Ahrefs Site Audit: Fix Internal Linking

Ahrefs

Table of Contents

Let’s talk about the silent killer of your SEO.

Not slow loading speed.
Not missing alt tags.
I’m talking about something way less flashy, but way more damaging if you ignore it:

👉 Broken or weak internal linking.

If your blog posts are sitting in isolation, not connected, not pointing to each other…
You’re basically telling Google, “Hey, this page isn’t important.”

💀 And Google listens.

The good news? Ahrefs Site Audit makes it stupid-easy to find and fix internal linking issues — if you know where to look.

So in this no-fluff post, I’m showing you exactly how to use Ahrefs to find your internal linking problems (👎), fix them (👍), and boost your SEO game with zero new content.

Let’s dig in. 🔍

Why Internal Linking Even Matters (Don’t Skip This) 🧠

I used to ignore internal linking.
Thought it was something “advanced bloggers” did after they had 100 posts.

But then I realized:

Internal links help Google understand your site structure
They pass authority between pages
They help readers stick around and binge your content

No links = no signals = no love from Google 😬

And guess what? Most people mess it up without even knowing.

Fire Up Ahrefs Site Audit 🔥

Okay, let’s get to the fun part.

If you’ve never used Site Audit in Ahrefs, here’s the quick setup:

Go to Site Audit tab
Add your domain (e.g., moneyfromblogging.com)
Choose crawler settings (default is fine)
Run the crawl and wait a few mins (depends on your site size)

Once it’s done — boom 💣
You’ll get a full audit with dozens of issues. But don’t get overwhelmed.

We’re focusing only on Internal Linking errors today.

Where to Find Internal Linking Issues in Ahrefs 🧭

After the audit is complete:

Go to All Issues
Search for these three key problems:
- Orphan pages (no internal links) 🚫
- Broken internal links 🔗❌
- Too few internal links (underlinked pages) 😢

Let’s break these down.

1. Orphan Pages = Ghost Pages 👻

Ahrefs calls out pages that exist on your site but have zero internal links pointing to them.

This is bad.

Because if nothing links to a page, Google might not even crawl or index it properly. It’s just floating there, unseen and unloved.

How to fix:

Go to Ahrefs → Internal Pages → Filter → Orphan Pages
Find blog posts or landing pages that have no internal links
Go back to other related posts and add links to these pages

📌 Pro tip: Use descriptive anchor text that makes sense.
Don’t just drop a “click here.” Write:
“Check out this post on free SEO tools that actually work.”

2. Broken Internal Links = Dead Ends 💀

These are links pointing to pages that don’t exist anymore (404s or wrong URLs). They kill the user experience and mess with Google’s crawl flow.

How to fix:

In Ahrefs, go to All Issues → Broken Internal Links
Export the list (if it’s long)
Update or remove the broken links in your CMS

👀 Most common reason? You updated a slug but didn’t update internal links.
Or you deleted a page and forgot to clean up links pointing to it.

Either way, fix it.

3. Underlinked Pages = Missed Opportunity 🪫

These are pages that only have 1 or 2 internal links — not broken, not orphaned, but weakly connected.

Ahrefs shows these under “Pages with only one incoming internal link”

And here’s where the magic happens…

These are often your BEST pages, but they’re hidden in the dark.

✅ Find your top-performing or super-helpful content
✅ Search your site for related posts
✅ Go add 2–3 internal links to each of them

📈 Do this right, and I promise you’ll see ranking jumps without writing a single new article.

My Quick Fix Routine 🛠️

Here’s exactly how I do internal link cleanups now (every 2–3 weeks):

Run Ahrefs Site Audit
Tackle broken links first (fast wins)
Next, hit the orphan pages
Then find underlinked posts that deserve more love
Update blog posts and hit publish
Re-crawl the site in Ahrefs next week ✅

Takes me 30–45 minutes.
Boosts pages that were flatlining.
Brings old content back from the dead 🧟

How to Add Smart Internal Links That Actually Help 👇

Don’t just stuff links in your posts randomly.

Here’s what works:

Use natural anchor text (don’t force exact match)
Link to pages that expand the topic, not distract
Use “related reading” sections, or drop links in the middle of your content
Link from high-authority posts to lower ones — helps pass that juice 🧃

Example:

If you’re writing a post on “free SEO tools,” you can drop in:

“I also covered how to use Ahrefs Keyword Explorer if you’re serious about ranking — check that out.”

Smooth. Useful. Non-spammy.

Extra Tip: Use Ahrefs’ Link Opportunities Tool 🕵️‍♂️

Ahrefs has a secret weapon most people skip:

👉 Go to Site Audit → Link Opportunities

This shows you where you’ve mentioned a keyword but haven’t linked to a related post.

Example:
You wrote “keyword research” in 10 posts but only 2 of them link to your main keyword research guide?

Boom — that’s a missed link.

Ahrefs will show you the exact sentence where it appears, and where you should link.
You just go in and add it.

🥇 This is probably the easiest way to add 20+ internal links in one afternoon.

What Happens When You Fix This Stuff 🚀

Not kidding, here’s what I’ve seen after a solid internal linking cleanup:

Posts stuck on page 2 → moved to page 1
Crawl rate improved (Google found pages faster)
Old articles suddenly started ranking for long-tails
Bounce rate dropped because readers kept clicking deeper

All from just… linking things better.
No new content. No backlinks. No AI wizardry.

Just connecting the dots. 🔗🧠

TL;DR – How to Use Ahrefs to Fix Internal Linking Problems

✅ Run a Site Audit
✅ Fix broken internal links
✅ Rescue orphan pages
✅ Strengthen underlinked content
✅ Use “Link Opportunities” to scale fast
✅ Re-crawl and track improvements

Your blog is a web — not a stack of isolated posts.

Use internal links like glue. Google notices. Your rankings reflect it. 💯

Want help mapping out your internal links for your next content cluster?
Drop a message. I’ll even audit 5 posts and show you where to link ‘em — free.

Now go fix those lonely pages. Let them shine. 🔧✨