# Internal Linking Mapper > Maps internal links and anchor text between a new or updated page and an existing URL inventory to strengthen a topic cluster, producing a source/target/anchor link table plus a hub-and-spoke check. Use when someone asks "which pages should this article link to", "how do I internally link my new post", "is this page orphaned", or has a draft plus a sitemap, URL export, or pillar/cluster map and needs to decide the inbound links, outbound links, and anchors. Do NOT use to design the cluster or pillar architecture from a keyword export - use keyword-cluster-builder instead; do NOT use for on-page rewrites of titles, headings, or body copy - use seo-optimizer instead; do NOT use when a page is slipping in rankings and needs SERP-intent update actions - use content-refresh-auditor instead. - Skill: `skillmedev/internal-linking-mapper` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add skillmedev/internal-linking-mapper` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/skillmedev/internal-linking-mapper/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Marketing & Growth - Author: SkillMedev (https://skillmd.com/u/skillmedev) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/skillmedev/internal-linking-mapper --- # 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. The costly mistake this prevents is the orphan - a page with zero inbound internal links that search engines rarely crawl and never rank - and its opposite, exact-match anchor spam that reads as manipulation. This skill assumes the cluster already exists and the page content is set; it only decides the links. ## Operating procedure Order matters: you cannot plan links until you know the inventory, and you cannot write anchors until you know the links. ### Step 1: Gather inputs - The target page: topic, primary keyword, and draft or URL. - The existing URL inventory: sitemap, URL export, or pillar/cluster map. If none is supplied, ask for one - never invent URLs. - Optional but valuable: which page is the top money/conversion page, and any pages known to be thin, noindex, or non-canonical (these are link dead-ends). If the site architecture is unknown, ask one framing question: how many clicks from the homepage is this page's section? Every important page should sit within 3 clicks of the home page; if the new page would land deeper, flag it - internal links from higher-level pages are the fix. ### Step 2: Locate the cluster Identify the page's pillar and its sibling cluster pages by topic match. Anything outside the cluster is a candidate only when genuinely relevant to the reader. ### Step 3: Plan outbound links from the new page - One link up to the pillar - mandatory in a hub-and-spoke structure. - Cross-links to siblings only where the content actually references them. - One contextual link to the top money/conversion page when the relevance is real, not forced. - Practical cap: roughly 3-8 contextual in-body links for a standard article. Beyond that, each additional link dilutes the rest and reads as padding. ### Step 4: Plan inbound links into the new page Scan the inventory for pages whose body naturally mentions the new topic, and specify exactly where each adds a contextual in-body link pointing to the new page. Target a minimum of 2-3 inbound links, always including one from the pillar. A page with zero inbound internal links is effectively orphaned; one inbound link is a single point of failure. ### Step 5: Write anchor text per link - Use a descriptive phrase containing the target's topic - a reader should predict the destination from the anchor alone. - Vary wording across links to the same target; never repeat one exact-match anchor site-wide. - Never "click here", "read more", or a bare URL. - Keep anchors natural in-sentence, typically 2-6 words. ### Step 6: Place and prune Links go in body context, not footer or sidebar boilerplate - boilerplate links carry little ranking value and no reader intent. Cut every link that does not help the reader; the map should end shorter than the candidate list. ### Step 7: Output the map Return a table of source page, target page, anchor text, and direction. ## Worked artifact: hub-and-spoke link map New page: /blog/email-warmup-schedule (cluster: email deliverability; pillar: /guides/email-deliverability). ``` LINK MAP - /blog/email-warmup-schedule | # | Source page | Target page | Anchor text | Direction | |---|-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|---------------------------------|-----------| | 1 | /blog/email-warmup-schedule | /guides/email-deliverability | email deliverability guide | outbound (to pillar) | | 2 | /blog/email-warmup-schedule | /blog/spf-dkim-dmarc-setup | authenticating your domain | outbound (sibling) | | 3 | /blog/email-warmup-schedule | /product/email-tool | automate your warmup schedule | outbound (money page) | | 4 | /guides/email-deliverability | /blog/email-warmup-schedule | domain warmup schedule | inbound (from pillar) | | 5 | /blog/new-sending-domain-checklist| /blog/email-warmup-schedule | how fast to ramp sending volume | inbound (sibling) | Checks: pillar link up (row 1) - yes. Inbound >= 2 incl. pillar (rows 4-5) - yes. No repeated exact-match anchors. All URLs from supplied inventory. Depth from home: 2 clicks. ``` Bad anchor, for contrast: five inbound links all reading "email warmup schedule" verbatim - exact-match repetition that looks manipulative. Good: the varied, descriptive anchors in rows 4-5. ## Deliverable Produce the link map table - source, target, anchor, direction - plus a three-line check block confirming the pillar link, the inbound minimum, anchor variety, and click depth from home. ## Do NOT - Do not link unrelated pages to inflate link count - volume padding dilutes every real link. - Do not repeat one exact-match anchor across many links; vary the phrasing. - Do not bury links in footers or sidebars and expect ranking value. - Do not orphan the new page by skipping inbound links, and do not settle for a single inbound link. - Do not link to thin, noindex, or non-canonical pages. - Do not fabricate URLs not present in the supplied inventory. ## Quality bar - The new page has at least 2-3 inbound internal links, including one from its pillar, and a link up to the pillar. - Every anchor is descriptive, natural in-sentence, and no exact-match anchor repeats site-wide. - Every link is contextual (in body) and topically justified. - The page sits within 3 clicks of the homepage, or the map flags the depth problem with a fix. - Output names real URLs from the supplied inventory only. ## Neighbors To design the cluster itself from keywords, use keyword-cluster-builder. For on-page optimization of the linked pages, seo-optimizer. For refreshing a decaying page before re-linking it, content-refresh-auditor.