Internal Linking Plan Template

Site Architecture & Hierarchy

Build a shallow, logical structure where important pages are easy to reach from the homepage.

Map a shallow, logical hierarchy

A flat, well-organized architecture helps search engines discover and understand pages, and keeps your most important content easy to reach. As a directional principle, keep priority pages shallow so crawlers and users do not have to dig through many layers to find them.

• Define top-level sections: Group content under clear [Hub / Category] pages that link down to related subpages and back up again.
• Measure click depth: Note how many clicks each priority page sits from the homepage and flag anything buried far deeper than the rest.
• Use hub pages: Create category or pillar pages that gather related children and give them a clear path from the homepage.
• Audit navigation: Confirm your main nav and breadcrumbs reflect the real hierarchy, not just legacy menus.

Document the intended parent-child relationships before changing links, so every page has a clear place in the structure and a path of internal links leading to it. A clean hierarchy makes later linking decisions far easier.

Record the final structure as a simple sitemap so the whole team works from one shared map.

Identify Priority & Money Pages

Decide which pages deserve the most internal link support.

Choose the pages worth strengthening

Not every page needs the same level of internal support. Identify the pages that drive revenue, conversions, or strategic visibility, then plan to point more of your relevant internal links toward them.

• List candidates: Gather your [Service / Product / Lead] pages plus any cornerstone content you want to rank.
• Score by value: Rate each page on business value and current ranking potential to set priorities.
• Check current support: Count how many internal links each priority page already receives and from where.
• Spot gaps: Flag high-value pages that are under-linked relative to their importance.

The goal is to make sure your most valuable pages receive more internal links from relevant parts of the site than low-priority pages do. This helps search engines recognize their importance and helps readers find them.

Revisit this list each quarter, because business priorities and target pages shift over time. Keep it short and focused rather than trying to strengthen everything at once.

Find Linking Opportunities

Discover existing pages across your site that could link to a target page.

Source relevant pages to link from

This step is about discovery: starting from a target page, hunt down existing pages anywhere on your site that could send it a relevant link. The output is a sourced list of candidate source pages, not a fixed structure.

• Search your own site: Use a [site:yourdomain.com keyword] search to surface pages that already mention or relate to the target topic.
• Mine related queries: Repeat the search with synonyms and adjacent terms so you catch pages that discuss the topic in different words.
• Filter for relevance: Keep only pages where a link to the target adds genuine value for the reader, and drop loose or tangential matches.
• Rank the candidates: Sort the sourced pages by how relevant and well-trafficked they are, so you tackle the strongest opportunities first.

Build a short queue of source page plus target page pairs, then add the links during your next content update. The emphasis here is on finding and qualifying candidate source pages; how you then place and word each link is covered in the anchor text and cluster steps.

Re-run this discovery whenever you publish substantial new content, since fresh pages create new linking opportunities.

Anchor Text Plan

Use descriptive, varied anchor text that reads naturally and avoids over-optimization.

Plan natural, descriptive anchors

Anchor text gives search engines and users context about the destination page. Aim for descriptive, varied wording that reads naturally, and avoid stuffing the same exact-match keyword into every internal link.

• Describe the destination: Write anchors that tell the reader what they will find, such as a clear phrase about the [Target Topic].
• Vary your phrasing: Mix descriptive variations rather than repeating one identical keyword anchor sitewide.
• Keep it natural: The anchor should fit the sentence and never feel shoehorned in for SEO.
• Avoid generic anchors: Replace vague "click here" or "read more" links with meaningful, specific text.

Here is a concrete before-and-after for a page about choosing running shoes. A weak anchor would be: "For more tips, click here." A strong, descriptive version pointing to the same page would be: "See our guide to choosing the right running shoes for flat feet." The second anchor tells both readers and search engines exactly what to expect, without repeating an identical exact-match keyword everywhere.

Keep a simple log of the anchors pointing to each priority page so you can spot and correct over-repetition before it becomes a pattern.

Fix Orphan Pages & Broken Links

Find pages with no internal links in and repair broken internal links.

Repair orphans and broken links

Orphan pages receive no internal links, so crawlers struggle to find them and they rarely rank. Broken internal links waste crawl budget and frustrate users. Both undermine an otherwise solid linking plan.

• Find orphans: Compare your full URL list against pages that receive internal links to surface any [Orphan URL] with zero links in.
• Add contextual links: Link each orphan from relevant, related pages so it has a clear path from the rest of the site.
• Detect broken links: Crawl the site to find internal links pointing to 404s or redirected URLs.
• Fix or remove: Update broken links to the correct live URL, or remove links to pages you have retired.

Resolving these issues ensures every important page is reachable for both crawlers and readers, with no dead ends along the way. It is often the fastest win in an internal linking audit.

Schedule this crawl regularly, since new orphans and broken links appear naturally as the site grows and content changes.

Topic Cluster Interlinking

Wire a pillar page and its supporting articles into a fixed hub-and-spoke cluster.

Interlink topic clusters

Where the discovery step finds links case by case, a topic cluster is a fixed topology you set up once and maintain. It groups a broad pillar page with several supporting articles in a deliberate hub-and-spoke pattern that you apply to every page in the cluster.

• Define the pillar: Pick the broad [Pillar Topic] page that overviews the subject and targets the head term, and treat it as the hub.
• Link pillar to every spoke: From the pillar, link out to each supporting article so the hub points to all of its spokes.
• Link every spoke to the pillar: Have each supporting article link back up to the pillar, so the pattern is consistent across the whole cluster.
• Cross-link related spokes: Connect closely related supporting articles to each other where it genuinely helps the reader.

Because the pattern is fixed, you do not rediscover these links each time; you apply the same hub-and-spoke rule to every new page. This signals that you cover the topic comprehensively and gives readers a predictable path to explore subtopics in more detail.

As you publish new articles in the cluster, immediately wire them into the same hub-and-spoke pattern so the structure stays complete and current.

What is internal linking and why does it matter?

Internal linking is the practice of linking from one page on your site to another page on the same site. It matters because internal links help search engines discover and crawl your pages, signal how your content relates, and provide context about what each page is about. A deliberate internal linking plan helps your priority pages rank better and guides users to related content.

How many internal links should a page have?

There is no fixed number, and it is best to focus on relevance and usefulness rather than hitting a target. Add links where they genuinely help the reader and reinforce topical relationships. Avoid piling hundreds of links onto a single page, since that can hurt the reading experience, make it harder for crawlers to identify the most important links, and bury the relevant connections among low-value ones.

What is an orphan page?

An orphan page is a page on your site that has no internal links pointing to it from other pages. Because crawlers primarily discover pages by following links, orphan pages are hard for search engines to find and rarely rank well. Fix them by adding contextual internal links from relevant, related pages so they have a clear path from the rest of your site.

Should I use exact-match keywords in my anchor text?

Use descriptive anchor text that accurately reflects the destination page, but avoid stuffing the same exact-match keyword into every internal link. A natural, varied mix of descriptive anchors gives clearer signals and reads better. For example, prefer "our guide to choosing running shoes for flat feet" over a bare "click here" or the same exact-match phrase repeated on every link.

How do internal links pass authority between pages?

Search engines weigh links as a signal of importance, an idea historically described through models such as PageRank, where a page can pass along a share of its own standing to the pages it links to. PageRank is a conceptual model from search engine research and Google's early work, not a live metric you can read off a current dashboard or manage directly. In practical terms, linking from strong, relevant pages to your priority pages, and keeping a shallow structure that makes those pages easy to reach, tends to help them perform better.

What is a topic cluster?

A topic cluster is a group of content built around a broad pillar page that links out to several supporting articles, each covering a specific subtopic in depth, with the supporting articles linking back to the pillar. This fixed hub-and-spoke structure signals topical depth to search engines, reinforces how the pages relate, and gives readers a clear path to explore a subject more thoroughly.