square-lupus579 Internal Link Analysis + Generation
What This Skill Does
Two functions:
| Mode | Input | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Analysis Mode | Website URL | Internal link issues report |
| Generation Mode | New article + site structure | Link suggestions (where to link, anchor text) |
Good internal linking:
- Helps Google find all your pages
- Distributes "link juice" (ranking power) to important pages
- Guides users through your content
Why Internal Links Matter
- Orphan pages (no internal links) = Google can't find them = not indexed
- Deep pages (6+ clicks from homepage) = Google thinks they're not important
- Link hoarding (homepage links to everything) = diluted equity per link
- Poor anchor text = Google doesn't understand what the linked page is about
Check Categories
1. Orphan Pages
Pages with ZERO internal links pointing to them.
How to find:
- Crawl entire site to find all pages
- Check which pages have no inbound internal links
- Cross-reference with sitemap (orphan pages often only accessible via sitemap)
Severity:
- Orphan + in sitemap = Medium (Google can find via sitemap, but weak)
- Orphan + not in sitemap = Critical (Google may never find it)
2. Click Depth Analysis
| Depth | Meaning | SEO Impact |
|---|---|---|
| 1 click | Linked from homepage | Highest priority |
| 2 clicks | Linked from main sections | High priority |
| 3 clicks | Standard content | Normal priority |
| 4+ clicks | Buried content | Lower priority |
| 6+ clicks | Too deep | Likely not indexed well |
Rule: Important pages should be within 3 clicks of homepage.
3. Internal Link Distribution
PageRank flow analysis:
- Which pages receive the most internal links?
- Which pages receive the fewest?
- Does distribution match business priority?
Common problems:
| Problem | Description | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Homepage hoarding | Homepage has 500 outlinks | Consolidate navigation, use hub pages |
| Orphan cluster | Group of pages only link to each other | Add links from main site sections |
| Dead ends | Pages with no outbound internal links | Add contextual links to related content |
| Link silos | Sections don't link between each other | Add cross-section contextual links |
4. Anchor Text Analysis
Good anchor text:
- Descriptive of target page content
- Contains relevant keywords naturally
- Varies across different linking pages
Bad anchor text patterns:
| Pattern | Example | Problem |
|---|---|---|
| Generic | "click here", "read more" | No keyword signal |
| Over-optimized | Every link = "best SEO tool" | Looks spammy |
| Naked URLs | "https://site.com/page" | Wastes keyword opportunity |
| Mismatched | Anchor = "dogs", target = cat page | Confusing signal |
5. Broken Internal Links
Links pointing to 404 pages within your own site.
Impact:
- Wastes link equity
- Bad user experience
- Wastes crawl budget
6. Nofollow on Internal Links
Using rel="nofollow" on internal links = bad practice.
When it's wrong:
- Regular content links marked nofollow
- Navigation links marked nofollow
When it's acceptable:
- User-generated content (comments)
- Login/signup pages (PageRank sculpting is dead, but still ok)
7. Link Equity Sinks
Pages that receive lots of internal links but provide no value:
- Thank you pages
- Login pages
- Terms of service (linked from every page footer)
Solution: Add nofollow or reduce links to low-value pages.
8. Contextual vs Navigation Links
| Type | Description | SEO Value |
|---|---|---|
| Navigation | Header, footer, sidebar | Lower (same on every page) |
| Contextual | Within article content | Higher (unique, topically relevant) |
Goal: Important pages should have BOTH navigation AND contextual links.
Analysis Method
Step 1: Crawl Site
- Use crawler to discover all pages
- Record all internal links (source URL, target URL, anchor text)
Step 2: Build Link Graph
- Create adjacency matrix of page relationships
- Calculate inbound/outbound link counts per page
Step 3: Calculate Metrics
- Click depth: BFS from homepage
- Internal PageRank: Simplified PageRank calculation
- Orphan detection: Pages with 0 inbound links
Step 4: Cross-Reference with Goals
- Which pages should rank? (money pages, pillar content)
- Do those pages have strong internal link support?
Output Format
Internal Link Health Score: XX/100
Site Structure Overview
Total pages: XXX
Total internal links: XXX
Average links per page: XX
Max click depth: X
Link Distribution:
├── Depth 1: XX pages (XX%)
├── Depth 2: XX pages (XX%)
├── Depth 3: XX pages (XX%)
├── Depth 4+: XX pages (XX%)
└── Orphans: XX pages (XX%)
Critical Issues
Orphan Pages (XX found)
| URL | In Sitemap? | Suggested Link From |
|---|
Deep Pages (6+ clicks) (XX found)
| URL | Current Depth | Suggested Link From |
Broken Internal Links (XX found)
| Source URL | Broken Link | Suggested Fix |
Link Equity Analysis
Top 10 Pages by Internal Links
| URL | Inbound Links | Is Priority Page? |
Under-Linked Priority Pages
| URL | Current Links | Recommended Links |
Anchor Text Report
Over-Optimized Anchors
| Anchor Text | Count | Target Pages |
Generic Anchors (fix these)
| Anchor Text | Count | Better Alternative |
Recommendations
- [Specific fix instructions based on findings]
Part 2: Link Generation Mode
When to Use
After writing a new article and unsure where to link.
Input
- New article content (or URL)
- Site existing page list (or website URL to crawl)
Process
Step 1: Analyze New Article
- Extract article topic, keywords
- Identify linkable concepts/terms
Step 2: Match with Existing Pages
- Find existing pages related to new article topic
- Sort by relevance
Step 3: Generate Suggestions
Output 3 types of suggestions:
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Outbound | Existing pages the new article should link to |
| Inbound | Existing pages that should add links to new article |
| Anchor Text | Suggested anchor text for each link |
Output Format
# Internal Link Suggestions
## New Article Info
- Title: [Article title]
- URL: [Article URL]
- Topic: [Main topic]
- Keywords: [Keyword list]
## Outbound Links (New Article → Existing Pages)
| Link Location | Target Page | Suggested Anchor | Reason |
|---------------|-------------|------------------|--------|
| Paragraph 2 "SEO optimization" | /seo-guide | "SEO optimization guide" | Topic related |
| Paragraph 5 "keyword research" | /keyword-research | "keyword research methods" | Deep reading |
| Ending CTA | /services | "our services" | Conversion |
## Inbound Links (Existing Pages → New Article)
| Source Page | Suggested Location | Suggested Anchor |
|-------------|-------------------|------------------|
| /seo-guide | "internal links" related paragraph | "internal link strategy" |
| /blog-index | Latest articles list | [Article title] |
## Implementation Checklist
- [ ] Add link to /seo-guide in new article paragraph 2
- [ ] Add link to /keyword-research in new article paragraph 5
- [ ] Update /seo-guide to add backlink
Example
User: I wrote an article about "Core Web Vitals optimization", where should I link?
Claude: [Read article content]
[Read site existing pages]
[Match related pages]
Output:
- Link to /technical-seo ("technical SEO")
- Link to /page-speed ("page speed optimization")
- Link to /google-ranking-factors ("Google ranking factors")
- Suggest /technical-seo backlink to this new article
Commands
| Command | Mode |
|---|---|
/seo internal-links https://example.com |
Analysis mode |
/seo internal-links suggest [new-article] |
Generation mode |
[PROTOCOL]: Update this header on changes, then check CLAUDE.md