Choose a next step for each page
A service page does not need a link to every other service. It needs a path that matches the customer's decision. Someone reading about fence installation may need to see examples of fence styles, understand the estimate process, or request a site visit. A link is useful when it connects one of those needs to a page that answers it.
Our planning sheet has four columns: current page, question arising here, best destination, and proposed link text. This keeps link work focused on navigation instead of adding words merely to increase link counts. Start with your most important service page and one supporting guide.
Write the link before styling it
Google recommends crawlable links and descriptive anchor text that explains the destination. Standard HTML links use an anchor element with an href attribute.
Try a small customer journey
For a fictional fence contractor, a guide about choosing fence materials could link to wood fence installation at the point where it explains maintenance tradeoffs. The service page could link to a recent fence replacement project when discussing workmanship. That project page could offer a request an estimate link after explaining the scope.
Use wording that still makes sense when read alone. Compare learn more with see the fence estimate process. The second tells the customer what happens next. Avoid linking an entire paragraph, placing several nearly identical links together, or using a label that promises pricing but lands on a generic contact form.
Point to the page you want to maintain
When duplicate versions of a page exist, Google's canonical guidance recommends linking internally to the preferred URL. Your developer can check this if the same service appears at several addresses.
Check both discovery and usefulness
Open your homepage and reach each priority service through the menu or visible page links. Then open a supporting guide directly and check whether its next step is still clear without returning home. A visitor entering through an article should not have to guess whether the business offers the service discussed.
Keep essential navigation available on a phone. Expand menus, use links inside accordions, and test the contact path. If a card looks clickable but only a tiny arrow works, improve the interaction. If a link opens an unexpected new tab, ask whether that behavior helps the visitor. These are customer experience decisions, not ranking tricks.
Maintain the links as content changes
Assign link checks to the same person who publishes new pages. When a service is renamed, merged, or removed, update references from guides and project stories too. Record the old destination, the replacement, and the reason so future editors do not reintroduce an obsolete link.
A useful initial target is a complete path for one real customer: understand the problem, evaluate the service, see appropriate evidence, and make contact. Stop adding links when they no longer help that journey. More links are not automatically more clarity.
Your practical checklist
- Give each priority page an appropriate next step.
- Use link text that names the destination or action.
- Check the actual URL behind each link.
- Reach key services from both menus and relevant content.
- Retest links when pages move or offers change.
Written with AI-assisted research and drafting, with source checks and editorial review for this guidebook. Platform facts link to official documentation. Examples and recommendations are our own; no client results are implied. Sources reviewed October 8, 2026. About Getting Found Local