diff --git a/packages/block-editor/src/components/link-control/index.js b/packages/block-editor/src/components/link-control/index.js
index 9dba8d36721f1..aae2c36f509f6 100644
--- a/packages/block-editor/src/components/link-control/index.js
+++ b/packages/block-editor/src/components/link-control/index.js
@@ -88,6 +88,7 @@ import { ViewerFill } from './viewer-slot';
  * @property {boolean=}                             showSuggestions        Whether to present suggestions when typing the URL.
  * @property {boolean=}                             showInitialSuggestions Whether to present initial suggestions immediately.
  * @property {boolean=}                             withCreateSuggestion   Whether to allow creation of link value from suggestion.
+ * @property {Object=}                              suggestionsQuery       Query parameters to pass along to wp.blockEditor.__experimentalFetchLinkSuggestions.
  */
 
 /**
@@ -109,6 +110,7 @@ function LinkControl( {
 	createSuggestion,
 	withCreateSuggestion,
 	inputValue: propInputValue = '',
+	suggestionsQuery = {},
 } ) {
 	if ( withCreateSuggestion === undefined && createSuggestion ) {
 		withCreateSuggestion = true;
@@ -209,6 +211,7 @@ function LinkControl( {
 							showInitialSuggestions={ showInitialSuggestions }
 							allowDirectEntry={ ! noDirectEntry }
 							showSuggestions={ showSuggestions }
+							suggestionsQuery={ suggestionsQuery }
 						>
 							<div className="block-editor-link-control__search-actions">
 								<Button
diff --git a/packages/block-editor/src/components/link-control/search-input.js b/packages/block-editor/src/components/link-control/search-input.js
index a9852d96139ec..a4cde5b80cb8c 100644
--- a/packages/block-editor/src/components/link-control/search-input.js
+++ b/packages/block-editor/src/components/link-control/search-input.js
@@ -38,10 +38,12 @@ const LinkControlSearchInput = forwardRef(
 			fetchSuggestions = null,
 			allowDirectEntry = true,
 			showInitialSuggestions = false,
+			suggestionsQuery = {},
 		},
 		ref
 	) => {
 		const genericSearchHandler = useSearchHandler(
+			suggestionsQuery,
 			allowDirectEntry,
 			withCreateSuggestion
 		);
diff --git a/packages/block-editor/src/components/link-control/use-search-handler.js b/packages/block-editor/src/components/link-control/use-search-handler.js
index 930b5232e2fcf..e2d5f54a324df 100644
--- a/packages/block-editor/src/components/link-control/use-search-handler.js
+++ b/packages/block-editor/src/components/link-control/use-search-handler.js
@@ -45,17 +45,15 @@ export const handleDirectEntry = ( val ) => {
 	] );
 };
 
-export const handleEntitySearch = async (
+const handleEntitySearch = async (
 	val,
-	args,
+	suggestionsQuery,
 	fetchSearchSuggestions,
 	directEntryHandler,
 	withCreateSuggestion
 ) => {
 	let results = await Promise.all( [
-		fetchSearchSuggestions( val, {
-			...( args.isInitialSuggestions ? { perPage: 3 } : {} ),
-		} ),
+		fetchSearchSuggestions( val, suggestionsQuery ),
 		directEntryHandler( val ),
 	] );
 
@@ -65,12 +63,12 @@ export const handleEntitySearch = async (
 	// just for good measure. That way once the actual results run out we always
 	// have a URL option to fallback on.
 	results =
-		couldBeURL && ! args.isInitialSuggestions
+		couldBeURL && ! suggestionsQuery.isInitialSuggestions
 			? results[ 0 ].concat( results[ 1 ] )
 			: results[ 0 ];
 
 	// If displaying initial suggestions just return plain results.
-	if ( args.isInitialSuggestions ) {
+	if ( suggestionsQuery.isInitialSuggestions ) {
 		return results;
 	}
 
@@ -101,6 +99,7 @@ export const handleEntitySearch = async (
 };
 
 export default function useSearchHandler(
+	suggestionsQuery,
 	allowDirectEntry,
 	withCreateSuggestion
 ) {
@@ -117,12 +116,12 @@ export default function useSearchHandler(
 		: handleNoop;
 
 	return useCallback(
-		( val, args ) => {
+		( val, { isInitialSuggestions } ) => {
 			return isURLLike( val )
-				? directEntryHandler( val, args )
+				? directEntryHandler( val, { isInitialSuggestions } )
 				: handleEntitySearch(
 						val,
-						args,
+						{ ...suggestionsQuery, isInitialSuggestions },
 						fetchSearchSuggestions,
 						directEntryHandler,
 						withCreateSuggestion
diff --git a/packages/block-library/src/navigation-link/edit.js b/packages/block-library/src/navigation-link/edit.js
index 369c9cc044bee..2de72550f8123 100644
--- a/packages/block-library/src/navigation-link/edit.js
+++ b/packages/block-library/src/navigation-link/edit.js
@@ -92,6 +92,27 @@ const useIsDraggingWithin = ( elementRef ) => {
 	return isDraggingWithin;
 };
 
+/**
+ * Given the Link block's type attribute, return the query params to give to
+ * /wp/v2/search.
+ *
+ * @param {string} type Link block's type attribute.
+ * @return {{ type?: string, subtype?: string }} Search query params.
+ */
+function getSuggestionsQuery( type ) {
+	switch ( type ) {
+		case 'post':
+		case 'page':
+			return { type: 'post', subtype: type };
+		case 'category':
+			return { type: 'term', subtype: 'category' };
+		case 'tag':
+			return { type: 'term', subtype: 'post_tag' };
+		default:
+			return {};
+	}
+}
+
 function NavigationLinkEdit( {
 	attributes,
 	hasDescendants,
@@ -111,7 +132,7 @@ function NavigationLinkEdit( {
 	mergeBlocks,
 	onReplace,
 } ) {
-	const { label, opensInNewTab, url, description, rel } = attributes;
+	const { label, type, opensInNewTab, url, description, rel } = attributes;
 	const link = {
 		url,
 		opensInNewTab,
@@ -179,8 +200,7 @@ function NavigationLinkEdit( {
 	}
 
 	async function handleCreatePage( pageTitle ) {
-		const type = 'page';
-		const page = await saveEntityRecord( 'postType', type, {
+		const page = await saveEntityRecord( 'postType', 'page', {
 			title: pageTitle,
 			status: 'publish',
 		} );
@@ -300,6 +320,7 @@ function NavigationLinkEdit( {
 								showInitialSuggestions={ true }
 								withCreateSuggestion={ userCanCreatePages }
 								createSuggestion={ handleCreatePage }
+								suggestionsQuery={ getSuggestionsQuery( type ) }
 								onChange={ ( {
 									title: newTitle = '',
 									url: newURL = '',
diff --git a/packages/block-library/src/navigation-link/index.js b/packages/block-library/src/navigation-link/index.js
index db12c4ad8550a..7729a86628f44 100644
--- a/packages/block-library/src/navigation-link/index.js
+++ b/packages/block-library/src/navigation-link/index.js
@@ -18,16 +18,56 @@ export { metadata, name };
 
 export const settings = {
 	title: __( 'Link' ),
+
 	icon,
+
 	description: __( 'Add a page, link, or another item to your navigation.' ),
+
+	variations: [
+		{
+			name: 'link',
+			isDefault: true,
+			title: __( 'Link' ),
+			description: __( 'A link to a URL.' ),
+			attributes: {},
+		},
+		{
+			name: 'post',
+			title: __( 'Post' ),
+			description: __( 'A link to a post.' ),
+			attributes: { type: 'post' },
+		},
+		{
+			name: 'page',
+			title: __( 'Page' ),
+			description: __( 'A link to a page.' ),
+			attributes: { type: 'page' },
+		},
+		{
+			name: 'category',
+			title: __( 'Category' ),
+			description: __( 'A link to a category.' ),
+			attributes: { type: 'category' },
+		},
+		{
+			name: 'tag',
+			title: __( 'Tag' ),
+			description: __( 'A link to a tag.' ),
+			attributes: { type: 'tag' },
+		},
+	],
+
 	__experimentalLabel: ( { label } ) => label,
+
 	merge( leftAttributes, { label: rightLabel = '' } ) {
 		return {
 			...leftAttributes,
 			label: leftAttributes.label + rightLabel,
 		};
 	},
+
 	edit,
+
 	save,
 
 	deprecated: [
diff --git a/packages/block-library/src/navigation/edit.js b/packages/block-library/src/navigation/edit.js
index 78e8e2d85a368..ae737bc17c077 100644
--- a/packages/block-library/src/navigation/edit.js
+++ b/packages/block-library/src/navigation/edit.js
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import classnames from 'classnames';
 /**
  * WordPress dependencies
  */
-import { useRef } from '@wordpress/element';
+import { useRef, useState } from '@wordpress/element';
 import {
 	InnerBlocks,
 	InspectorControls,
@@ -48,7 +48,13 @@ function Navigation( {
 	// HOOKS
 	//
 	const ref = useRef();
+
+	const [ isPlaceholderShown, setIsPlaceholderShown ] = useState(
+		! hasExistingNavItems
+	);
+
 	const { selectBlock } = useDispatch( 'core/block-editor' );
+
 	const { TextColor, BackgroundColor, ColorPanel } = __experimentalUseColors(
 		[
 			{ name: 'textColor', property: 'color' },
@@ -85,13 +91,17 @@ function Navigation( {
 		};
 	}
 
-	// If we don't have existing items then show the Placeholder
-	if ( ! hasExistingNavItems ) {
+	//
+	// RENDER
+	//
+
+	if ( isPlaceholderShown ) {
 		return (
 			<Block.div>
 				<NavigationPlaceholder
 					ref={ ref }
 					onCreate={ ( blocks, selectNavigationBlock ) => {
+						setIsPlaceholderShown( false );
 						updateInnerBlocks( blocks );
 						if ( selectNavigationBlock ) {
 							selectBlock( clientId );
@@ -107,7 +117,6 @@ function Navigation( {
 		'is-vertical': attributes.orientation === 'vertical',
 	} );
 
-	// UI State: rendered Block UI
 	return (
 		<>
 			<BlockControls>
diff --git a/packages/block-library/src/navigation/editor.scss b/packages/block-library/src/navigation/editor.scss
index 4f5a5d6492401..f62a31a084a21 100644
--- a/packages/block-library/src/navigation/editor.scss
+++ b/packages/block-library/src/navigation/editor.scss
@@ -28,6 +28,11 @@ $navigation-item-height: 46px;
 	padding: $grid-unit-20;
 }
 
+// Ensure that an empty block has space around the appender.
+.wp-block-navigation__container {
+	min-height: $navigation-item-height;
+}
+
 // Ensure sub-menus stay open and visible when a nested block is selected.
 .wp-block-navigation__container.is-parent-of-selected-block {
 	visibility: visible;
diff --git a/packages/block-library/src/navigation/placeholder.js b/packages/block-library/src/navigation/placeholder.js
index b07f96b8a2cb2..ed2aa4b43afea 100644
--- a/packages/block-library/src/navigation/placeholder.js
+++ b/packages/block-library/src/navigation/placeholder.js
@@ -245,8 +245,7 @@ function NavigationPlaceholder( { onCreate }, ref ) {
 	const createFromMenu = useCallback( () => {
 		// If an empty menu was selected, create an empty block.
 		if ( ! menuItems.length ) {
-			const blocks = [ createBlock( 'core/navigation-link' ) ];
-			onCreate( blocks );
+			onCreate( [] );
 			return;
 		}
 
@@ -263,8 +262,7 @@ function NavigationPlaceholder( { onCreate }, ref ) {
 		const { key } = selectedCreateOption;
 		switch ( key ) {
 			case CREATE_EMPTY_OPTION_VALUE: {
-				const blocks = [ createBlock( 'core/navigation-link' ) ];
-				onCreate( blocks );
+				onCreate( [] );
 				return;
 			}
 
diff --git a/packages/edit-navigation/src/index.js b/packages/edit-navigation/src/index.js
index 55ffe57d9d515..63e47f7d1589f 100644
--- a/packages/edit-navigation/src/index.js
+++ b/packages/edit-navigation/src/index.js
@@ -34,53 +34,69 @@ function disableInsertingNonNavigationBlocks( settings, name ) {
 /**
  * Fetches link suggestions from the API. This function is an exact copy of a function found at:
  *
- * wordpress/editor/src/components/provider/index.js
+ * packages/editor/src/components/provider/index.js
  *
  * It seems like there is no suitable package to import this from. Ideally it would be either part of core-data.
  * Until we refactor it, just copying the code is the simplest solution.
  *
  * @param {string} search
  * @param {Object} [searchArguments]
- * @param {number} [searchArguments.perPage=20]
+ * @param {number} [searchArguments.isInitialSuggestions]
+ * @param {number} [searchArguments.type]
+ * @param {number} [searchArguments.subtype]
  * @param {Object} [editorSettings]
  * @param {boolean} [editorSettings.disablePostFormats=false]
  * @return {Promise<Object[]>} List of suggestions
  */
 const fetchLinkSuggestions = (
 	search,
-	{ perPage = 20 } = {},
+	{ isInitialSuggestions, type, subtype } = {},
 	{ disablePostFormats = false } = {}
 ) => {
-	const posts = apiFetch( {
-		path: addQueryArgs( '/wp/v2/search', {
-			search,
-			per_page: perPage,
-			type: 'post',
-		} ),
-	} );
+	const perPage = isInitialSuggestions ? 3 : 20;
 
-	const terms = apiFetch( {
-		path: addQueryArgs( '/wp/v2/search', {
-			search,
-			per_page: perPage,
-			type: 'term',
-		} ),
-	} );
+	const queries = [];
+
+	if ( ! type || type === 'post' ) {
+		queries.push(
+			apiFetch( {
+				path: addQueryArgs( '/wp/v2/search', {
+					search,
+					per_page: perPage,
+					type: 'post',
+					subtype,
+				} ),
+			} )
+		);
+	}
 
-	let formats;
-	if ( disablePostFormats ) {
-		formats = Promise.resolve( [] );
-	} else {
-		formats = apiFetch( {
-			path: addQueryArgs( '/wp/v2/search', {
-				search,
-				per_page: perPage,
-				type: 'post-format',
-			} ),
-		} );
+	if ( ! type || type === 'term' ) {
+		queries.push(
+			apiFetch( {
+				path: addQueryArgs( '/wp/v2/search', {
+					search,
+					per_page: perPage,
+					type: 'term',
+					subtype,
+				} ),
+			} )
+		);
+	}
+
+	if ( ! disablePostFormats && ( ! type || type === 'post-format' ) ) {
+		queries.push(
+			apiFetch( {
+				path: addQueryArgs( '/wp/v2/search', {
+					search,
+					per_page: perPage,
+					type: 'post-format',
+					subtype,
+				} ),
+			} )
+		);
 	}
 
-	return Promise.all( [ posts, terms, formats ] ).then( ( results ) => {
+	return Promise.all( queries ).then( ( results ) => {
 		return map( flatten( results ).slice( 0, perPage ), ( result ) => ( {
 			id: result.id,
 			url: result.url,
diff --git a/packages/editor/src/components/provider/index.js b/packages/editor/src/components/provider/index.js
index a0b8b9b456286..7880e6f2bff9f 100644
--- a/packages/editor/src/components/provider/index.js
+++ b/packages/editor/src/components/provider/index.js
@@ -32,53 +32,69 @@ import ConvertToGroupButtons from '../convert-to-group-buttons';
 /**
  * Fetches link suggestions from the API. This function is an exact copy of a function found at:
  *
- * wordpress/editor/src/components/provider/index.js
+ * packages/edit-navigation/src/index.js
  *
  * It seems like there is no suitable package to import this from. Ideally it would be either part of core-data.
  * Until we refactor it, just copying the code is the simplest solution.
  *
  * @param {string} search
  * @param {Object} [searchArguments]
- * @param {number} [searchArguments.perPage=20]
+ * @param {number} [searchArguments.isInitialSuggestions]
+ * @param {number} [searchArguments.type]
+ * @param {number} [searchArguments.subtype]
  * @param {Object} [editorSettings]
  * @param {boolean} [editorSettings.disablePostFormats=false]
  * @return {Promise<Object[]>} List of suggestions
  */
 const fetchLinkSuggestions = (
 	search,
-	{ perPage = 20 } = {},
+	{ isInitialSuggestions, type, subtype } = {},
 	{ disablePostFormats = false } = {}
 ) => {
-	const posts = apiFetch( {
-		path: addQueryArgs( '/wp/v2/search', {
-			search,
-			per_page: perPage,
-			type: 'post',
-		} ),
-	} );
+	const perPage = isInitialSuggestions ? 3 : 20;
 
-	const terms = apiFetch( {
-		path: addQueryArgs( '/wp/v2/search', {
-			search,
-			per_page: perPage,
-			type: 'term',
-		} ),
-	} );
+	const queries = [];
 
-	let formats;
-	if ( disablePostFormats ) {
-		formats = Promise.resolve( [] );
-	} else {
-		formats = apiFetch( {
-			path: addQueryArgs( '/wp/v2/search', {
-				search,
-				per_page: perPage,
-				type: 'post-format',
-			} ),
-		} );
+	if ( ! type || type === 'post' ) {
+		queries.push(
+			apiFetch( {
+				path: addQueryArgs( '/wp/v2/search', {
+					search,
+					per_page: perPage,
+					type: 'post',
+					subtype,
+				} ),
+			} )
+		);
+	}
+
+	if ( ! type || type === 'term' ) {
+		queries.push(
+			apiFetch( {
+				path: addQueryArgs( '/wp/v2/search', {
+					search,
+					per_page: perPage,
+					type: 'term',
+					subtype,
+				} ),
+			} )
+		);
+	}
+
+	if ( ! disablePostFormats && ( ! type || type === 'post-format' ) ) {
+		queries.push(
+			apiFetch( {
+				path: addQueryArgs( '/wp/v2/search', {
+					search,
+					per_page: perPage,
+					type: 'post-format',
+					subtype,
+				} ),
+			} )
+		);
 	}
 
-	return Promise.all( [ posts, terms, formats ] ).then( ( results ) => {
+	return Promise.all( queries ).then( ( results ) => {
 		return map( flatten( results ).slice( 0, perPage ), ( result ) => ( {
 			id: result.id,
 			url: result.url,