Hub-and-spoke internal linking organises a site so that each topic has one hub page linking to every detailed page on that topic, and each detailed page links back to its hub, to a few closely related pages and to the service it supports. We built brilad.com this way: a services hub with five service pages, an Academy hub with three topic pillars and 27 guides, and a blog whose posts link into both. This article shows the exact rules we followed, so you can apply them to any site.
Why structure matters for search and AI
Internal links help search engines discover pages, understand how they relate and judge which are most important. Google’s documentation on links notes that it uses links to find pages and that descriptive anchor text helps it understand them. For AI assistants, a clear structure means that when one page is retrieved, the related answers are one link away, and the site reads as a coherent body of knowledge rather than scattered pages.
The structure of brilad.com
- HomeLinks to both hubs and the main services.
- Services hubFive service pages: SEO, AEO, GEO, AI Search Audit, AI Development.
- Academy hubThree pillars, each with its own guides.
- Guides27 in-depth explanations.
- BlogHow-to posts and tools linking into guides and services.
| Level | Pages | Links out to |
|---|---|---|
| Academy hub (/learn/) | 1 | All three pillars and every guide, grouped by pillar |
| Pillars | 3: how AI search works, technical architecture, content that gets cited | Every guide in the pillar, in a list and inside the text where each concept is mentioned |
| Guides | 27 | Their pillar, two to four sibling guides, one service page |
| Services hub | 1 | All five services and the articles that explain how they relate |
| Service pages | 5 | A “Further reading” section with the guides and posts that support the service |
| Blog posts | Growing weekly | The guides they build on, related posts, and a service page where relevant |
The rules we followed
1. Every page has exactly one hub
Each guide belongs to one pillar, and each pillar to the Academy hub. A page that could fit two pillars goes where its main question belongs, and links across to the other.
2. Hubs link to everything below them, twice
Each pillar lists all its guides, and also links to each guide inside the paragraph where that concept comes up. The list helps navigation; the inline link gives context through its surrounding text and anchor.
3. Detail pages link up, across and out
Every guide links up to its pillar, across to two to four siblings that answer the next logical question, and out to the one service page it supports. More than that dilutes the links; fewer leaves pages isolated.
4. Services link to their evidence
Each service page ends with further reading that points to the guides explaining its methods. The GEO service page, for example, links to guides on retrieval, AI crawlers and entity resolution, and to the checker tool.
5. Anchor text describes the target
Links use the target page’s topic as anchor text, such as “guide to AI crawlers and robots.txt”, never “click here” or “read more”.
6. New pages are linked on the day they go live
When a post is published, we add links to it from at least two existing pages where its question comes up. A page with no links pointing to it is an orphan that crawlers find slowly.
Supporting signals
- Breadcrumbs on every post and guide, with BreadcrumbList structured data
- URLs that reflect the hierarchy, such as /learn/technical-architecture/json-ld-schema/
- An XML sitemap with accurate last-modified dates
- An llms.txt file generated from the same structure, as a low-cost extra
How to apply this to your site
- List your core topics, usually your services or product lines. Each becomes a hub.
- Assign every existing page to one hub. Pages that fit nowhere are candidates for merging or removal.
- Build or improve each hub so it links to all its pages, in a list and in context.
- Add the up, across and out links on every detail page.
- Crawl the site and fix orphan pages and pages more than three clicks from the home page.
The planning step is covered in our article on topic maps and topical authority.
Frequently asked questions
How many internal links per page is too many?
Google does not set a limit. Link where it helps the reader, and keep each link relevant to the text around it.
Should blog posts be part of the hubs?
Yes, through links. Posts answer specific questions; they should link to the guide and service they relate to, and the most important ones should be linked back from those pages.
Do footer and menu links count?
They help discovery, but links inside the main content carry more context. Use both.
Sources
- Google Search Central, “Link best practices for Google”
- Google Search Central, “Breadcrumb structured data”