Day 9 – Improve URLs & Internal Links (Step-by-Step Guide)
Week 2: SEO Implementation
Day 9 – Improve URLs & Internal Links (Step-by-Step Guide)
The purpose of Day 9 is to create clean, descriptive URLs and improve the links between pages on the website. This helps visitors navigate the site and helps search engines discover and understand all your pages.
Step 1: Review All Website URLs
What are you doing?
Checking every page URL to see if it is clear, descriptive, and SEO-friendly.
Tool
Using WordPress – View and edit page URLs (Permalinks).
How to Access
Open your browser.
Go to:
https://yourwebsite.com/wp-admin
Log in.
Click Pages → All Pages.
Open a page.
Free or Paid: ✅ Free (included with WordPress).
Example
❌ Poor URL
https://rootlearning.com/page1
❌ Poor URL
https://rootlearning.com/post?id=25
✅ Better URL
https://rootlearning.com/online-tutoring
✅ Better URL
https://rootlearning.com/math-tutoring
Good URL Rules
Use lowercase letters.
Use hyphens (-) instead of spaces.
Keep URLs short.
Include the page's primary keyword.
Avoid unnecessary numbers and symbols.
Step 2: Edit the URL (Slug)
What are you doing?
Changing the page slug to match the page content.
Tool
Using WordPress – Edit the page slug.
Steps
Open the page.
Find the Permalink or URL Slug field.
Replace the old slug.
Example
Before
page-3
After
online-tutoring
Click Update.
Important: If you change the URL of a page that is already live and receiving visitors, set up a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new one. Otherwise, visitors and search engines may encounter a 404 (Page Not Found) error.
Step 3: Review Internal Links
What are you doing?
Checking whether pages link to other relevant pages.
Why?
Internal links help:
Visitors discover more content.
Search engines crawl the website.
Share authority between pages.
Example
Homepage
Links to
About
Services
Tutors
Blog
Contact
Math Tutoring Page
Links to
Homework Help
Science Tutoring
Contact
Reading Tutoring Page
Links to
English Tutoring
About
Contact
Step 4: Add Internal Links
What are you doing?
Adding links naturally inside the page content.
Tool
Using WordPress – Add hyperlinks within page content.
Steps
Highlight the text.
Click the Link icon.
Select another page on the website.
Save the changes.
Example
Content
We also provide personalized math tutoring for primary school students.
Link the words
math tutoring
to
https://rootlearning.com/math-tutoring
Another Example
Learn more about our certified tutors.
Link
certified tutors
to the About or Tutors page.
Step 5: Use Descriptive Anchor Text
What are you doing?
Making the clickable text describe the destination page.
Good Example
Online Math Tutoring
Good Example
Reading Tutoring Services
Poor Example
Click here
Poor Example
Read more
Descriptive anchor text helps both users and search engines understand where the link leads.
Step 6: Check Internal Linking Structure
What are you doing?
Scanning the website to see how pages are connected.
Tool
Using Screaming Frog SEO Spider – Analyze internal links.
How to Access: Screaming Frog SEO Spider
Free or Paid:
✅ Free (up to 500 URLs)
⭐ Paid for larger websites
Steps
Open Screaming Frog.
Enter the website URL.
Click Start.
Wait for the scan to finish.
Check
Internal links
Broken internal links
Pages with very few internal links
Redirects
Step 7: Find Orphan Pages
What are you doing?
Looking for pages that have no internal links pointing to them.
What is an Orphan Page?
An orphan page is a page that exists on the website but is not linked from any other page. Visitors and search engines may have difficulty finding it.
Example
Homepage
↓
Services
↓
Math Tutoring
↓
Reading Tutoring
But
Homework Tips
has no links from anywhere.
That is an orphan page.
Why?
Google may not discover orphan pages easily, and visitors are unlikely to find them through normal navigation.
Solution
Add links from relevant pages.
Example
Homepage
↓
Blog
↓
Homework Tips
Step 8: Check Navigation Menu
What are you doing?
Making sure important pages appear in the website menu.
Tool
Using WordPress – Manage menus (Appearance → Menus or Appearance → Editor, depending on the theme).
Check
Home
About
Services
Blog
Contact
FAQ
Step 9: Test All Links
What are you doing?
Making sure every internal link works correctly.
Tools
Using Screaming Frog SEO Spider – Find broken internal links.
Using Google Chrome – Manually click important links.
Check
No broken links
No incorrect redirects
Links go to the correct page
Step 10: Record Your Work
What are you doing?
Keeping a record of all URL and internal linking improvements.
Tool
Using Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets – Track optimization progress.
How to Access: Google Sheets
Free or Paid: ✅ Free with a Google account.
Example
| Page | URL Improved | Internal Links Added | Orphan Page Fixed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Homepage | ✅ | 6 | N/A | Completed |
| About | ✅ | 4 | No | Completed |
| Math Tutoring | ✅ | 5 | No | Completed |
| Reading Tutoring | ✅ | 3 | Yes | Completed |
| Homework Tips | ✅ | 4 | Yes | Completed |
Best Practices
URLs
✅ Good
rootlearning.com/online-tutoring
✅ Good
rootlearning.com/math-tutoring
❌ Poor
rootlearning.com/page2
Internal Links
Use descriptive anchor text.
Good
Online Tutoring Services
Poor
Click Here
Orphan Pages
Every important page should have at least one internal link pointing to it from another relevant page.
Deliverables for Day 9
By the end of Day 9, you should have:
✅ SEO-friendly URLs for all important pages.
✅ Internal links connecting related pages.
✅ No important orphan pages.
✅ Navigation menu reviewed and updated.
✅ Broken internal links identified and fixed.
✅ URL and internal linking report.
Final Goal
By the end of Day 9, the website should have:
Clear, descriptive URLs that match each page's content.
A strong internal linking structure that helps users and search engines navigate the site.
No important orphan pages.
A logical navigation system that makes every key page easy to find.
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