TS16Sitemaps and links

Does every important page receive an internal link?

Every important page receives at least one crawlable internal link.

Prepare evidence

In the app: Evidence import
You provide: Key pages and link sources
Allow for: Depends on evidence needed

Prepare evidence

Understand

An important page. A path to reach it.

Every important page receives at least one crawlable internal link.

According to Google

Google recommends that at least one other site page link to every important page. Your project determines which pages are priorities.

Link best practices for Google Source accessed on 2026-10-26

Check

A priority page. What links to it?

In TSEP Control

You import evidence for this control. The engine assesses it within the declared scope; missing items remain visible.

Your contribution

Define the scope and expectations before collection. Gather the items below and supply the requested reviews.

With your own tools

Start with an inventory of priority pages and examine incoming links found by a crawl or in HTML. Also check that their source pages are accessible.

Evidence to retain

Original inventory, prior plan, HTTP/DOM originals, requested/final URLs, dates, destination status, raw href, anchor reference and per-destination diagnostics. DOM is required for surfaces that depend on it; an independent source witness suffices without DOM, without inventing one.

What this result covers

Population and importance are supplied, not authenticated. No site completeness, observed acquisition or interaction, editorial value, Google visit, indexing or ranking. Bounded absence does not establish a site-wide orphan. Expected source content and soft404s are not assessed.

Act

Create pathways. From relevant pages.

Add an accessible link from a relevant page and check its destination.

Recheck

New links. Reachable pages?

After correction, gather new evidence with the same scope and expectations. Retain both dated observations to compare what changed.

Your reference points

To go further.

Statuses, sources and method.

Understand the statusesC · NC · NT · NA

The same legend in guides, analysis and demo. Each status depends on the control’s evidence and rules.

C · Verified: The criterion is met within the assessed scope. Keep dated evidence for the next comparison.
NC · To correct: Add an accessible link from a relevant page and check its destination.
NT · Not established: Evidence or confirmations are insufficient to conclude. Supply what is missing; this status does not establish an SEO error.
NA · Not applicable: The control does not apply to the scope under its rules, with a retained justification. Missing evidence alone does not make it non-applicable.

Sources and references1 reference

Link best practices for Googledevelopers.google.com · new tab

Detailed method and rules1 rule

Control method and criteria

Method
For each destination, seek an a/href witness from a distinct qualified internal document: source HTML under two static hypotheses or provider-declared no-interaction DOM. Qualify each source, destination and surface separately.

Acceptance criteria
Each declared destination has a qualified incoming witness and its original HTTP evidence. Absence is established only across every qualified eligible surface of the prior inventory and remains bounded to that population.

Non-applicability
No relevant important page only with justification and inventory; no automatic NA in the bounded reader.

Detailed rules

TS16-A01 · Incoming witness in the prior internal population.

Protocol assessment mode : automatic. App availability is shown on the control card.

Scope
Important destinations and internal sources selected before captures, with dated original inventory and bound prior plan; incoming-document-links-v1.

Evidence
Original inventory, prior plan, HTTP/DOM originals, requested/final URLs, dates, destination status, raw href, anchor reference and per-destination diagnostics. DOM is required for surfaces that depend on it; an independent source witness suffices without DOM, without inventing one.

Acceptance criteria
Pass when every destination has an independently qualified witness and a destination original. Fail when a destination has no witness across the complete qualified eligible population. Otherwise inconclusive; an independent fail survives other unknowns.

When the result remains inconclusive
Insufficient plan/inventory/original, ambiguous population, unqualified surface, incoherent dates or absent runtime. A pair whose destination redirects back to its source remains inconclusive; another witness may suffice.

Non-applicability
No automatic NA in this profile.

Assumptions
Inventory observed before the plan binding its digest, captures within the prior window; exact origins and no-interaction states supplied. Integrity does not authenticate evidence or simultaneity.

Limitations
Population and importance are supplied, not authenticated. No site completeness, observed acquisition or interaction, editorial value, Google visit, indexing or ranking. Bounded absence does not establish a site-wide orphan. Expected source content and soft404s are not assessed.

Rule version 0.2.0-rc.1 · Public protocol reference · Versioned source

Put it into practice

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