internal-linking-strategy

name	internal-linking-strategy
description	Use when adding internal links between pages. Internal links pass authority and signal site hierarchy.

Internal Linking Strategy

Internal links = authority flow + content discovery. Strategy: hub-and-spoke (pillar pages link to cluster pages and back), with semantic anchor text.

Hub-and-spoke structure

Pillar page (hub): comprehensive overview of topic Cluster pages (spokes): deep-dive into sub-topics

Links:

• Hub → all spokes
• Each spoke → hub
• Spokes → adjacent spokes (related topics)

Result: authority concentrates at hub; spokes share authority via cross-links.

Anchor text strategy

1. Exact match (1-2 instances): 'card grading service'
2. Partial match (5-10): 'professional card grading'
3. Branded (many): 'CardPrepAI'
4. Generic (many): 'see how it works', 'read more'
5. Naked URL (rare): 'https://...'

Avoid over-using exact match — looks manipulative. Mix patterns.

Internal link audit

1. Identify orphan pages (no internal links pointing to them)
2. Find pages with too few internal links (<5)
3. Identify pages with too many outgoing links (>100)
4. Check anchor text variety per target page
5. Use site crawler (Screaming Frog) for full map

Where this fits in the X3 empire

Internal linking strategy for CardPrepAI content network.