fix-linking
calm-north/seojuice-skills
Design and audit internal link structures using hub-and-spoke topology and PageRank flow logic.
What is fix-linking?
This skill helps you design or audit internal link architecture for websites. Use it when addressing internal linking strategy, orphan pages, PageRank distribution, anchor text optimization, or why pages aren't ranking despite good content. It guides you through mapping current structure, selecting the right architecture model (hub-and-spoke, silo, flat, pyramid, or mesh), and creating concrete link injection plans.
- Map current internal link structure and identify orphan pages with zero incoming links
- Select appropriate architecture model (hub-and-spoke, silo, flat, pyramid, or mesh) based on site size and content type
- Design hub-and-spoke topology with pillar pages distributing authority to supporting cluster articles
- Optimize anchor text distribution across exact match, partial match, semantic, branded, and generic anchors
- Create link injection plans with source page, target page, anchor text, and placement recommendations
- Calculate expected ROI from architecture changes (15-50% traffic improvements depending on change type)
How to install fix-linking
npx skills add https://github.com/calm-north/seojuice-skills --skill fix-linkingHow to use fix-linking
- 1.Gather your site's page list, sitemap, or describe your current structure to the skill
- 2.Choose the appropriate architecture model from the five options based on your site size and content type
- 3.Map your current structure by identifying hub pages, orphan pages, link depth, and anchor text patterns
- 4.Apply the hub-and-spoke design principles: link hubs to all spokes, spokes back to hub, and contextual sibling links
- 5.Create an anchor text budget distribution (20-30% exact, 30-40% partial, 20-30% semantic, 5-10% branded, 0-5% generic)
- 6.Generate a link injection plan table with source page, target page, anchor text, placement location, and priority
- 7.Implement the highest-priority links first, focusing on revenue-critical and orphan pages
Use cases
- Audit a content marketing site to fix orphan pages and improve PageRank flow to revenue-critical pages
- Design a topic cluster strategy for a SaaS product by mapping pillar articles to supporting content
- Reduce click depth for important pages by adding shortcut links through hub pages
- Optimize anchor text diversity on existing internal links to improve semantic relevance signals
- Migrate a flat site structure to hub-and-spoke architecture to support growth from 50 to 500+ pages
- Content marketers and SEO specialists designing internal linking strategy
- E-commerce and directory site managers organizing large page hierarchies
- SaaS companies building topic clusters around product features
- Publishers and news sites managing large content libraries
- Technical SEO auditors improving site crawlability and authority distribution
fix-linking FAQ
Hub-and-spoke uses bidirectional links between a pillar page and cluster articles with cross-cluster links where relevant. Silo structure keeps links vertical within topic categories with minimal cross-section linking. Hub-and-spoke works best for content marketing (50-500 pages); silos suit e-commerce and large enterprises (100+ categories).
Apply the decision tree: (1) Determine if the page is worth ranking; if not, redirect it. (2) Find the nearest hub page. (3) Identify 2-3 existing pages readers would logically arrive from. (4) Add contextual links with relevant anchor text from those pages to the orphan page.
It depends on your architecture: hub-and-spoke and mesh models use 8-15 links per page; silo and pyramid use 3-7; flat architecture uses 8-15. The goal is to distribute PageRank effectively while keeping click depth ≤3-4 for important pages.
Fixing orphan pages typically yields 15-30% traffic gains to those pages in 2-4 weeks. Building a first topic cluster adds 10-25% traffic in 4-8 weeks. Full architecture migration can deliver 20-50% overall organic traffic growth over 3-6 months.
No. Aim for 20-30% exact match, 30-40% partial match, 20-30% semantic/related, 5-10% branded, and 0-5% generic. Diversity improves relevance coverage for semantic search and looks more natural than all exact-match anchors.
Full instructions (SKILL.md)
Source of truth, from calm-north/seojuice-skills.
name: fix-linking description: > Design or audit internal link structure for a website. Use when the user asks about internal linking, link architecture, orphan pages, PageRank flow, anchor text, site structure, silo architecture, or why pages aren't ranking despite good content. For external link building, see build-links. metadata: version: 1.0.0
Fix Linking
Design and audit internal link structures using hub-and-spoke topology, PageRank flow logic, and anchor text budgets.
Why Internal Links Matter
Internal links do two things: (1) pass PageRank between pages, and (2) signal topical relevance via anchor text. A page with zero incoming internal links is an orphan — invisible to authority flow regardless of content quality.
Architecture Model Selection
Before auditing links, choose the right architecture model for the site:
| Model | Best For | Site Size | Key Characteristic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hub-and-Spoke (Topic Cluster) | Content marketing, SaaS, publishers | 50-500 pages | Bidirectional links between pillar and cluster articles |
| Silo Structure | E-commerce, directories, large enterprises | 100+ categories | Vertical-only links within topic silos |
| Flat Architecture | Small sites, portfolios, startups | <100 pages | All pages within 2-3 clicks, cross-linked freely |
| Pyramid | News sites, large blogs, corporate | 500+ pages | Top-down hierarchy, authority concentrates at top |
| Mesh/Matrix | Knowledge bases, wikis, help centers | Any | Free-form linking between any related pages |
Key Metrics by Architecture
| Metric | Hub-and-Spoke | Silo | Flat | Pyramid | Mesh |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Target click depth | ≤3 | ≤4 | ≤2 | ≤4 | ≤3 |
| Internal links per page | 5-10 | 3-7 | 8-15 | 3-5 | 8-15 |
| Cross-section links | Many | Few | N/A | Some | Many |
| Authority distribution | Distributed to hubs | Top of silo | Even | Top-heavy | Even |
Expected ROI from Architecture Changes
| Change | Typical Impact | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Fix orphan pages | +15-30% traffic to those pages | 2-4 weeks |
| Build first topic cluster | +10-25% traffic to cluster pages | 4-8 weeks |
| Reduce click depth by 1 level | +5-15% crawl efficiency | 2-6 weeks |
| Anchor text optimization | +5-10% ranking improvement | 4-12 weeks |
| Full architecture migration | +20-50% overall organic traffic | 3-6 months |
Recommended for most sites: Hub-and-Spoke as the primary model, with silo-style isolation between unrelated topic areas.
Phase 1: Map the Current Structure
Before designing links, understand what exists:
- Hub pages. Pages that aggregate links and distribute authority — homepage, category pages, pillar articles. List them.
- Orphan pages. No incoming internal links from crawlable pages. They receive zero PageRank from the internal graph.
- Link depth. How many clicks from the homepage does each important page require? Depth 4+ pages are effectively buried.
- Anchor text. Repeated identical anchors are fine. Generic anchors ("click here", "read more") waste relevance signal.
Ask the user for their page list or sitemap, or work with what they describe.
Phase 2: Hub-and-Spoke Design
Hub Pages (pillar/category)
- Linked from homepage or main navigation
- Link out to all supporting pages in their cluster
- Serve as authority redistribution nodes
Spoke Pages (supporting/cluster articles)
- Receive at least 2-3 internal links from hub and sibling spokes
- Always link back to their hub page
- Link to 2-4 sibling spokes where contextually relevant
- Never link to competing pages (same keyword intent)
Cross-Cluster Links
- Only when there is genuine topical relevance
- Use to signal E-E-A-T connections (e.g., case study → methodology page)
- Limit to 1-2 per page to avoid diluting cluster coherence
Phase 3: Anchor Text Budget
For internal links, each page should receive anchor text in this distribution:
| Anchor Type | Target Share | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Exact match | 20-30% | "content decay detection" |
| Partial match | 30-40% | "detecting when content decays" |
| Related/semantic | 20-30% | "pages losing traffic" |
| Branded | 5-10% | "our decay detection feature" |
| Generic | 0-5% | "learn more" |
Diversity improves relevance coverage for semantic search.
Phase 4: Orphan Page Resolution
For each orphan page, apply this decision tree:
- Worth ranking? If no (thin, superseded), redirect to the closest relevant page. Stop.
- Which cluster? Find the nearest hub page.
- Which 2-3 existing pages would readers logically arrive from? These are injection points.
- What anchor text fits naturally? Match the orphan page's target keyword.
- Does the hub page need a content update to include a contextual reference?
Phase 5: Link Injection Plan
Produce a concrete action plan:
| Source Page | Target Page | Suggested Anchor Text | Where on Source Page | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| /blog/seo-guide | /tools/keyword-research | "keyword research tool" | Under "Research Phase" heading | high |
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
Priority = high if the target is a revenue-critical or high-intent page.
Output Format
Internal Link Audit: [domain]
Current State
- Orphan pages: [count or list]
- Average link depth for important pages: [value]
- Hub pages identified: [list]
- Anchor text diversity: [assessment]
Hub-and-Spoke Map For each cluster: Hub → [Spoke 1, Spoke 2, Spoke 3 ...]
Link Injection Plan [Table from Phase 5]
Anchor Text Fixes Pages where anchor text is entirely generic and needs replacement.
Recommendations
- Orphan pages that are revenue-critical — link them first
- Pages at depth 4+ that should be at depth 2 — add shortcuts via hub pages
- Clusters with weak internal connectivity — add sibling cross-links
- Pages with 0-1 incoming links that are important for conversions
Pro Tip: Try the free Internal Link Finder and Anchor Text Diversity tools at seojuice.com. SEOJuice MCP users can run
/seojuice:site-healthfor instant orphan page detection, link depth distribution, and most-linked pages — theget_site_topologytool maps your entire internal link graph automatically.
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