Why internal linking is the secret sexy sauce to strengthen your SEO, GEO and journalism
- Steven Wilson-Beales
- Dec 17, 2025
- 7 min read
This headline might sound like an overreach but believe me folks - internal linking is one of the most practical — and underused — tools in a newsroom’s publishing toolkit. As I mention in each of my SEO training sessions, it’s a small thing to consider when publishing an article but it dramatically improves how your journalism is discovered and understood by both readers and our AI overlords.
For modern newsrooms, internal linking isn’t just an SEO tactic — it’s essential for audience growth, growing audience trust and building your AI visibility (GEO).
This guide explains what internal linking is, why it matters for, not only newsroom teams but EVERY publisher website, and how to implement it without slowing down breaking news workflows.
What Is Internal Linking in a Newsroom Context?
Ok let’s start with the basics because sometimes I see a lot of frowning faces when I mention this tactic. Internal links are simply hyperlinks that point from one page on your site to another page on the same domain.
In journalism, this often looks like:
A breaking news story linking to background coverage
An investigative piece linking to previous reporting
An explainer linking to related timelines or FAQs
A live blog linking to ongoing coverage hubs or specific contextual articles
It can also involve site structure and how the website topics and entities link and relate to each other.
Internal links help readers understand the full story, not just the latest update.
Why Internal Linking Matters for Newsrooms (Beyond SEO)
1. It Provides Context and Depth for Readers
Readers rarely land on a story at the beginning of a narrative. Internal linking lets newsrooms add context without having to rewrite that context into the actual article.
Example: A breaking story on a Home Office immigration announcement links to:
“How the UK asylum system works”
Previous reporting on small boat crossings
Analysis of past policy changes
This helps readers quickly understand what’s new — and what isn’t.
This allows readers to quickly catch up — but it also reinforces trust in your coverage. Understanding context is a core user need and even those explainer articles have taken quite a knock recently with the introduction of AI summaries, comprehensive coverage always results in boosting loyalty - be it through bookmarking (remember that?), newsletter signups or app downloads.
2. It Helps Search Engines Understand Your Coverage Authority
Search engines look for consistent, authoritative coverage over time.
Internal links help:
Connect related stories into a coverage “beat”
Signal that your newsroom owns a topic
Highlight cornerstone explainers and investigations
Example: Multiple articles about NHS pressures link back to:
“Why the NHS is struggling this winter”
An explainer on NHS funding
A long-read investigation into staffing shortages
This reinforces the newsroom’s authority on health reporting.
3. It Extends the Lifespan of Your Journalism
Most newsroom content is time-sensitive. For many years it was generally agreed that a news article had a shelf life of approximately 2 days in search before it got swamped by other articles. Nowadays, that shelf life can be as little as 24 hours (or less) especially if AI Overviews appear.
But the benefits of Internal linking are:
It resurfaces older reporting
Keeps evergreen explainers relevant (if you are updating them of course)
Increases readership of in-depth work (time online etc)
Example: A new story on water company fines links back to last year’s investigation into sewage dumping, keeping regulatory reporting visible.
But the internal linking fun doesn’t stop there...
Why Internal Linking Is Critical for GEO in Newsrooms
Generative AI tools increasingly surface news content as summaries, citations, and background sources. Internal linking directly affects how these systems interpret your coverage.
1. AI Systems Learn Story Context Through Links
AI models infer meaning by seeing how articles reference each other.
Strong internal linking helps AI understand:
Ongoing storylines
Long-running investigations
Beat-level expertise
Example: A newsroom consistently links all housing-related stories to a “Housing Crisis Explained” page. AI systems learn that your publication is a trusted source on housing policy.
2. Well-Linked Explainers Are More Likely to Be Used by AI Summaries
Generative engines often rely on:
Clear explainers
Background pieces
Chronologies and FAQs
Internal linking signals which pieces are foundational.
Example: If dozens of articles link to “What the Inflation Numbers Really Mean,” that explainer is more likely to be referenced or summarized in AI-generated responses - although there may be other factors at play as well.
3. Internal Links Reinforce Entities and Reporting Continuity
Newsrooms cover entities constantly. These could be, for instance:
Public figures
Institutions
Court cases
Laws and policies
As we all know LLMs (and Google) LOVE entities and having an entity-focused approach to your publishing output is one of the clearest methods to drive topic authority for your brand.
Internal linking strengthens:
Entity recognition
Consistent naming
Historical continuity
Example: Every article mentioning the Environment Agency links to an explainer on its powers and role, reinforcing clarity and authority.
How Newsroom Teams Can Build an Internal Linking System
The points below might sound simple to action in newsrooms, but from experience it’s often harder than it sounds. This is because journalists, especially in a breaking news situation, already have a thousand things to consider - the accuracy of their reporting just being one of them. Successful internal-linking in newsrooms is entirely down to how YOU as the SEO are communicating with that team AND being on-hand to DO THE ACTUAL LINKING if no one is able to do it.
I could delve into a side-quest here about how to work with product teams to automate internal linking - but that is indeed another quest. So, for now, onwards.
Step 1: Define Coverage Hubs and Core Explainers
Make a list either in a separate spreadsheet or inside your CMS so the team can keep track of these highly-valuable pages:Examples might include:
“How UK general elections work”
“Cost of living crisis explained”
“The Rwanda asylum policy timeline”
Local council decision trackers
(I might need to work on some of those headlines….)
Step 2: Link Breaking News to Context
Then, simply ensure that these are referenced in your breaking news coverage when they are relevant. The strategy here is otherwise known as ‘Hub and Spoke’ or ‘Topic Clusters’ or even ‘Pillar Pages’ - just make sure that your in-depth, contextual articles are always linked to from your breaking news output.
Even in fast-moving stories:
Add 1–2 context links early
Update with more links as the story evolves
Example: A breaking High Court ruling links to:
“What the case is about”
“How judicial reviews work in the UK”
WHEN you should link is actually a really good point (thank you, me). It’s always better to try and include as much copy and links as you can BEFORE you hit publish, because you will have a better chance of getting into Google’s Top Stories. However, sometimes this might be simply impossible due to the nature of the story i.e. not many facts are actually known at the time of publication.
Step 3: Use Clear Anchor Text
Anchor text should:
Be descriptive
Match newsroom style
Avoid jargon
Good examples:
“our previous reporting on the Met Police inquiry”
“how council tax bands are set”
“what the Online Safety Act means”
This helps readers and AI systems alike. AVOID ‘read more’ or ‘click here.’ as that tells LLMs and Google nothing about the page you are linking to.
Step 4: Make Internal Linking Part of Editorial Workflow
Newsrooms don’t have time for complex SEO rules. Keep it simple…but watch out for misinterpretation.
Some Newsrooms insist on including a list of related links, say after the first or second paragraph. My issue with this is although having a templated approach to constructing a news article might help with workflow, quite often these related links are not related to the story at all, but just a list of recently published stories.
This approach is missing the point somewhat.
In short, let your site furniture (all those modules on the page linking to other sections or articles on the site) do this work - so you can focus on including only the most relevant links within the body of your article.
This is why News SEO is never about emailing a list of instructions, it’s all about having an ongoing conversation with effective reporting back to the newsrooms with EBI (‘Even Better If’) recommendations.
Step 5: Prioritise Editorial Value Over Optimisation
Internal links should:
Add clarity
Improve understanding
Respect reader trust
If a link feels forced, it’s probably not worth adding. NEVER link ‘world’ to /world-news/ just because the word exists on the page when you can link to something more relevant (sorry, little bugbear there).
Common Internal Linking Mistakes in Newsrooms
Publishing breaking news with zero links - hello, you’re not in print are you?
Letting evergreen explainers go stale - why link to a page that has become irrelevant?
Failing to link back to original reporting
Over-linking keywords instead of meaning - see ‘World’ example above
That third point is an interesting one. As a journalist you should be linking to relevant pages that really highlight the quality of your organisation’s journalism - what makes it distinct, original and worth subscribing to.
Equally, you don’t want to over-egg this, but if it’s relevant, do it.
Also equally, it’s my opinion that you should also give credit where credit is due and link to the original source of a story, even if it’s on a competitor site. I think this is not only ethical because it signals to users the value of journalism as an institution, I think it also adds value to the page.
If you make your page valuable to me, I am more likely to return and I may even consider a subscription in the long-term.
In Summary: Internal Linking is the Bedrock of Good Journalism
Woah, I can’t believe I just wrote that, but it’s true. Internal Linking:
Preserves reporting history
Strengthens topic authority
Improves visibility in search and AI-driven discovery
Helps readers make sense of complex stories
Directly leads to audience trust because it shows, if nothing else, that you CARE about the audience experience AND adding value to their lives.
Internal linking ensures that your newsroom’s work remains discoverable, trusted, and influential in both search results and generative AI environments. You see? Internal Linking CAN be sexy!
