The URL in href
A crawler follows the URL in href to discover another page and add it to the site's crawl graph.
HTML and internal linking
HTML A Tag for SEO
The <a> element creates a link between pages. For SEO, the important parts are the URL in href, clear anchor text, an accessible destination and the link's place in the site structure.
Key points
What a search engine gets from a link
The anchor text
Visible link text explains the destination. “Check robots.txt” is more useful than “click here”.
The linking path
Links from navigation, category pages and related guides help show relationships and important user routes.
Basic link syntax
<a href="/en/tools/seo-audit/">Run an SEO audit for this page</a>The href contains the destination. The text between the opening and closing tags is the anchor. A user should understand what will open before clicking.
Good and weak anchor text
| Example | Quality | Reason |
|---|---|---|
<a href="/robots/">how to check robots.txt</a> | Good | The text describes the destination naturally and clearly. |
<a href="/robots/">learn more</a> | Weak | The destination is unclear without reading the surrounding paragraph. |
<a href="/robots/">robots txt checker robots SEO free tool</a> | Poor | Keyword stuffing hurts readability and looks manipulative. |
Attributes
Link attributes that matter
- href — the real destination URL. Normal navigation should use an accessible URL instead of only a JavaScript click handler.
- rel="nofollow" — a hint that the link should not be treated as a normal editorial recommendation. It is not needed for standard internal navigation.
- rel="sponsored" — use it for paid, affiliate or advertising links.
- rel="ugc" — use it for links created by users in comments, forums or profiles.
- target="_blank" — opens a new tab. Add
rel="noopener"for safer behavior. - title — an optional hint, not a replacement for clear visible anchor text.
Internal links and SEO
An internal link points to another page on the same site. It helps crawlers discover URLs and helps users continue a task. A useful route connects a definition to a guide, a guide to a tool and a tool result to the next practical check.
More links are not automatically better. Link related pages when the destination genuinely helps the reader continue.
External links
An external link is useful when it supports a claim, points to official documentation or gives the reader a necessary resource. A normal editorial link does not need automatic nofollow. Paid and user-generated links should use the appropriate rel value.
Checklist
How to review HTML links
- Confirm the link has a real
hrefand works without a fragile JavaScript-only interaction. - Check that the anchor describes the destination instead of saying only “click here”.
- Open the target and inspect final HTTP status, redirects and canonical.
- Replace or remove links to 404 pages, redirect loops and obsolete URLs.
- Make sure important pages are reachable through normal internal navigation.
- Use sponsored and ugc where the relationship requires them.
Common mistakes
What makes links harder to use
- Generic anchors such as “here” and “more” that make no sense out of context.
- A clickable-looking div with no href and poor keyboard access.
- Internal links that pass through several redirects instead of pointing to the final URL.
- The same exact commercial anchor repeated unnaturally across many pages.
- Opening every link in a new tab without a user benefit.
- An important page listed in sitemap.xml but not linked from any normal page.
Tools
Check links on a real page
Links
Broken links checker
Find internal and external destinations that return errors or need review.
Check a page → RedirectsRedirect checker
Inspect every HTTP step and confirm the link reaches the intended final page.
Check a URL → AuditSEO audit
Review metadata, canonical, structure and internal link signals.
Run audit →FAQ
Questions about the a tag
Does anchor text affect SEO?
Yes. It provides context for the destination, but it should remain natural and useful to readers.
Should every link have a title attribute?
No. Visible link text is more important. Use title only when it adds information that is genuinely helpful.
Should internal links use nofollow?
Usually not. For normal site navigation, fix structure, canonicals and page quality instead of applying nofollow broadly.