Internal linking works when a reader can find the broader guide and a useful next answer from the page they are reading. A topic graph makes those paths visible. Its shape is an editorial design to test, with crawl evidence showing whether the implementation matches it.
This walkthrough combines the cluster topology with the candidate selection and registry process. It avoids treating a link count, anchor repetition, or navigation position as a formula for ranking.
Draw the topic and parent relationships
Start with a stable topic collection and a broad pillar article where the subject needs one. List the support articles and the distinct question each answers. Every support should have a route back to its collection and declared parent, with relevant sibling links where the reader needs the detail.
The programmatic publishing guide is the broader guide for this topic. A useful cluster can be small or large; the number of support pages should follow the questions and evidence rather than a required minimum.
Choose siblings from the paragraph
Select candidate pages by their meaning and reader task. A shared category is useful for discovery, but the proposed destination still needs to answer a question raised by the paragraph. Place the link where that question arises. Give the reviewer each candidate URL, a short description, and the paragraph where the reference would help.
The earlier implementation used three to five sibling links as a review target. That is a working heuristic, not a search engine limit. Keep the useful links and remove a proposed link when the context does not support it.
Write an anchor that describes the destination. A topic collection may naturally receive the same name from many articles. An automated anchor rotation should not force a less accurate phrase into a sentence.
Count directed edges correctly
In an example with 20 support pages, the hub links to all 20. Each support links to the hub and an average of four siblings. That gives 100 directed outbound links from the supports, including 80 lateral edges. The mean lateral indegree is four, because 80 incoming lateral edges are distributed across 20 pages.
A reciprocal pair contains two directed edges. If those are already counted in the outbound totals, doubling the inbound average again would count them twice. Use the actual source and target records from the crawl.
Maintain a published link registry
For each edge, keep the source, destination, anchor, placement, topic, and review date. Update it from the published page set. Use it to find unavailable targets, redirects, missing parent returns, and pages whose only incoming reference is itself difficult to reach.
A shared file can work for a small writing process. Concurrent editors need a write method that detects a changed base version instead of overwriting another editor's work. The mechanism can be a normal version control review; a custom registry is useful only when its maintenance earns the effort.
Keep navigation useful
Breadcrumbs, topic navigation, and contextual references serve related reader needs. Keep ordinary navigation crawlable when it helps someone find the content. Google's link guidance describes crawlable references and relevant anchors, rather than nofollow on useful breadcrumbs or menus. A contextual body link adds the reason to continue at that moment; it does not require suppressing a useful menu link.
After a merge, point the sentence to the survivor and check that its meaning still fits. Verify the redirect and rendered link after deployment, then compare the actual graph with the planned routes.