internal-linking-mapper

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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.