---
name: map-content-hierarchically-root-trunk-branches-leaves
description: "Give readers a clear path through the pages you already have."
category: SEO & Content Architecture
stage: —
definitive_article: /seo-tree
status: complete
---

# Map content hierarchically (root → trunk → branches → leaves)

Give readers a clear path through the pages you already have. This guide maps your main topics, offers and the stories that support them. Start with the full page list and the real home of your business or name.

**The path:** Published inventory → Page roles and actual owners → Linked hierarchy → Gap decisions

**Start when:** A site needs its first content hierarchy or its existing map no longer matches the published pages.

## Inputs

- [Inventory pages and their purpose](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=step-1-inventory-content-and-establish-gct-per-page#task-step-1-inventory-content-and-establish-gct-per-page) with published URL/type/title, purpose, body links and current source.
- The real entity home, navigation, services, topic guides and public off-site identity evidence.
- The current [SEO Tree, the map that links a site’s proof to its main topics and offers](https://blitzmetrics.com/seo-tree-site-directory/) Directory convention and [Money Tree, a site map whose branch sizes show measured supporting links](https://blitzmetrics.com/money-tree/) count definition if a measured offer view is required.

## Steps

1. Reconcile every published URL in scope before grouping it. Use CMS/source inventory alongside the crawl so unlinked pages are visible. Mark planned, private, redirected, inaccessible and published pages distinctly; a blank in the export must not become an invented node.
2. Write the legend before drawing. In the current Directory and Money Tree views, the actual entity home/domain is the trunk and off-site identity proof forms roots. The older SEO Tree article also uses “root” for the homepage; label that viewpoint if retained instead of inventing a second homepage or forcing incompatible labels.
3. Identify existing topic/method hubs and buying/service pages from their real purpose and the site’s navigation. The Money Tree can group branches into actual audience or offer limbs. Do not manufacture an ideal category structure or treat every topic hub as an executable task recipe.
4. Assign supporting stories, case studies and real execution records to their primary owning method or topic. Keep useful cross-links when a source supports more than one relevant idea. Preserve utility pages in a separate functional group; their valid job need not be a marketing branch.
5. Compare mapped roles with actual links and content. Flag missing incoming paths, possible duplicate intent, broken targets, unsupported claims and proof gaps as separate findings. Two same-topic URLs need a reader-intent review before consolidation; a sparse branch is a truthful finding, not permission to draw extra leaves.
6. Build a clickable map and matching linked text outline from that inventory. Name the scope and date; show planned or unresolved nodes separately from live ones. If thickness represents a number, use an explicit measured definition and reproducible data, otherwise use a simple unweighted diagram.
7. Review the map against the real home, services, menu and selected bodies with the owner. Correct labels and gaps, preserve the source and record next tasks. Pass the checked map to the Directory or Money Tree task; those tasks own their specific publication, measurement and public/private gates.

## Definition of done (QA checklist)

Quality assurance (QA) means checking the actual result against its agreed requirements. Follow the [Article Guidelines](https://localservicespotlight.com/article-guidelines/).

- [ ] The legend resolves root/trunk viewpoints without duplicate or invented home nodes.
- [ ] All in-scope published roles are represented, with real owners and useful cross-links.
- [ ] A diagram and text outline agree; any density, number or unknown state follows actual source data.
- [ ] The exact output, source revision, reviewer evidence and remaining owner action are saved.
- [ ] For any reader-facing output, the short grade-five opening states the reader’s useful outcome and supporting method or proof. The body delivers that promise; a useful authentic visual appears in the first screen. Retain exact text and quoted reviewer evidence.

## Example(s)

**Fictional teaching example. This is not a client result or proof of a completed run.**

A fictional consultant has a home page, two services, one method guide and six stories. The map uses the home once as trunk, the real pages as branches, and the stories as supporting leaves. A LinkedIn identity page sits among the roots. A planned course is labeled planned, so readers do not mistake it for a live offer.

## Handoff and Content Factory context

[Publish the checked site directory](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=publish-seo-tree-site-directory#task-publish-seo-tree-site-directory) receives the checked structure; [Build the measured Money Tree](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=build-money-tree-site-diagram#task-build-money-tree-site-diagram) receives real offer branches and the count scope. [Resolve pages with no incoming path](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=identify-and-eliminate-orphan-standalone-articles#task-identify-and-eliminate-orphan-standalone-articles) and [Review duplicate or weak pages](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=remove-duplicate-thin-pages#task-remove-duplicate-thin-pages) receive distinct supported findings.

This task supports the [Content Factory: Produce, Process, Post and Promote](https://blitzmetrics.com/content-factory/). Identity, proof, access or coordination can support several stages. Use the real inputs and receiving owner above; this task does not create unrelated transcripts, clips or ads merely because the diagram has four stages.

## Start with an agent

Give the [AI worker](https://blitzmetrics.com/build-agents/) this recipe, the real inputs, desired result and actions already authorized. Ask for the saved output, sources, checks and next owner. A [skill is a written recipe](https://localservicespotlight.com/plugin/); loading one does not prove account access or perform the task. Use the [installation guide](https://localservicespotlight.com/install/) if reusable setup is needed. A ZIP is a source snapshot, not an access grant or automatic update.

Use the app’s actual supported tools and verified file/account access. Keep a missing human verification step with its real owner. Recurring work needs its own configured job, trigger, timezone and observed result; this guide creates no schedule. Before any media playback, mute the player and set its volume to zero. If silence cannot be verified first, use captions, frames, metadata or another silent check.

## Record the real execution

Open the run record when work begins. Keep one execution ID, starting recipe revision, real inputs and current state. Write the [meta article, the record of this execution](https://blitzmetrics.com/meta-article-prompt/) with actual steps, results, checks, failures and next owner. Writing is required; public release follows existing authority. Link it to this recipe and the [Task Library](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/).

Reuse the same execution ID for internal checks, revisions, retries and meta writing. A blocked run stays open with its dependency and owner, without an invented finish time. Dated public examples and distinct verified execution counts remain separate. Propose the smallest source-backed recipe improvement when the actual evidence reveals a defect.


<!-- factory-layer:start -->

## Factory chain (do not treat this as isolated)

- **Phase:** —
- **Importance:** 3/5 `●●●○○` — frequency 3, revenue 3, gating 2 (supporting)
- **Suggested previous station:** —
- **Suggested next station:** —
These stations are generated neighbors, not verified prerequisites or handoffs. Follow the task’s actual Inputs and Handoff sections.
- **Handoff:** Save this task’s actual output, source, date and checks where the receiving owner can read them. Follow the Inputs and Handoff sections for its next step.

## Model routing (same factory, any engine)

- **This task's lane:** `any` — Any capable chat model (Claude, ChatGPT, Grok, Gemini). SOP following, drafts, checklists.
- **Single-engine path:** Use the capable AI app you already have. Check its required tools and access before starting. Pass the actual result and proof to the next task.
- **Optional multi-engine:** A tested local model may draft; a stronger model may review facts and voice. Use supported tools for approved actions. Pick models from observed quality and cost; a model name does not prove it can run this task.
- **Never** store the working state in one vendor's memory. Files in the Content Library are the bridge.

<!-- factory-layer:end -->
## Definitive article & links

- [Maintained source guide](https://blitzmetrics.com/seo-tree/)
- [This task in the Task Library](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=map-content-hierarchically-root-trunk-branches-leaves#task-map-content-hierarchically-root-trunk-branches-leaves)
- [Article Guidelines](https://localservicespotlight.com/article-guidelines/)
- [Definitive article and task recipe standard](https://blitzmetrics.com/definitive-article-guide/)
- [How recipes and run records fit together](https://localservicespotlight.com/meta-articles/)

## Review and evidence still needed

The inherited contributor status is `complete`. It is preserved, not promoted by this rewrite. That label alone does not prove document readiness, account access, an actual execution or a client result.

The fictional example teaches the method and does not fill a real-run evidence gap. A named semantic reviewer must check the actual opening, full method, sources and handoff. Check the useful opening visual in the normal rendered guide at the current required desktop and mobile sizes, including 1280 × 800 and 390 × 844. Source readability checks do not prove public presentation or task execution.