Many websites focus entirely on backlinks and new content, while ignoring one of the most powerful—and controllable—SEO levers: internal linking. When used strategically, internal links can dramatically improve site structure, crawl depth, and ultimately, Domain Authority (DA).
In this guide, we walk through a fictional scenario where an educational blog improved its DA from 31 to 48 by revamping internal links across the site. This isn’t based on a real brand—it’s a realistic example showing how websites can unlock SEO growth without chasing external links.
While Domain Authority is primarily influenced by backlinks, internal linking affects how that authority is distributed. Smart internal links help:
Refer to the foundational page on Internal Linking Strategy for Domain Authority for core concepts.
A fictional blog, SkillBloom, offers tutorials on design tools, soft skills, and freelancing. It had over 200 published posts but:
Despite regular posting, DA wasn’t improving. The team decided to stop publishing and focus solely on internal SEO for the next 90 days.
Using Screaming Frog and Google Search Console, they identified:
They organized their content into themes:
Each theme became a content hub with a dedicated index page and support articles linked around it.
To avoid random and repetitive linking, the SkillBloom team developed an internal linking framework:
Anchor text was varied naturally, e.g.:
This approach mirrored best practices covered in Quality Content and Domain Authority.
SkillBloom removed excessive links to the homepage and sales page. They also:
This reduced link noise and made the signal stronger for search engines crawling the site.
SkillBloom identified 12 blog posts that had earned high-authority backlinks. But those posts weren’t linking internally to anything else.
They updated those posts to:
As a result, link equity from those external backlinks flowed across the domain—boosting DA site-wide. This approach complements The Role of Backlinks in DA by maximizing their value.
| Month | Actions Taken | Estimated DA Growth |
|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | Audit and link structure setup | 31 → 35 |
| Month 2 | Added internal links + anchor variation | 35 → 41 |
| Month 3 | Linked to high-DA blog posts | 41 → 48 |
This is a fictional growth curve to demonstrate the compounding effect of internal SEO.
Links were inserted where they made sense—not just where they fit a keyword. This improved engagement and time on page.
Each topic cluster became a self-contained knowledge area. This helped search engines understand topical relevance, which supports DA growth.
Pages with backlinks or good rankings were made stronger by connecting them to underperforming content—spreading authority internally.
Combine these steps with guidance from How to Audit Your Website for DA and Evergreen Content for Domain Authority.
Need help realigning your content structure for better DA? Contact Ideas to Reach or explore our SEO solutions tailored to your content model.
