An internal link audit should answer one question: can a motivated reader move from this page to the next useful page without guessing? The routine is small enough to run alongside daily article publishing.
Audit in reading order
Read the opening, headings, and calls to action first. Mark links that support a claim, explain a term, or offer the next practical step. A link that exists only to increase a count usually weakens the page.
Use descriptive anchor text that tells the reader what is behind the link. Avoid repeating the same anchor when nearby links point to different purposes. Confirm that the target is a Blog, Research, service, or resource route that still matches its label.
Check the important paths
Start with the article's primary conversion path, then inspect links to related articles. The content brief QA checklist is a useful companion for confirming that the link plan matches the article's intended reader.
Record fixes
Log the source slug, target slug, issue, and owner. Fix obvious wrong paths in the same publishing change. Defer broad navigation changes until they have a separate brief. After editing, search for the old path and run the repository's build or link checks.
Good linking is navigation with context. It helps readers continue their work and gives search engines a clearer view of the site's topical relationships.
