Internal links in parsed content of #1 pages by vertical
| Vertical | #1 pages | Median internal links | Mean internal links | No internal links | 50+ internal links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apparel | 141 | 24 | 45.7 | 11.3% | 19.9% |
| Auto parts | 145 | 10 | 34.1 | 11.7% | 15.2% |
| Baby | 187 | 12 | 30.6 | 12.3% | 15.0% |
| Beauty | 171 | 18 | 46.9 | 11.7% | 18.7% |
| Dental and medical | 200 | 8 | 18.2 | 13.5% | 6.5% |
| DIY | 145 | 8 | 27.9 | 27.6% | 17.2% |
| Education | 201 | 7 | 30.7 | 13.9% | 11.4% |
| Electronics | 129 | 9 | 17.2 | 24.8% | 8.5% |
| Finance | 151 | 8 | 18.1 | 15.2% | 9.9% |
| Fitness | 154 | 9 | 27.6 | 18.8% | 9.7% |
| Gaming | 173 | 9 | 43.0 | 22.5% | 18.5% |
| Gardening | 155 | 10 | 27.9 | 15.5% | 9.0% |
| Health | 195 | 16 | 23.3 | 10.8% | 6.7% |
| Home | 168 | 25.5 | 40.3 | 8.9% | 26.2% |
| Home services | 160 | 11.5 | 33.5 | 15.0% | 13.1% |
| Insurance | 182 | 13 | 23.7 | 13.2% | 13.2% |
| Jewelry | 197 | 28 | 48.5 | 7.6% | 26.9% |
| Kitchen | 163 | 13 | 23.2 | 12.3% | 11.7% |
| Legal | 205 | 16 | 46.6 | 10.7% | 20.5% |
| Marketing | 151 | 8 | 25.8 | 15.2% | 7.9% |
| Outdoor | 160 | 12 | 29.3 | 10.6% | 14.4% |
| Parenting | 110 | 10.5 | 37.3 | 8.2% | 14.5% |
| Pets | 184 | 16 | 62.6 | 8.7% | 23.9% |
| Real estate | 142 | 14.5 | 35.2 | 7.7% | 16.2% |
| Recipes | 146 | 17 | 43.8 | 7.5% | 9.6% |
| Restaurants | 113 | 10 | 45.1 | 22.1% | 19.5% |
| SaaS comparisons | 259 | 20 | 23.8 | 16.6% | 17.0% |
| Software | 238 | 17 | 28.2 | 11.3% | 12.2% |
| Supplements | 181 | 13 | 25.1 | 13.3% | 12.2% |
| Travel | 161 | 13 | 32.4 | 11.2% | 17.4% |
Source: PageSpeed Matters, Oct 2026. Counts include in-body navigation blocks. Each vertical rests on 110 to 259 #1 pages, so read differences as directional.
Summary
How many internal links should a page have? There is no official number, and advice ranges from "a few" to "as many as are useful". We counted what the pages ranking at #1 in Google actually carry in their content.
The median #1-ranking page has 13 internal links in its parsed content, across 5,067 pages, and positions 2 to 5 sit at 14. Ranking first does not go with a different linking pattern. What does go with more internal links is length, and the type of site: store-led verticals link internally far more than editorial ones.
What we measured
We looked at the top 5 Google results for 10,019 US keywords in October 2026. Of 49,855 pages, 29,776 were readable. We kept pages with 150+ parsed words: 5,067 pages at #1 and 18,657 at positions 2 to 5.
For each page we counted links in the parsed page content that point to the same site.
Two limits matter. Parsed content includes navigation blocks that sit inside the page body, such as category lists and related-product grids, so the counts are higher than editorial links alone. And the vertical medians rest on 110 to 259 #1 pages each, so read the vertical comparisons as directional.
Top results carry about a dozen internal links
The median #1-ranking page has 13 internal links in its parsed content. The mean is much higher at 33.0, because a minority of pages carry very large numbers of links and pull the average up.
Positions 2 to 5 are effectively the same, with a median of 14 and a mean of 32.9 across 18,657 pages. Nothing in the data suggests that the #1 result wins by linking more or less than its neighbors.
The spread is wide. 13.5% of #1 pages have no internal link in their parsed content at all, while 14.8% have 50 or more. Pages with zero are likely short landing pages or pages whose links all sit in menus outside the parsed content. Pages with 50 or more are likely store or hub pages with product grids and category lists inside the body.
Long pages carry far more internal links
Length goes with the biggest difference in the data. #1 pages with 150 to 499 parsed words have a median of 6 internal links (1,562 pages), against 27.5 for #1 pages over 2,000 words (976 pages).
That is what you would expect: a long guide has more places to mention related topics, more sections that deserve a link to a deeper page, and often a table of contents or related-reading block. A short page has room for a few links at most. Comparing your link count to the median only makes sense against pages of a similar length.
Store-led verticals link internally the most
Store-led verticals link internally the most at #1, with medians of 28 in jewelry, 25.5 in home and 24 in apparel. Ranking pages in these verticals are likely category and collection pages, where every product tile is a link.
Editorial and service-led verticals link the least: education has a median of 7, and finance, marketing, DIY and dental and medical have 8 each. These are more likely to be articles and service pages, where links are placed by hand in the text.
Zero-link pages also vary by vertical. DIY (27.6%), electronics (24.8%), gaming (22.5%) and restaurants (22.1%) have the most #1 pages with no internal link in their parsed content. Each vertical median here rests on a few hundred pages at most, so treat these as signals rather than firm rankings.
What this means for your site
Use the numbers as a sense check, not a target:
- On long guides, link to your deeper pages wherever you mention a topic they cover. #1 pages over 2,000 words have a median of 27.5.
- On short pages, a handful of well-placed links is normal.
- Check that every important page has at least one contextual link from related content, not just from the menu.
- On category and collection pages, make sure product and subcategory links are plain HTML links that crawlers can follow.
- Use descriptive anchor text that tells the reader where the link goes.
Sources
- PageSpeed Matters analysis of the top 5 Google results for 10,019 US keywords, October 2026
- Google Search Central, Link best practices for Google: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/links-crawlable
Embed this research
Paste this on your site to embed the chart. It links back to the source automatically.
<iframe id="psm-internal-links-per-page" src="https://www.pagespeedmatters.com/embed/data-studies/internal-links-per-page" width="100%" height="600" style="width:100%;border:1px solid #E2E3E1;border-radius:12px" loading="lazy" title="Internal Links on #1 Results: 13 Median per Page - PageSpeed Matters"></iframe>
<script>window.addEventListener("message",function(e){if(e&&e.data&&e.data.psmEmbed==="internal-links-per-page"&&e.data.height){var f=document.getElementById("psm-internal-links-per-page");if(f){f.style.height=e.data.height+"px";}}});</script>
<p style="font:14px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif">Source: <a href="https://www.pagespeedmatters.com/resources/data-studies/internal-links-per-page">Internal Links on #1 Results: 13 Median per Page - PageSpeed Matters</a></p>
Frequently asked questions
How many internal links does a #1 result have?
The median #1-ranking page has 13 internal links in its parsed content, across 5,067 pages, with a mean of 33.0. Positions 2 to 5 are effectively the same, with a median of 14.
Do longer pages have more internal links?
Yes. #1 pages with 150 to 499 parsed words have a median of 6 internal links, against 27.5 for #1 pages over 2,000 words.
How many top results have no internal links?
13.5% of #1 pages have no internal link in their parsed content, while 14.8% have 50 or more. DIY has the highest zero-link rate at 27.6%.
Internal links are fully under your control, and a planned linking pattern helps readers and crawlers reach your most important pages. Need help with this? See our on-page SEO services.