The playbook
Internal Linking: Checklist
Use this internal linking checklist before a new release, a handoff, or a scheduled review. Its purpose is to verify the decisions that affect important orphan pages remaining. Check an actual page or query record; a box marked complete without evidence does not show that the customer journey works.
Put the task in context
An installation guide can link to a relevant maintenance guide when the reader reaches ongoing care. A service page can link to a project example beside its proof section. Keep the destination and anchor specific enough that the visitor can predict what will appear after clicking.
Before you use the checklist
Name the exact item being checked and its purpose. Gather source URL, target URL, anchor, placement. If one of those details is unknown, mark it as unknown and assign a way to resolve it. An invented value makes the checklist look complete while weakening every later decision.
Working checklist
| Check | Evidence to keep | Responsible role |
|---|---|---|
| Find important pages with few contextual links | A dated observation showing how source URL was verified | SEO lead |
| Choose relevant source pages with useful surrounding text | A dated observation showing how target URL was verified | content or development owner |
| Use descriptive anchors that explain the destination | A dated observation showing how anchor was verified | analytics owner |
Check the failure path
- Look specifically for this failure: adding large unrelated link blocks to every article.
- Place a small number of contextual links where they help a decision. Record the actual correction, not just the intention to make it.
- Repeat the affected task after the correction and check placement.
- Make sure the next owner can find the decision and supporting evidence.
Use three outcomes for each check
Mark an item as complete only when the expected behavior or information has been observed. Mark it as incomplete when a required condition is absent. Use not applicable when the condition genuinely does not belong to the chosen scope, and write a short reason. These states keep a review useful without forcing every process into an identical mold.
For example, if the check is “Find important pages with few contextual links,” a meeting about the subject is not the evidence itself. Retain the relevant source URL and target URL, the decision made from them, and the result of checking that decision. The record should allow someone who missed the meeting to understand what changed.
Decide what must be resolved first
An incomplete item that prevents help people and crawlers move between related pages through meaningful links deserves attention before a cosmetic improvement. Assign an owner and a next action to that issue. Keep optional refinements visible, but do not let them obscure a failure in the core process.
Close the review
Recheck corrected items and note anything still uncertain. The checklist is finished when the next owner understands what was verified and what remains open. Follow important orphan pages remaining using a consistent definition so later reviews can connect execution quality with useful results.
Test representative templates as well as individual URLs. When a problem appears on several pages built from the same component, a template correction may be more useful than a series of one-off edits. Verify the affected pages after the shared change.
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