Site Architecture

# Internal Linking Playbook

Patterns for building an internal link structure that distributes equity intelligently and reinforces topical authority.

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## The Three Goals of Internal Linking

1. **Crawlability** — every page should be reachable from the homepage in 3 clicks or fewer
2. **Equity flow** — link equity flows from authoritative pages to pages you want to rank
3. **Topical signals** — anchor text and link context tell Google what a page is about

Most sites get none of these right. The ones that do compound their SEO advantage over time.

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## Linking Architecture Patterns

### Pattern 1: Hub-and-Spoke (Topic Cluster)

Best for: Content sites, blogs, SaaS feature/solution pages.

```
Hub (Pillar) Page
├── Spoke 1 (Sub-topic)
│   └── Deep 1a (Specific guide within sub-topic)
│   └── Deep 1b
├── Spoke 2 (Sub-topic)
│   └── Deep 2a
└── Spoke 3 (Sub-topic)
```

**Link rules:**
- Hub → all spokes (contextual, in-body links)
- Each spoke → hub (with anchor text matching hub's target keyword)
- Each spoke → adjacent spokes (only when genuinely relevant)
- Deep pages → parent spoke + hub

**What makes this work:** The hub becomes the authority page because it receives links from everything in the cluster. Google sees a well-linked hub as the definitive resource on the topic.

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### Pattern 2: Linear (Sequential Content)

Best for: Course content, multi-part guides, documentation, step-by-step processes.

```
Introduction → Part 1 → Part 2 → Part 3 → Summary/CTA
```

**Link rules:**
- Each page links forward (next) and back (previous)
- An index page links to all parts
- Summary page links back to each key section

**What makes this work:** Clear navigation for users, clear sequence for crawlers.

---

### Pattern 3: Conversion Funnel Linking

Best for: SaaS sites, lead gen sites — moving users from content to conversion.

```
Blog Post (awareness) → Feature Page (consideration) → Pricing Page (decision)
Blog Post (awareness) → Case Study (social proof) → Free Trial / Demo CTA
```

**Link rules:**
- Every blog post should have at least one contextual link to a product/feature page
- Case studies link to the relevant feature/solution and to pricing
- Feature pages link to relevant case studies and to pricing
- Pricing page links to FAQ and to demo/trial

**What makes this work:** Equity flows from content (high link volume) to money pages (low link volume). Most SaaS sites have this backwards — money pages get links from the nav only.

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### Pattern 4: Star / Authority Distribution

Best for: Homepage and top-level hub pages that have lots of external links.

```
Homepage (authority source)
├── Service Page A (direct link from homepage)
├── Feature Page B (direct link from homepage)
├── Blog Category Hub (direct link from homepage)
└── Case Studies Hub (direct link from homepage)
```

**Link rules:**
- Homepage links only to the most important pages
- Not to every blog post — to the category hubs
- Each hub then distributes equity downward

**What makes this work:** Homepage equity isn't diluted across 200 blog links. It concentrates on 5-8 priority pages, which then funnel it to their children.

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## Anchor Text Strategy

### The Right Mix

| Type | Target % of Internal Links | Example |
|------|--------------------------|---------|
| Descriptive partial match | 50-60% | "cold email writing guide" |
| Exact match keyword | 10-15% | "cold email templates" |
| Page title / branded | 20-25% | "our guide to cold outreach" |
| Generic | <5% | "learn more" |
| Naked URL | 0% | Never |

### Writing Good Anchor Text

**Good:** Uses the target keyword naturally in a sentence.
> "For tactical patterns, see our [cold email frameworks](link)."

**Bad:** Forces exact match where it sounds unnatural.
> "Click here to read our cold email templates cold email cold outreach guide."

**Bad:** Generic — signals nothing.
> "For more information, [click here](link)."

### Anchor Text Diversification

Don't link to the same page w