Internal Linking Tracker

I use this tracker whenever a new page goes live. It logs each link from source to target, flags pages with no internal links pointing to them, and shows where the same anchor text is being used too often.

Everything sits in one sheet, so you can hand it to a writer or developer and they can see exactly which links to add and where.

What’s included

• How to use: step-by-step instructions inside the sheet.
• Link log: target URL, target keyword, source page, anchor text, placement, date, owner and status for every link.
• Status dropdown: Planned, Added and Checked, so nothing slips between planning and going live.
• Page inventory: inbound and outbound internal link counts for each URL, with a formula that flags orphan pages.
• Priority to fix: mark which pages need links first.
• Anchor text check: spot anchors that repeat too often and record better variations.
• Worked example: links for a fictional Sydney electrician's new blog post, service pages and location pages.

How to use it

1. Crawl your site and paste each URL with its inbound and outbound internal link counts into the Page inventory tab.
2. Check the Orphan? column. Any page showing Yes has no internal links pointing to it and should go near the top of your list.
3. For each page that needs links, find three to five relevant source pages and log each planned link with its anchor text and placement.
4. Add the links on the site and set the status to Added, then to Checked once you have confirmed each link works.
5. Every few months, review your most used anchors in the Anchor text check tab and swap repeats for natural variations.

Tips from my client work

• Link from pages that already get traffic or have backlinks. Those links are more likely to be clicked and help the target page more.
• Put the link in the body copy, as high on the page as it reads naturally, rather than only in a related posts block.
• Use anchor text that tells the reader what they will get. Avoid generic anchors like click here or read more.
• Vary your anchors. The same exact-match phrase on every page looks forced and reads badly.
• If your crawler separates in-content links from navigation and footer links, use the in-content count. A page linked only from the footer still needs contextual links.

FAQs

What is an orphan page?

An orphan page has no internal links pointing to it from other pages on your site. Visitors and search engines can only reach it through your sitemap, a direct link or another website, so it often struggles to rank.

How many internal links should a page have?

There is no fixed number. I make sure every important page has several contextual links from relevant pages, and I add new links whenever I publish something on a related topic.

Should internal link anchor text be exact match?

Some exact-match anchors are fine, but mix them with partial matches and natural phrases. The anchor should describe the target page and read naturally in the sentence.