| name | Internal Linking Mapper |
| description | Maps internal links and anchor text between a new or updated article and an existing URL inventory to strengthen a topic cluster. Use when you have a draft or published page plus a list of existing site URLs (sitemap, export, or pillar/cluster map) and need to decide which pages to link to and from, and with what anchor text. |
Internal Linking Mapper
Wire one page into an existing site so the whole topic cluster gains authority: pick the outbound links from the new page, the inbound links into it, and descriptive anchor text for each.
Do NOT use when
- You have a raw keyword export and need to design the cluster/pillar architecture itself — use Keyword Cluster Builder instead.
- A page is slipping in rankings and you need SERP-intent update actions — use Content Refresh Auditor instead.
- You need on-page rewrites (titles, headings, body copy, keyword targeting) for a single page — use SEO Optimizer instead.
This skill assumes the cluster already exists and the page content is set; it only decides the links.
Workflow
- Gather inputs. Confirm you have the target page (topic + primary keyword) and the existing URL inventory. If no inventory is supplied, ask for a sitemap, URL export, or pillar/cluster list — do not invent URLs.
- Locate the cluster. Identify the page's pillar and sibling cluster pages by topic match. Anything outside the cluster is a candidate only if genuinely relevant.
- Plan outbound links from the new page. Link up to the pillar; cross-link to siblings where the content actually references them; add a contextual link to the top money/conversion page when relevance is real.
- Plan inbound links into the new page. Scan the inventory for existing pages whose body naturally mentions the new topic, and specify where to add a contextual in-body link pointing to the new page. A page with zero inbound internal links is effectively orphaned.
- Write anchor text per link. Use a descriptive phrase containing the target's topic; vary wording across links to the same target; never reuse one exact-match anchor site-wide; never use "click here" or a bare URL.
- Place and prune. Put links in body context, not footer/sidebar boilerplate. Cap the count to the few that help the reader; drop the rest.
- Output the map. Return a table of source page, target page, anchor text, and direction (outbound from new page / inbound to new page).
Quality bar
- The new page has at least one inbound internal link and a link up to its pillar.
- Every anchor is descriptive and unique enough; no exact-match repetition across the site.
- Every link is contextual (in body) and topically justified — no volume-padding links to unrelated pages.
- No links to thin, noindex, or non-canonical pages.
- Output names real URLs from the supplied inventory only.
Do NOT
- Link unrelated pages to inflate link count.
- Repeat one exact-match anchor across many links.
- Bury links in footers or sidebars and expect ranking value.
- Orphan the new page by skipping inbound links.
- Link to thin or noindex pages.
- Fabricate URLs not present in the inventory.
