Use crawlable links
Google documents standard anchor elements with an href as the reliably crawlable link format. Navigation that depends only on scripted click handlers may not expose an equivalent crawl path.
Anchor text should describe the destination concisely and naturally. Generic labels can be appropriate in context, but descriptive wording gives readers and crawlers more information before they follow the link.
Design links around the next question
- Link a definition to the method that applies it.
- Link a recommendation to the primary evidence and stated limits.
- Link an audit finding to the page that explains the remediation.
- Remove or update links when the destination no longer resolves the promised question.
Measure outcomes, not link folklore
Track orphan pages, crawl depth, internal destinations and Search Console outcomes for a defined cluster. Do not prescribe a universal number of links per page. The correct number is the set of destinations that genuinely advances the reader task.
A traffic change after a linking update is an observation. It may justify further testing, but it does not isolate a hidden LLM authority mechanism.