---

name: link-strategy description: Internal linking strategy and anchor text optimization patterns. Use when planning internal links or optimizing site structure.

Link Strategy

When to Use

• Planning internal linking structure
• Optimizing anchor text
• Building topic clusters
• Improving site architecture

Internal Linking Principles

1. Link from High to Low Authority

• Homepage -> Category Pages -> Individual Posts
• Old established pages -> New pages
• High-traffic pages -> Pages you want to rank

2. Use Descriptive Anchor Text

• Good: "SEO keyword research guide"
• Bad: "click here", "read more"
• Include target keyword naturally

3. Link Contextually

• Links within body content > Navigation links
• Relevant context around link
• Natural reading flow

4. Maintain Reasonable Link Count

• 3-5 internal links per 1000 words
• Avoid excessive linking (100+ links)
• Focus on most relevant pages

Topic Cluster Model

PILLAR PAGE: "Content Marketing" (broad, high volume)
    |
    +-- Supporting Article: "Content Marketing Strategy"
    |   (links to and from pillar)
    |
    +-- Supporting Article: "Content Marketing Examples"
    |   (links to and from pillar)
    |
    +-- Supporting Article: "Content Marketing Tools"
        (links to and from pillar)

Benefits:

• Establishes topical authority
• Passes PageRank efficiently
• Improves user navigation
• Signals content relationships

Anchor Text Optimization

Anchor Text Types

Type	Example	When to Use
Exact Match	"SEO tools"	Sparingly (1-2x per page)
Partial Match	"best SEO tools for startups"	Primary usage
Branded	"SEMrush"	Brand mentions
Generic	"click here"	Avoid if possible
Naked URL	"https://example.com"	Occasional

Best Practices

• Vary anchor text naturally
• Use target keyword in some anchors
• Avoid over-optimization (100% exact match)
• Make text descriptive and clickable

Link Audit Process

1. Inventory existing links

   • Use Glob to find all internal links
   • Map current link structure

2. Identify orphan pages

   • Pages with no internal links
   • Add links from relevant content

3. Find broken links

   • Test all internal links
   • Fix or remove broken ones

4. Optimize anchor text

   • Replace generic anchors
   • Add keyword-rich descriptions

5. Build topic clusters

   • Group related content
   • Implement pillar-cluster model

Output Format

## Internal Linking Plan

### Target Page: {url}
**Target Keyword**: {keyword}

### Linking Opportunities

1. **From**: {source_page}
   - **Anchor**: {anchor_text}
   - **Context**: {surrounding_sentence}
   - **Priority**: HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW

2. **From**: {source_page}
   - **Anchor**: {anchor_text}
   - **Context**: {surrounding_sentence}
   - **Priority**: HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW

### Topic Cluster Structure

PILLAR: {main_topic_page}
- Supporting: {page1}
- Supporting: {page2}
- Supporting: {page3}