Then confirm with a crawl, because pages with zero links do not show up at all. The report is the starting point of step 1 in our internal linking playbook.
Where to Find It
- Open Search Console and pick your property.
- In the left menu, under Links, click Links.
- Find the Internal links panel and click More under Top linked pages.
You now see a table of your pages and how many internal links point to each one. Click a page to see which pages link to it.
What the Report Counts
Google's Links report help explains the rules. In plain words:
| What | How it works | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Sample | The report shows a sample of links, not every link | Treat the numbers as a guide, not a full count |
| 1,000-row limit | Tables are limited to 1,000 rows, and export gives up to 1,000 rows | Big sites see only part of the list |
| Grouped by canonical | Links to duplicate URLs are grouped under the canonical URL; parameters and #anchors are dropped | A link to /boots?color=red counts for /boots if that is the canonical |
| Nofollow | The report does not say whether a link is nofollow | Check nofollow with a crawler |
| Your own pages only | Internal links are links between pages of your property | Links from other sites are in the External links panel |
How to Use It to Find Weak Pages
The default sort shows your most linked pages first: usually the homepage, menu pages and footer pages. That part is not very useful. The value is at the bottom.
- Click Export and download the table.
- Sort by the link count, smallest first.
- Mark the pages that matter to you (products, services, key guides) with only a handful of links.
- Compare with Performance > Pages: a page with few internal links and many impressions at position 8 to 20 is a strong candidate. Google already finds it relevant; more links from related pages can help.
Worked example (fictional site). brightsmile-dental.com exported its Top linked pages. The homepage and contact page had over 300 links each, all from the menu and footer. At the bottom, the "Invisalign cost" page had 3 links. In Performance, the same page had 4,100 impressions in 3 months at an average position of 11. The team added links to it from the Invisalign overview, the "braces vs Invisalign" post and the financing page, each in a sentence where a reader would want the cost.
What the Report Cannot Tell You
- Pages with zero internal links. The table lists pages that have links. An orphan page is simply missing. To find orphans, compare the list with your sitemap and a crawl: see our orphan pages method.
- Anchor text of internal links. The "Top linking text" table covers links from other sites, not your own links. Use a crawler to see internal anchors.
- Where on the page a link sits. A menu link and an in-body link count the same here.
- Real-time changes. New links show up after Google recrawls the pages that hold them.
Pair It with Two Other Reports
| Report | What to check | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Performance > Search results > Pages | Pages with many impressions and few clicks | Tells you which weak pages are worth linking to first |
| Indexing > Pages | "Discovered - currently not indexed" and "Crawled - currently not indexed" | Pages Google knows but did not index. Better internal links are one of several fixes |
For a single page, use URL Inspection. Under Page indexing, the Discovery section lists sitemaps and referring pages Google found for that URL. If no referring page is from your own site, your links may not reach it. Treat that as a hint, not proof.
How Often to Check It
- After a redesign, new theme or menu change: compare before and after.
- When you publish a new section: make sure each new page picks up links within a few weeks.
- Otherwise, once a quarter as part of a Search Console audit.
How to Use This with an AI Assistant
Connect SEOmatic at https://seomatic.ai/mcp and ask: "Use gsc_performance top_pages for mysite.com, last 3 months, and list pages with many impressions and a position between 8 and 20. Then run site_audit and tell me which of them have few internal links and which pages should link to them." Sign in with connect_seomatic; SEOmatic does not read the Links report itself, so export Links > Internal links by hand for the full table.
Let the Agents Add Your Internal Links
SEOmatic's AI agents use your own Search Console data to decide which pages need links, then add them in your CMS:
- Link to pages that sit just off page one for searches they could win
- Use anchor text that matches what people search for
- Fix broken internal links
Each change can wait for your approval, one click undoes it, and the agents check it against how the rest of your site did. What they can change depends on your platform, and you see the full list before anything runs.
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