Build an internal linking plan from a content list
intermediateClaude SonnetMarketingSeoseointernal-linkingcontent-audittopical-authority
Use case
Use this prompt when auditing your content library to improve SEO through internal linking. Internal linking is one of the highest-ROI, lowest-cost SEO activities — this prompt turns a content inventory into a structured linking action plan.
The prompt
You are an SEO specialist who understands that internal linking is a structural SEO strategy, not an afterthought. Build an internal linking plan from the following content inventory. Inputs: - Your site's primary topic cluster or domain:{{primary_topic}}- Target audience:{{target_audience}}- Content inventory (list of pages with title, URL slug, and primary keyword):{{content_inventory}}- Your highest-priority commercial pages (to funnel authority to):{{priority_pages}}- Any known high-traffic or high-authority pages in the inventory:{{high_authority_pages}}Produce: ## 1. Topic Cluster Map Organize the content into 2–4 topic clusters. For each cluster: - Cluster name - Pillar page (the most comprehensive piece on this topic) - Supporting cluster pages - How the cluster supports your commercial pages ## 2. Priority Links to Add A prioritized list of internal links to add, organized as: - Source page (where to add the link) - Target page (where to link to) - Suggested anchor text - Why this link matters (authority flow, topical relevance, user journey) - Where in the source page to add it (intro, body, conclusion, sidebar) Prioritize: links from high-authority pages to commercial pages, then links that strengthen topic cluster coherence, then links that reduce orphaned pages. ## 3. Orphaned Pages List any pages in the inventory that have fewer than 2 inbound internal links — these are "orphaned" and likely underperforming. For each: suggest 2 pages that should link to it and the appropriate anchor text. ## 4. Anchor Text Diversity Check Review the anchor texts in your linking plan and flag any over-used phrases. Recommend diversity in anchor text (exact match, partial match, contextual/descriptive). ## 5. Implementation Priority Rank the 10 highest-impact links to add first, with a one-line rationale for each.
Variables
{{{{primary_topic}}}}Replace with your {{primary topic}}{{{{target_audience}}}}Replace with your {{target audience}}{{{{content_inventory}}}}Replace with your {{content inventory}}{{{{priority_pages}}}}Replace with your {{priority pages}}{{{{high_authority_pages}}}}Replace with your {{high authority pages}}
Example
Input
primary_topic: business intelligence and analytics for operations teams target_audience: operations directors at mid-market companies content_inventory: | 1. Blog: "Sales Pipeline Management Guide" | /blog/sales-pipeline-management | sales pipeline management 2. Blog: "What Is a KPI Dashboard?" | /blog/kpi-dashboard | KPI dashboard 3. Blog: "15 Operations Metrics to Track" | /blog/operations-metrics | operations metrics 4. Blog: "Operations KPI Dashboard Guide" | /blog/operations-kpi-dashboard | operations KPI dashboard 5. Blog: "How to Build a Weekly Ops Review" | /blog/weekly-ops-review | weekly ops review 6. Feature page: Signal Anomaly Detection | /signal | operations anomaly detection 7. Product page: Anchor Analytics | /product | business intelligence for operations 8. Pricing page: Plans | /pricing | business intelligence pricing 9. Blog: "BI Tools for Small Business Comparison" | /blog/bi-tools-comparison | best BI tools small business 10. Blog: "Business Intelligence Without a Data Team" | /blog/bi-without-data-team | BI without data team priority_pages: /product, /pricing, /signal high_authority_pages: /blog/bi-tools-comparison (high search volume), /blog/operations-metrics (linked from 3 external sites)
Output
## 1. Topic Cluster Map **Cluster 1: Operations Metrics & Dashboards (pillar: /blog/operations-kpi-dashboard)** Supporting: /blog/operations-metrics, /blog/kpi-dashboard, /blog/weekly-ops-review Links to commercial: all 3 supporting pages should link to /signal and /product **Cluster 2: BI Tools & No-Code Analytics (pillar: /blog/bi-without-data-team)** Supporting: /blog/bi-tools-comparison Links to commercial: both should link to /pricing and /product with comparison-intent anchor text **Cluster 3: Sales & Pipeline Operations (standalone: /blog/sales-pipeline-management)** Note: this page doesn't fit cleanly into either cluster. Assess whether it supports your ops-team ICP or serves a different audience. If the latter, consider whether it belongs in this content strategy. ## 2. Priority Links to Add | Source Page | Target Page | Anchor Text | Rationale | Placement | |---|---|---|---|---| | /blog/bi-tools-comparison | /product | "Anchor Analytics" | High-authority page → key commercial page | In comparison table + conclusion | | /blog/operations-metrics | /signal | "real-time anomaly detection" | Topical match — ops metrics → anomaly alerts | End of section on monitoring metrics | | /blog/bi-tools-comparison | /pricing | "view pricing" | Commercial intent page → pricing; user is evaluating | After comparison table | | /blog/operations-kpi-dashboard | /signal | "automatically monitor your KPIs" | Pillar → product feature; strong topical fit | In "how to build" section | | /blog/bi-without-data-team | /product | "see how it works" | Pillar → product; perfect user journey match | Conclusion CTA | [5 more priority links follow...] ## 3. Orphaned Pages - /blog/sales-pipeline-management — 0 inbound internal links. Link from: /blog/operations-metrics (anchor: "pipeline performance metrics"), /blog/weekly-ops-review (anchor: "sales pipeline review") - /blog/weekly-ops-review — 1 inbound link. Add from: /blog/operations-kpi-dashboard (anchor: "run your weekly ops review") ## 5. Top 10 Implementation Priority 1. /blog/bi-tools-comparison → /product (highest authority page to highest commercial page) 2. /blog/operations-metrics → /signal (external links to this page; can funnel to Signal) 3. /blog/bi-tools-comparison → /pricing (comparison intent → pricing is the natural next step) [7 more ranked links...]
Tips for best results
- 1Audit your current internal links first using a free tool like Screaming Frog or Ahrefs — your current state might be different from your inventory assumptions.
- 2Anchor text diversity matters for large sites but is less critical for smaller sites. Focus on natural, descriptive anchor text over keyword-optimized anchor text.
- 3Add internal links in batches and measure the impact after 4–6 weeks. Start with the highest-priority 10 before implementing the full plan.
- 4The orphaned page analysis is often the fastest win — pages with no inbound internal links are essentially invisible to Google's internal crawl priority.
- 5When adding links in existing posts, don't add them in the first paragraph unless it's a very natural fit. Google can interpret first-paragraph links as ad-like or manipulative.
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