Internal linking: optimizing headers, footers, sidebars and breadcrumb trails [SEO Summer Reload #4]

Prioritize strategic pages so they are reachable in fewer than 3 clicks from the homepage.

Use links <a href> standard HTML (no JavaScript) to ensure crawlability.

Write descriptive anchors — that explain the page’s topic (avoid “Learn more”).

Limit the depth of the mega-menu and group items by themes rather than listing every page.

Avoid duplicates (the same URLs repeated in multiple header areas).

Do not place in nofollow useful internal links (they should transmit the signal and authority).

Use the footer for structural/reassurance pages: Contact, About, Sitemap, Legal notice, parent categories or even strategic pages.

Do not use the footer as a place to optimize internal linking (links will lose weight over time anyway).

Group links into clear sections (legal, support, top categories, resources) for UX and crawling.

Avoid endless lists (all product pages, tags, etc.).

Check mobile accessibility (clickable area sizes, readability, tab order).

Insert links relevant to the page content (sibling category pages, subcategories, "next steps" pages). 

Dynamically adapt the sidebar based on the page type (article → related articles or categories; category → subcategories or popular pages in the category).

Keep a reasonable length (avoid blocks of hundreds of links) to preserve the value of internal signals.

Ensure mobile visibility and usability (accordions/collapse, clear hierarchy).

Implement a breadcrumb on hierarchical pages and display it at the top of the page, under the header (if your contextual internal linking is structured enough for crawlers, you can place it at the bottom of the page for UX reasons).

Use static links aligned with your site hierarchy (Home > Category > Subcategory > Page) rather than dynamic links based on the user's navigation history.

Include the full URL for each breadcrumb item with a consistent separator (e.g. '>' or '/'), and do not link the current page (last item inactive).

Add the structured data schema.org/BreadcrumbList and validate the implementation using the schema validator.

Check mobile rendering and accessibility (keyboard focus, screen reader output).

Control crawl depth: aim for key pages to be accessible within ≤ 3 clicks; flatten the architecture if necessary.

Audit the balance of outgoing and incoming links to detect under-linked pages (receiving too few links from sibling pages).

Check accessibility: focusable links, tab order, ARIA attributes if needed.

How many boxes did you check?

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From 0 to 11: it's a start! Check the resources below and in the article to learn more
From 12 to 19: not bad! You can go further to overtake your competitors!
Over 19: well played, you're at the top!