---
name: step-9-add-internal-links-with-proper-anchor-text
description: "Link readers to the right guides and people. Use clear words that explain where each link goes."
category: Content Factory — Process
stage: Process
definitive_article: https://localservicespotlight.com/article-guidelines/
status: complete
---

# Step 9: Add internal links with proper anchor text

A reader should not have to search for each new term. This guide helps you add the right link when it is useful. Start with the main topic, then check each person, brand, and idea you name.

**The path:** Named idea → Right owned guide or identity → Clear anchor → Checked destination.

**Use this when:** The article is drafted and illustrated, and its first-use explanations and topic relationships need links.

## Inputs
- The full draft and source evidence for each person, brand and concept.
- The existing topic map and link candidates from Step 4, plus [entity linking](https://blitzmetrics.com/entity-linking/) and the [SEO Tree](https://blitzmetrics.com/seo-tree/) guides.
- Read access to candidate destinations and authorized edit scope for this article or any inbound source page.
- The page role, actual primary topic owner and useful next action.

## First-run prompt

> Audit first-use terms and named entities in this article. Use the maintained owned guide for explanations and verified identity homes for people and network brands. Keep precise official proof/action links where needed. Check every new path and fragment, use clear anchors, and record actual upward/inbound relationships without forced link quotas.

## Steps
1. List the first meaningful use of each unfamiliar term and named entity. Explain specialist words in plain language before or beside their link. A brand name alone does not tell a novice what the tool does.
2. For a person or managed network business, find the verified identity home. Do not guess a personal domain. For an outside tool or concept being explained, prefer the maintained owned training article; keep official primary proof, sign-in or download links where that specific action or claim needs them.
3. Read the intended target and confirm it answers the actual need. A page that merely mentions the term is not automatically its main guide. Preserve an existing canonical owner instead of making a new competing explanation.
4. Link the piece up to its relevant topic or task owner and to a useful next guide/action. A source story supports its main guide. Add a service page only where it is a genuine reader next step, not a universal money-page quota for every reference or policy.
5. Use short descriptive anchor words in the sentence. The house guide generally favors three to six words, but a correct named person need not be padded to hit a count. Avoid “click here” and repeated links to the same target in one passage.
6. Check destination scheme, exact path, redirects and any named anchor after #. Confirm a public link does not lead to an unpublished draft or an unrelated homepage. Record access-limited internal links as such when this is internal documentation.
7. Check the inbound path from the main guide or another relevant existing page. Never link a live page to an unpublished/private article as though it were public. Make an authorized inbound edit to the final canonical public target when in scope; otherwise hand the exact sentence and target to that page’s owner. Do not turn catalog adjacency into a prerequisite.
8. Save the article and record each meaningful target decision, checked date and pending inbound edit. Later plugin suggestions can help find candidates but cannot replace this judgment pass.

## Definition of done (QA checklist)

- [ ] New terms have a plain explanation and appropriate owned guide at first meaningful use.
- [ ] Identity destinations and relationship claims are verified; official links retain a clear proof/action purpose.
- [ ] The page has a relevant topic home and useful contextual links without forced quotas.
- [ ] Each new URL/fragment is checked, with pending inbound work stated truthfully.

## Example(s)

**Fictional teaching example — no page was linked.** The sample article says, “Use our photo checklist to help the shop prepare.” Its link points to Maple Cycle’s main repair-quote guide, not a generic camera vendor page.

If the text explains video editing, it first says what Descript does and links the maintained owned article workflow. A separate instruction to check a current import limit may link Descript’s exact official help page. These links have different purposes. A made-up `alexmechanic.com` identity link is rejected because the sample contains no verified personal site.

## Handoff and Content Factory context

The editor receives checked links and pending inbound work for [Step 10: embed the source video](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=step-10-embed-source-video#task-step-10-embed-source-video). If the source has no video, record that fact and proceed to the next applicable check.

Produce supplies the real source. **Process**, this stage of the [Content Factory](https://blitzmetrics.com/content-factory/), turns it into useful finished assets. Post saves or publishes them on the agreed channels. Promote tests and distributes suitable work within its own scope. The handoff above names this task’s actual next step; catalog neighbors alone are not prerequisites.

## When this runs

One linking pass per article or specific repair; recheck changed targets. No automatic site-wide link rewrite is created.

## First-run setup and continuity

Open the supplied task file and its linked source. Verify the project’s real inputs, account, access and output folder before work. This Markdown file is a guide; it does not install an app, connect an account, supply a subscription or create a schedule. Carry out work already authorized; do not ask for the same approval again. Keep any unsupplied destination or new action outside that scope clearly pending.

Save source IDs, versions, decisions, checked outputs and next owner in the project tracker. Before a retry, check the saved state and other workers’ changes. A model name does not guarantee memory or a running timer. Repeated work needs an actual configured trigger and durable state; one-off work can be started by the prompt above.

Keep agent media muted with volume zero before playback. If mute cannot be verified, use captions, metadata or still frames. State the limit: silent visual checks do not prove spoken-word accuracy or audio quality. Do not start sound through the user’s speakers unless explicitly asked.

## Write up the real run

For every actual attempt, [write its meta article](https://blitzmetrics.com/meta-article-prompt/) with this recipe and revision, trigger, steps performed, output evidence, measured result, gaps and next owner. Failed, blocked and partial attempts also get a written record. A draft can satisfy writing; publishing it follows the existing job scope.

Keep one stable execution ID across retries and edits. A separately scoped child task may have its own ID linked to its parent. Writing the parent’s meta record is part of that run, not an endless new chain. The [recipe and meta-article guide](https://localservicespotlight.com/meta-articles/) explains this distinction. Teaching examples are not real executions and must not enter the run count.


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

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

- **Phase:** Process
- **Importance:** 4/5 `●●●●○` — frequency 4, revenue 3, gating 2 (runs every factory cycle or weekly)
- **Suggested previous station:** `step-8-add-photos-and-featured-image`
- **Suggested next station:** `step-10-embed-source-video`
These stations are generated neighbors, not verified prerequisites or handoffs. Follow the task’s actual Inputs and Handoff sections.
- **Handoff:** Process-stage artifact examples include `transcript.md`, `gct.md`, `article.html` (or a staged draft), `clips/`, or `04-Promote-Creatives/`. These are examples, not requirements for every task. Follow this task's actual Inputs and Handoff sections for the required output, evidence, and next owner. Pass the files or records, not one vendor's memory.

## 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

- Canonical article: https://localservicespotlight.com/article-guidelines/
- Exact task: [Step 9: Add internal links with proper anchor text](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=step-9-add-internal-links-with-proper-anchor-text#task-step-9-add-internal-links-with-proper-anchor-text)
- Writing standard: [Article Guidelines](https://localservicespotlight.com/article-guidelines/)
- [Entity linking: choose the right person, company or guide](https://blitzmetrics.com/entity-linking/)
- [SEO Tree: give a page its right topic home](https://blitzmetrics.com/seo-tree/)

## Review and evidence still needed

The source contributor status is preserved. It is not certification of this draft or proof of account access, completed work or a live outcome. The worked example teaches the method and is explicitly fictional.
- Real target content, identity homes and any external page edits require project-specific verification.