11. Site Map & Internal Link Plan

2️⃣ Site Map & Internal Link Plan for WordsHealMe.com

Think in terms of pillars (big evergreen pages) and supporting content (articles, journeys, practices). The good news: you’ve already built the pillars.

A. Core Site Map (Top-Level)

Main navigation:

  1. Home /

  2. Start Here /start-here/

  3. Why Words Heal /why-words-heal/

  4. Self-Talk Practices /self-talk-practices/

  5. Healing Journeys /healing-journeys/

  6. Audio & Meditations /audio-meditations/

  7. Articles & Teachings /articles-teachings/

  8. About & Contact /about-contact/

Optional later:
9. Spiritual Reflections or Jesus & Pure Mind (if you want that branch separated for some visitors).

B. Supporting Pages & Slugs

You can treat these as child pages (or just logically grouped):

1. Healing Journeys

  • /healing-journeys/words-heal-me-day-1/

  • /healing-journeys/words-heal-me-day-2/ …

  • /healing-journeys/it-all-belongs-in-love-day-1/ (future)

  • /healing-journeys/anxiety-self-talk-day-1/ (future)

  • /healing-journeys/meeting-pain-with-kindness-day-1/ (future)

  • /healing-journeys/28-day-gentle-self-talk/ (overview + weeks/days)

Internal link tip:
From every Day X page, link:

  • Back to Healing Journeys

  • To Self-Talk Practices (matching the theme, e.g. anxiety)

  • To 1–2 relevant Audio tracks

This creates a triangle: Journey ↔ Practices ↔ Audio.

2. Audio & Meditations

You can create one page per key track or group them:

  • /audio-meditations/3-minute-grounding/

  • /audio-meditations/im-here-with-you/

  • /audio-meditations/softening-anxiety-short/

  • /audio-meditations/anxiety-softening/

  • /audio-meditations/it-all-belongs-in-love/

  • /audio-meditations/evening-letting-go/

  • /audio-meditations/words-heal-me-series/ (future)

  • /audio-meditations/anxiety-series/ (future)

Each track page should link back to:

  • Audio & Meditations hub

  • A relevant Healing Journey (if it’s part of one)

  • A relevant Self-Talk Practices section (e.g. anxiety, grief)

3. Articles & Teachings

Use clean, keyword-friendly slugs:

  • /articles-teachings/words-and-the-nervous-system/

  • /articles-teachings/freeze-and-soft-phrases/

  • /articles-teachings/meeting-inner-criticism/

  • /articles-teachings/grief-and-gentle-words/

  • /articles-teachings/self-talk-and-vagus-nerve/ (future)

  • /articles-teachings/fight-flight-freeze-and-words/ (future)

  • /articles-teachings/noticing-without-judgment/ (future)

  • /articles-teachings/everyday-mindful-phrases/ (future)

  • /articles-teachings/it-all-belongs-in-love/

  • /articles-teachings/jesus-and-gentle-self-talk/ (future)

  • /articles-teachings/pure-mind-and-healing-words/ (future)

Each article should link to:

  • Why Words Heal – when explaining the nervous system

  • Self-Talk Practices – when you give phrases

  • A relevant Healing Journey – when you want them to go deeper

  • 1–2 related articles (“Further reading” block at the end)

C. Recommended Internal Link Pattern

Here’s a simple pattern so visitors never hit a dead end:

1. Home /

Already good:

  • Links to Start Here, Why Words Heal, Self-Talk Practices, Healing Journeys, Audio, Articles, About.

  • Also includes a 7-day email opt-in.

2. Start Here

At the bottom (you already have this):

  • Link to Why Words Heal (understanding)

  • Link to Self-Talk Practices (doing)

  • Link to Healing Journeys (deeper path)

  • Link to Audio & Meditations (supportive voice)

This page becomes your “first aid + orientation” hub.

3. Why Words Heal

  • Within body copy, link to:

    • Articles (for deeper theory / examples)

    • Self-Talk Practices (to apply the concepts)

    • Healing Journeys (to commit to a path)

  • At the end: a small “Next Steps” box pointing clearly to those 3.

4. Self-Talk Practices

In each section:

  • Anxiety → link to:

    • Anxiety-related journey once live

    • Anxiety-related audio

    • Any article on anxiety/freeze

  • Pain & Illness → link to:

    • Pain journey

    • Audio for pain or body-kindness

    • Articles on body, nervous system

  • Shame & Criticism → link to:

    • Inner critic/judgment article

    • A relevant journey (Words Heal Me)

    • Any audio about self-acceptance

  • Grief & Loss → link to:

    • Grief article

    • A grief-oriented journey (later)

    • Soft evening audio

  • Body → link to:

    • Nervous system / vagus nerve articles

    • Body-focused journey/day

    • Audio about body-awareness

This will make Self-Talk Practices feel like a practical library.

5. Healing Journeys

On the Healing Journeys hub (done), plus each Day:

  • Link to Self-Talk Practices (for extra phrases)

  • Link to 1–2 Audio tracks

  • At the end of Day 7 (or 28), link to:

    • “Try another journey”

    • “Read more on this theme” (Articles)

    • “Share your reflections” (Contact, later if you wish)

6. Audio & Meditations

At bottom of each page or each track:

  • “Pair this with” links:

    • One Journey

    • One Self-Talk Practices section

    • One Why Words Heal or related article

7. Articles & Teachings

End of each article:

  • “If this speaks to you, you might like…”:

    • One Self-Talk Practices page

    • One Healing Journey

    • One Audio track

8. About & Contact

  • Inside the story:

    • Link back to Start Here or Self-Talk Practices where it fits naturally.

  • Under “How this site can help”:

    • Text links to Healing Journeys, Audio, and Articles.

D. Simple SEO Keyword Focus (Soft, Not Spammy)

Just to hold in the back of your mind while you write/edit:

  • Main themes / phrases:

    • healing self-talk

    • gentle self-talk

    • self-talk for anxiety

    • self-talk for grief

    • self-talk for shame

    • self-talk for pain

    • healing words / words that heal

    • anxiety and the nervous system

    • freeze response and trauma

You’re already naturally writing these; we’ll just let them appear in:

  • H1 / H2 headings

  • First paragraphs

  • Link anchor text (e.g., self-talk for anxiety rather than just “click here”).

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