Links make the world go round in SEO. Both internally (within your site) and externally (from site to site). However, having content around your links provides so many signals to search engines about what the content is about.
Think of an encyclopedia or a huge book. Its table of contents can be thought of as internal links, helping others find the content they’re looking for without having to go through page by page for eternity.
In the same way, you can include internal links towards shopping categories, products, services, resources, etc. Linking to your content helps Google find it & understand its context so they can surface it in search results.
Ultimately, internal linking helps create one big web of interconnected content. By doing so, you help Google reach your website, scan your content, understand the context of your content, and index where it should be based on all other factors.
Over time, expanding your content footprint and receiving more popularity signals (sharing content on social media, being mentioned on other websites) will lead to a higher ranking potential.