Internal Linking Opportunity Map Template

Internal Linking Opportunity Map (fill-in)

When to use: One row per planned link: the page that gives it, the buyer page that gets it, the anchor, where it goes, who adds it and how it was checked.

Internal linking opportunity map

Site: [domain] · Map owner: [name] · Crawl or export date: [date] · Review date: [date + 4 weeks]

Plan every link here before anyone edits a page. One row is one link. The target is always a page you want people to buy, book or sign up from.

How to fill each column

• Source page: an indexable page on the same topic that already gets visits or impressions.
• Target (buyer) page: the final URL, not a redirect. Use the canonical version.
• Contextual anchor: words that make sense on their own and describe the target. No "click here".
• Placement: the exact heading and sentence, so the editor doesn't guess. Body copy, not footer or sidebar.
• Owner: one person who edits the page, with a due date.
• QA / status: move to "QA passed" only after the checks below.

QA for each row

• Link is a plain <a href="..."> to a real URL and shows in the page HTML.
• Target returns 200, is the canonical URL and is not noindex.
• Anchor matches the table and reads naturally in the sentence.
• No other link to the same target sits right next to it.

Completion check: every row is "QA passed" or has a dated reason why not, each target page gained at least one new contextual link, and the review date is in the owner's calendar.

Choose Target Buyer Pages

When to use: Decide which commercial pages get internal link support first, so the map points at revenue, not at random posts.

Pick the pages that should receive links

Not every page needs help. Start with pages where a visitor can buy, book, request a quote or start a trial.

• List buyer pages: [product / service / pricing / demo pages].
• Add business value: high, medium or low, agreed with sales or the site owner.
• Check current support: how many internal pages link to each one today, and from where.
• Check search potential: in Search Console, note queries where the page already shows but sits below the top results.

High value plus few internal links means priority 1. Those targets go into the opportunity map first.

Keep the list to 5-15 pages per round. Revisit it each quarter, because offers and priorities change.

Find Source Pages

When to use: Find existing pages that can send a relevant contextual link to each target buyer page.

Source relevant pages to link from

Start from one target page and work backwards. You want pages that already talk about the same problem the target solves.

• Search your own site: use [site:yourdomain.com topic] plus synonyms to find pages that mention the topic.
• Use Search Console: the Links report shows internal top linked pages. It is a sample capped at 1,000 rows, so treat it as a lead list, not a full count.
• Use query data: pages that get impressions for queries close to the target's topic are strong sources.
• Group by topic: paste your keyword list into the Keyword Cluster Tool to see which pages belong together and should link to each other.

Keep a source only if a reader of that page would want the target next. Drop loose matches.

Copy each kept pair into the opportunity map. Re-run this search whenever you publish a substantial new page.

Anchor & Placement Rules

When to use: Write anchors and choose placements that follow Google's link guidance and read naturally.

Write the anchor

Google's link best practices ask for anchor text that is descriptive, reasonably concise and relevant to both pages.

• Read it alone: if the anchor makes no sense out of context, rewrite it.
• Skip generic text: replace "click here" and "read more" with what the reader gets.
• Vary wording: use natural variations around [target topic] instead of one exact-match phrase sitewide.
• Don't stuff keywords: Google lists keyword stuffing as a spam policy violation.
• Image links: Google uses the image alt text as the anchor, so write a descriptive alt.

Weak: "For more tips, click here." Better: "See our guide to choosing running shoes for flat feet."

Choose the placement

• Put the link in body copy where the reader needs the next step, not only in nav or footer.
• Let surrounding words add context. Avoid several links stacked next to each other.
• Edit one existing sentence or add one short sentence. Don't bolt on a block of links.
• There's no ideal link count per page. Add links where they help, and stop before it feels like a list of links.

Record the exact heading and sentence in the Placement column, for example [H2 "Pricing options", 2nd paragraph].

Link QA Checklist

When to use: Confirm each new link is crawlable, points at the right URL and survives the next release.

Check every new link before you close the row

Google reliably follows <a> elements with an href attribute that holds a real URL. Other patterns may be missed.

1. Markup: the link is <a href="/target">. Not a <span>, a router-only attribute or javascript:.
2. Raw HTML: open the source page in Get Source Code of Webpage and search for the target URL. It shows the HTML before JavaScript runs.
3. Rendered HTML: if JavaScript inserts the link or anchor, confirm it in the Search Console URL Inspection tool.
4. Destination: the target returns 200, is canonical and indexable. Not a redirect, 404 or noindex page.
5. Anchor: matches the map and reads well in context.
6. On-page check: use the seotools.pro SEO Extension for a quick on-page review while you browse the edited page.

QA signed off by: [name] · Date: [date] · Rows failed and reason: [notes]

Site Architecture & Hierarchy

When to use: Keep important pages easy to reach so the opportunity map builds on a clean structure.

Map a shallow, logical hierarchy

Contextual links work best on top of a clear structure. Check the structure first so you don't patch a buried page with one blog link.

• Top-level sections: group pages under clear [hub / category] pages that link down and back up.
• Click depth: note how many clicks each buyer page sits from the homepage. Flag any buried far deeper than the rest.
• Hub pages: give each group a category or pillar page with a direct path from the homepage.
• Navigation and breadcrumbs: confirm they match the real hierarchy, not a legacy menu.

Write down the intended parent and child for each priority page before you change links.

A free website audit crawls real pages from your menu and sitemap and flags click depth, broken links and orphan pages.

Fix Orphan Pages & Broken Links

When to use: Find pages with no internal links in and repair internal links that hit errors or redirects.

Repair orphans and broken links

Google's guidance is simple: every page you care about should have a link from at least one other page on your site. An orphan has none, so crawlers and readers struggle to find it.

• Find orphans: compare your sitemap URL list with pages that receive internal links. Any [orphan URL] with zero links in goes on the list.
• Add contextual links: add each important orphan as a target row in the opportunity map.
• Find broken links: crawl for internal links that point to 404s or redirects.
• Fix or remove: point links at the final live URL, or remove links to retired pages.

Linking straight to the final URL saves users a hop and keeps your reports clean.

Re-crawl after big releases and on a fixed schedule. New orphans and broken links appear as the site changes.

Topic Cluster Interlinking

When to use: Wire a pillar page and its supporting articles into a fixed hub-and-spoke pattern that feeds buyer pages.

Interlink topic clusters

The opportunity map finds links case by case. A topic cluster is a fixed pattern you set once and apply to every new page in the group.

• Define the pillar: the broad [pillar topic] page that covers the subject and acts as the hub.
• Pillar to every spoke: the pillar links to each supporting article.
• Every spoke to the pillar: each supporting article links back up.
• Spokes to the buyer page: where the reader is ready, link to the matching product or service page.
• Spoke to spoke: cross-link closely related articles only where it helps the reader.

Log each spoke-to-buyer link as a row in the opportunity map, so it gets an owner and QA like any other link.

When you publish a new article in the cluster, wire it in the same day.

Worked Example (fictional bookkeeping software)

When to use: A filled-in opportunity map for an invented bookkeeping SaaS pushing links to its payroll and pricing pages.

Worked example: Tallyfin payroll push

Example only. The company, people, URLs and figures are invented to show what a usable, filled-in version looks like.

Site: tallyfin.example · Map owner: Dana (SEO) · Export date: 3 Nov · Review date: 1 Dec

Targets: /payroll-software (high value, 2 internal links in) and /pricing (high value, nav link only).

Fix for row 2: the CMS widget printed a <span onclick>. Leo replaced it with a plain <a href="/payroll-software"> and the row passed QA on 12 Nov.

Completion check (1 Dec): 3 of 4 rows passed. Row 4 moved to the next round because the article is being rewritten.

Why this worked

• Each row named the exact sentence, so editors didn't have to guess where the link went.
• QA caught a link that looked fine in the browser but wasn't a crawlable <a href>.
• Every row pointed at a buyer page, so the work supported revenue pages, not just more blog links.

Next step

Run a free website audit to find orphan pages and deep buyer pages, then check each new link in the raw HTML with Get Source Code of Webpage.