> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://tmniche-docs.keywordrush.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://tmniche-docs.keywordrush.com/core-concepts/interlinking.md).

# Interlinking

Internal links tie your site together — they pass authority between articles, guide readers, and build topical authority. TMN plans these links for the whole site during planning, then weaves them into each article as it's generated. You don't wire them up by hand.

## The link plan

While building your Topic Map, TMN designs a recommended internal-link graph across the **whole** plan:

* supporting (info) articles link **up** to the money articles and pillars they support,
* related articles within a hub link to **each other**,
* articles can link **across hubs** (depending on your silo settings), and
* every **pillar** links out to the articles in its hub.

Each suggested link comes with anchor text.

{% hint style="info" %}
**The graph is a recommendation, not a quota.** When an article is generated, TMN adds the suggested links *where they fit naturally* — it won't force every link in. How many actually appear depends on the article's topic and length.
{% endhint %}

**How completely a pillar covers its hub depends on hub size.** It links to every child in a hub of twelve or fewer. Above that it covers most of them, not always every one — in a hub of twenty, expect around fifteen or more. Twenty links on one page reads like a directory rather than an article, so TMN keeps the page readable and lets Related Posts blocks carry the bulk of them.

## How links appear in an article

Links show up in two ways:

1. **Contextual links (preferred)** — placed inside the prose (and some blocks) right where the topic comes up. These use a `[nodelink]` shortcode (below).
2. **"Related Posts" block** — when there's no natural spot in the text, TMN adds the link in a Related Posts block instead, each with a short generated snippet and an adapted title.

Contextual links are the priority; the Related Posts block is the fallback, so a planned link still lands somewhere in the article.

## The `[nodelink]` shortcode

A contextual link is stored as a shortcode. In the editor it looks like this:

```
…on a tighter budget, see our [nodelink id="7f3a9c12-4e8b-4d21-9a6f-2c5e1b8d0a44"]best wireless earbuds under $100[/nodelink] roundup before you decide.
```

It links by the target article's **ID**, not a fixed URL — so it keeps working even if the target's URL changes, and it can point to an article you haven't generated yet. That leads to one behavior worth knowing:

* **Target not generated yet** — the anchor stays plain text for everyone, admins included. There's nothing to point at until the article exists in WordPress.
* **Target generated but not live** (draft or scheduled) — **visitors** see plain text, never a broken link; as an **admin** you get a working link, so you can preview and click through.
* **Target published** — a normal link for everyone.

**Related Posts** blocks are stricter: they list only targets that are published or scheduled, so ungenerated and draft articles are skipped. When none of a block's targets are live yet, it renders nothing on your site and shows a short placeholder in the editor.

You don't write or edit these by hand; TMN inserts them for you.

## If you generate a pillar first

Pillars are usually the first article you generate in a hub — which means everything they link to is still unwritten. The result looks alarming: a couple of plain-text mentions and some empty Related Posts blocks, on the page that's meant to be the hub's front door.

That's expected, and it resolves itself.

{% hint style="success" %}
**Don't regenerate.** The links are already in the article, waiting on their targets. Each one becomes a real link the moment its target is published — one at a time, with nothing for you to do. Regenerating spends a credit and still can't link to an article that doesn't exist yet.
{% endhint %}

To confirm the links really are there, open the article in the editor and switch to code view: you'll see `[nodelink]` shortcodes in the prose and Related Posts blocks holding their list of targets. The node drawer's **Interlinking** panel shows the same picture from the plan side.

## What you control

**Plan-wide — the wizard's Silo step.** A few settings shape how widely and how strongly TMN links: **silo architecture** (Classic / Hybrid / Topic Graph), **cross-hub linking**, **link strength**, **anchor diversity**, **cannibalization strictness**, and **always link upward to hub**. The defaults produce a clean silo — most people leave them alone.

**Per article — the node drawer's Interlinking panel.** Open an article and the **Interlinking** panel shows what it *will link to*. There you can rename a link's **anchor text** or **remove** a link. Changes take effect the next time the article is generated.

![The Interlinking panel in the node drawer (outgoing links + anchor text)](/files/ai8KIPAaPoTKqa7wN1g8)

## Next

* [**The Topic Map**](/core-concepts/topic-map.md) — how hubs, pillars, and articles fit together.
* [**Edit your Topic Map**](/building-a-site/edit-topic-map.md) — shaping the plan, including per-article links.