Trojan Digital Marketing builds and runs microsite networks from Indianapolis and has more than 1,400 live websites. Before we link two sites, we ask what the visitor needs next: who the company is, a similar project or the right way to request a quote. To plan your network's links with Jeff Clerisier, our founder, the first strategy call is free, and during business hours we aim to reply within five minutes.
Strictly speaking, a link from a microsite to your main domain isn't an internal link, since it crosses to another website. It can still connect two parts of one business. We'd never paste the same keyword-rich link onto every site in a network.
Start from the page's unanswered question
- Fit
- Explain the service scope.
- Trust
- Show supporting evidence.
- Next step
- Give a clear contact route.
Read the page and ask what a visitor reasonably needs next. A service explanation might lead to evidence of similar work. A project story might lead to the service it demonstrates. A specialist microsite might identify the parent company and link to a broader capability page.
The network quality guide makes the destination's purpose the starting point. A link should support that purpose rather than compensate for a site that has little useful information of its own.
Make the business relationship explicit
If the same company runs the main site and the microsite, say so. A visitor shouldn't have to guess whether they've landed on another provider. On Garrison, the microsite software from Trojan Digital Marketing, we compare your main website with the proposed microsites. We agree the operating responsibilities, then connect approved pages to the business that handles the request.
A relationship link can point to a company page or relevant capability information. It does not need a long string of service and city keywords. The wording should explain the destination a person will reach.
Build a link intent map
| Starting content | Next reader need | Possible destination |
|---|---|---|
| Specialist service page | Understand the company behind the offer | Relevant company or capability page |
| Project story | Explore the service demonstrated | The matching service explanation |
| Planning answer | Prepare a useful inquiry | Consultation guidance or the appropriate form |
| Main site service overview | Use a genuinely separate specialist experience | A microsite with a distinct purpose |
| Coverage information | Check whether the business accepts the project there | Accurate service and contact details |
The map is not an instruction to add every possible link. Select the relationships that help the page's audience. A small set of useful links is easier to understand and maintain than a directory repeated across every destination.
Use clear anchor text
Google recommends descriptive link text with useful context. The text should set a reasonable expectation about the destination. “See our commercial project examples” is more informative than an unexplained “click here.”
Keep the surrounding sentence natural. Do not force every variation of a target phrase into the anchor. If the link reads awkwardly aloud, simplify it and check whether the destination is actually relevant to the paragraph.
For image links, make sure the image's accessible description helps explain the destination where appropriate. The point is the same: a person should understand what the link is for.
Check that the link works as a real destination
Google's documentation describes crawlable links using anchor elements and href attributes. The technical implementation should support the intended navigation. A visual button that only behaves through an opaque script can need a closer implementation review.
Also test the destination itself. A link may resolve but land on a page that no longer answers the promised question. Review the content match, mobile behavior, and any unexpected redirects rather than checking only for a successful response.
Avoid reciprocal links without a reader purpose
Not every link needs a matching link back. The main website may introduce a specialist experience, and that experience may identify the parent company, but the wording and placement should reflect the visitor's needs at each point.
We wouldn't put the same list of sister domains on every site in a network. It clutters the page and blurs which business the visitor is dealing with. We'd rather write down why each important cross-site link exists.
Do not use links to hide overlapping content
- Service A
- Planned coverage: fit and next step.
- Service B
- Planned coverage: proof and next step.
- Service C
- Planned coverage: fit and proof.
If several pages provide essentially the same answer, adding links among them does not establish distinct value. Review the purpose and decide where the best answer belongs. The content overlap guide provides a method.
Google's canonical guidance addresses preferred URLs for similar content. Keep links consistent with that choice, so visitors and canonical tags both point to the same preferred page.
A hypothetical link review
A contractor's specialist site contains a useful service explanation and an approved project story. The service page links to the project as evidence. The project links back to the relevant service because a reader may want to request similar work. A company relationship note points to the main business site.
The review removes a footer containing dozens of unrelated town domain links. Those links did not help a visitor understand the specialist offer. We'd judge that change by whether a visitor can tell where each link goes. No link count guarantees better rankings.
Maintain the map when the business changes
Services, URLs, and site purposes can change. Assign someone to update important links when a destination is renamed, consolidated, or retired. A search review can connect that maintenance with the broader content and technical plan.
The microsite maintenance checklist includes the operating responsibilities. Record the destination, purpose, and owner for important links so the next editor understands why they were added.
If you measure link clicks, keep them apart from qualified inquiries. Someone following a relationship link has moved between pages and may not be ready to buy. In the counts we publish for our Indiana network, we include calls and form fills and leave missed calls out.
Use a reader test before publishing
- A: current page
- Observe the starting version.
- B: one change
- Compare with the same measurement.
Ask someone unfamiliar with the network to read the page and describe where each important link will take them. If the business relationship or destination is unclear, improve the wording or placement. Then test the route on the live site.
That small review keeps link planning connected to the customer experience. Search systems matter, but the first obligation is to make the business and the next step understandable.
Request a free marketing audit to review whether your main site and microsites connect through useful, accurate journeys. The result can identify broken destinations, confusing relationships, and opportunities for clearer navigation.
