05 / Crawl
Internal links decide how crawlers discover your pages and how link equity flows through the site. This feature maps inlinks, outlinks, click depth and anchor text for every URL.
Every crawled page records its inlinks and outlinks. From that link graph SiteAuditLint finds dead ends, pages that are hard to reach, pages nothing links to, and anchor text that tells search engines nothing about the target page.
1. Broken internal links
A link to a 4xx or 5xx page is a dead end for visitors and a waste of link equity. The issue lists the source pages, so you know exactly where to edit.
CriticalLinks to broken internal pages
This page links to internal URLs that return errors, wasting link equity and frustrating users.
How to fix: Update or remove the broken links listed in the detail column.
OpportunityLinks to redirecting internal URLs
This page links to internal URLs that redirect, adding hops for users and crawlers.
How to fix: Point the links directly at the final destination URLs.
2. Click depth and orphan pages
Pages close to the homepage get crawled more often and are seen as more important. Deep pages and orphans are often the reason a page is not indexed.
OpportunityDeep page (more than 4 clicks)
Pages far from the homepage are crawled less often and are usually seen as less important.
How to fix: Add links from higher-level pages, category hubs or navigation to reduce click depth.
OpportunityOrphan page (sitemap only)
The page is in the XML sitemap but no crawled page links to it, so it receives no internal link equity.
How to fix: Link to this page from relevant pages, menus or hubs, or remove it if it is obsolete.
3. Anchor text analysis
Anchor text is a relevance signal for the linked page. The Anchor Text view lists every internal anchor across the site, and the issues below point to the pages using generic or empty anchors.
OpportunityNon-descriptive anchor text
Anchors like "click here" or "read more" tell users and search engines nothing about the target page.
How to fix: Rewrite the anchors to describe the page being linked to.
OpportunityInternal links without anchor text
Links with no text and no image alt text give no context about the target page.
How to fix: Add descriptive link text, or alt text to linked images.
4. Link data for each URL
| Data | Where |
|---|---|
| Inlinks and outlinks with anchor text | URL details panel (double-click any URL) |
| Click depth distribution | Site Health > URLs by Click Depth |
| All anchors site-wide | Pages > Anchor Text |
| Source pages of broken links | Issues > Links to broken internal pages |
- Fix broken linksUpdate or remove links to 4xx and 5xx pages, starting with templates such as menus and footers.
- Update redirected linksPoint links straight at the final URL.
- Link to orphansAdd contextual links from related pages, or remove the orphan from the sitemap.
- Flatten deep sectionsAdd hub pages or category links so key pages sit within 3 to 4 clicks.
- Rewrite generic anchorsUse anchor text that names the target page's topic.
Frequently asked questions
What is an orphan page?
A page that is listed in your XML sitemap but has no internal links pointing to it from crawled pages. Crawlers can find it, but it receives no internal link equity and visitors cannot navigate to it.
How is click depth measured?
As the number of clicks from the start URL along internal links. Pages more than 4 clicks deep are flagged, and the Site Health view charts URLs by click depth.
Which anchors count as non-descriptive?
Generic text such as click here, read more, learn more and here, plus links with no anchor text at all. Each distinct anchor is classified once, so large sites stay fast.
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