing to be dropped.
• Seeing links as a goal in themselves. Internal links are a means to guide visitors toward your service and contact pages and thus turn your site into a source of leads. A beautiful structure that brings no one to your request form yields nothing.

Let us be honest: on a new site with little content you do not win rankings through internal links alone. What you do do is lay a foundation on which all your later content performs faster and better. That is the difference between a site that grows with you and one you have to redraw again in a year.

The short summary

Setting up an internal linking structure on a new website is about preparation, not volume. Set up three layers at once: fixed navigation to your core pages, contextual links in your text and related-content blocks. Build fields for topic, cluster and related pages into your CMS, so the right links appear on their own as you grow. Start with a small pillar-and-cluster setup, give every page at least one incoming link, and keep the goal in mind: turning visitors into requests.

Do you want a site that is well put together from day one, both in structure and in conversion? See how we approach this at our web design agency, or plan your free intake and we will look together at where your opportunities lie.