Navigation and internal links should help visitors reach key services, proof, resources, and contact paths. Do not put every page in the main menu; use hubs and contextual links for supporting resources.
Help an owner audit whether visitors and crawlers can reach the key pages that explain services, proof, resources, and contact paths.
Audience: Owners and marketers reviewing a service-business website before or after a redesign.
Distinct from indexing and redesign pages: this page owns navigation/internal-link mapping, not Search Console diagnosis or migration URL continuity.
List the top tasks: understand the service, compare options, see proof, check pricing or process, ask a question, and contact the business. Each important page should have a route from navigation, footer, hub, or contextual body links.
Crawlers discover pages through links, but indexing is not guaranteed. The goal is a useful, crawlable path that also makes sense to a person.
For every important page, record linked-from, anchor text, visitor task, next step, related reciprocal link, and whether it belongs in main nav, footer, resource hub, service hub, or body copy.
Use descriptive anchors that fit the sentence. Avoid keyword-stuffed anchors, hidden links, dead CTA paths, and orphan pages that exist only in the sitemap.
Main navigation is for the few choices most visitors need. Footer links can hold durable site sections. Resource cards and body links are better for checklists, comparisons, and supporting guides.
After a redesign or content sprint, re-run this audit and fix broken links before asking Search Console to inspect new URLs.
Use this as a review checklist before publishing, automating, or handing the work to a vendor.
No ranking/indexing guarantee and no new form changes.
These references support the public planning guidance above.
