The Ultimate Guide to Blog Post Linking: Internal vs. External, Follow vs. Nofollow

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You know that feeling when you’re writing a blog post, adding links, and suddenly you’re staring at those link settings, wondering, “Wait, what am I supposed to choose here?”

I want you to make informed decisions about your links because, believe it or not, how you set up your links matters for both your readers and your SEO.

Here’s the quick version if you’re short on time:

• Internal links (to pages on your own site) should open in the same tab and usually have follow attributes
• External links (to other websites) should typically open in a new tab
• Use nofollow for links you don’t want to “endorse” with your site’s authority
• Use sponsored attribute for paid or affiliate links (FTC compliance)
• Think about the user experience first, SEO second

Let’s get into…

Shall we?

Think of Your Website Like a House…

I always like to use the example of a home or house because it can be assumed that we all understand how a house is laid out and have experience in a home or house.

So, when used as a parallel, it is my hope that it helps make it make sense.

Think about your website like this: it’s a house you’ve built, and each page or post is a room in that house.

Internal links are like doorways between rooms – you want visitors to move easily from one room to another while staying in your house.

External links are like doors that lead outside to other people’s houses – sometimes necessary, but you should think carefully about when you want people to leave your property.

Internal Links: Keeping Visitors in Your House

I’ll be straight with you… internal links are one of the most underutilized SEO tactics in blogging.

They’re how you connect the rooms of your house together.

How to Set Up Internal Links in WordPress:

One of the things that is really important with internal linking is using descriptive anchor text. You should never just paste a raw URL like “www.mysite.com/post-title” in your content. Instead, you want to highlight relevant text that actually describes what the reader will find when they click.

For example, instead of writing “Learn more about SEO at www.mysite.com/beginners-seo-guide,” you should write “Check out my comprehensive beginner’s SEO guide for more tips.” (FYI – that link will take you nowhere, it’s just an example)

This helps search engines understand the context of your link and improves the reader experience.

Here’s how to properly set up internal links:

1. Highlight the descriptive text you want to turn into a link
2. Click the link icon in your editor
3. Search for or paste the URL of another page/post on your site
4. Important: Do NOT check “Open in new tab”

Here’s why that matters: When a reader clicks an internal link, you want them to continue their journey on your site in the same browser tab.

Opening internal links in new tabs creates a confusing user experience – suddenly they have multiple tabs open to the same website. Nobody wants that kind of tab chaos!

Something to consider is that search engines also use your internal links to understand the structure of your website and which content is most important.

Every internal link passes “link juice” (SEO value) to the page it points to, which helps that page rank better.

External Links: When to Let Visitors Leave Your House

External links point to websites outside of the one you are working on.

Here’s the thing about external links… they should almost always open in a new tab.

How to Set Up External Links in WordPress:

1. Highlight your text
2. Click the link icon
3. Paste the external URL
4. Check “Open in new tab”
5. Decide if you need nofollow or sponsored attributes (more on this below)

When you send visitors to other websites, you want them to be able to come back to yours easily.

Opening external links in new tabs means your site stays open in the original tab, making it easy for readers to return after exploring the external resource.

Follow vs. Nofollow: The Link Juice Decision

Okay, let’s figure out what’s actually happening with follow and nofollow links.

By default, all links are “follow” links. This means:

• You’re passing SEO authority (link juice) to the page you’re linking to
• You’re essentially saying to Google, “I endorse this content”
• The link can help the other site’s search rankings

A “nofollow” link tells search engines, “Don’t count this as my endorsement.” You should use nofollow when:

• Linking to sites you don’t necessarily want to endorse
• Linking to paid or sponsored content (required by FTC guidelines)
• Linking to user-generated content that you haven’t vetted

How to Add Nofollow in WordPress:

1. Create your link as normal
2. Click the three-dot menu in the link settings
3. Check the “No Follow” option

What most people don’t tell you is that nofollow links still provide value to your readers – they just don’t pass SEO value to the linked site.

Sponsored Links: Following FTC Guidelines

I want you to make informed decisions about compliance with regulations.

The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) mandates that any compensated links—whether you were directly paid, might earn a commission, or were even given product in exchange for posting/linking—must be distinctly identified.

WordPress added the “sponsored” attribute specifically for this purpose. You should use it whenever:

• You’re using affiliate links
• A company paid you to link to them
• You received a free product in exchange for linking
• Any situation where you have a material connection to what you’re linking to

How to Add a Sponsored Attribute in WordPress:

1. Create your external link
2. Click the three-dot menu
3. Check both “No Follow” AND “Sponsored”

This is important because it’s both a legal requirement and an ethical practice.

Be transparent with your audience and search engines about your commercial relationships.

Real-World Examples: Putting It All Together

Example 1: Recipe Blog

Let’s say you’re writing a post about chocolate chip cookies:

• Link to your “Baking Basics” post → Internal link, same tab, follow
• Link to your “Cookie Troubleshooting Guide” → Internal link, same tab, follow
• Link to an Amazon affiliate link for your favorite mixing bowls → External link, new tab, nofollow + sponsored
• Link to another blogger’s vanilla extract review → External link, new tab, follow (if you want to give them SEO credit) or nofollow (if you don’t)

Example 2: Tech Review Site

You’re writing a review of the latest smartphone:

• Link to your previous review of last year’s model → Internal link, same tab, follow
• Link to your “How We Test” page → Internal link, same tab, follow
• Link to the manufacturer’s product page → External link, new tab, follow
• Link to an Amazon page where readers can buy it (with your affiliate code) → External link, new tab, nofollow + sponsored

Special Cases: Subdomains and Third-Party Content

If you have a subdomain (like shop.yourblog.com when your main site is yourblog.com), you have a choice to make. Technically, subdomains are considered separate websites by search engines, but from a user perspective, they’re often seen as part of the same site.

Here’s how I approach this:

• Consider the user experience first – is it jarring if they suddenly move to a different-looking part of your site?
• If the subdomain maintains the same design and feel, treat it like an internal link
• If the subdomain looks completely different (like moving from your blog to your course platform), consider treating it as an external link

Quick Reference Guide

Here’s a handy decision tree:

1. Is the link to your own site?
   • YES → Internal link, same tab, follow
   • NO → Continue to question 2
2. Is the link to an external site?
   • YES → External link, new tab, continue to question 3
   • NO → Review link destination
3. Is it a paid/affiliate/sponsored link?
   • YES → Add nofollow + sponsored attributes
   • NO → Continue to question 4
4. Do you want to endorse this external content?
   • YES → Use follow attribute (default)
   • NO → Add nofollow attribute

Why This All Matters for Your Blog or Business

The way you handle links affects:

• User Experience: Does your site feel intuitive and helpful, or frustrating?
• SEO Performance: Are you distributing your site’s authority effectively?
• Legal Compliance: Are you following FTC guidelines for sponsored content?
• Relationship Building: Are you generously sharing authority with sites you respect?

Think of good linking practices as being a good neighbor in the blogging community while also taking care of your own house. You want to be generous without giving away all your valuables!

In Summary

I know WordPress linking options can look scary, but trust me – we’re going to figure this out together. Once you understand the purpose behind each setting, making these decisions becomes second nature.

Remember:

• Internal links → same tab
• External links → new tab
• Paid/affiliate links → nofollow + sponsored
• Links you don’t want to endorse → nofollow