Backlink allocation for multi-product sites: a simple plan

The problem: one product gets all the SEO power

On a multi-product site, authority hoarding looks like this: one product line ranks for most terms, gets most organic traffic, and takes most conversions. Other product lines stay stuck on page two or three even when they’re profitable, well-made, and supported by decent pages.

The cause is often simple. Backlinks get built wherever it feels easiest. One product has a popular post, a better story, or a page that already ranks a little, so it keeps attracting links (or you keep pointing links to it). Over time, that section becomes the obvious winner and the rest looks weaker by comparison.

That unevenness matters because Google doesn’t treat all pages as equal. Links act like votes and context. If most of your strongest links land in one section, that section sends louder signals about importance and expertise. Other sections get fewer signals and struggle to compete, even with good content.

A clear topical story is just a consistent message: your site covers a few main product themes, and each theme has its own set of pages that support it. When backlinks and internal links match that structure, it’s easier for search engines (and people) to understand what each product line is about and which pages deserve to rank.

One caution: you’re shaping signals, not controlling rankings. You can’t force outcomes by moving links around like chess pieces. But you can stop accidental favoritism and give every product line a fair shot by planning where authority should go before you build the next links.

Decide what “balanced” means for your site

Balanced doesn’t mean every product gets the same number of links. It means your backlink plan matches how you want the business to grow, without letting one product line quietly absorb all the authority.

Start by choosing one or two business goals that matter right now. If you try to optimize for everything, you’ll end up feeding the loudest product (usually the one that already ranks).

Common goal pairings that work well:

• Protect the revenue driver while growing a newer line.
• Push a seasonal line for a fixed window, then shift back.
• Grow a high-retention product even if it’s not the biggest seller yet.
• Expand into a new category without weakening your core topic.

Then define “fair distribution” in numbers. For example: 60% of new links support the main line, 30% go to the growth line, 10% go to experiments. The point is to make tradeoffs visible before you build links.

Set a time horizon. A quick lift (4 to 8 weeks) usually needs tighter focus on fewer pages. Steady growth (3 to 6 months) can spread links across more product lines while keeping the topic story consistent.

Track a small set of outcomes so you don’t drift into vanity metrics:

• Non-branded rankings for each product line.
• Organic leads or trials by product.
• Assisted conversions (organic helped, even if it didn’t close).
• Share of organic traffic by product line.
• Movement in priority keywords, not just total keywords.

Example: if Product A pays the bills, Product B is strategic, and Product C is seasonal, you might allocate links 50/30/20 for the next quarter, then re-check monthly and adjust based on results.

Map product lines to a clean topic structure

If you want link equity distribution to work on a multi-product site, you need a clear story about what topics you cover and where each product line lives. Without that, links get sprayed around or they pile onto the one page that already performs well.

Start by listing your product lines and the pages that represent them. For most sites, the best “representative” pages are category pages, collection pages, or hub pages (strong overviews that can naturally earn and hold authority). Individual product pages can still win, but they’re rarely the best place to concentrate most backlinks.

Build themes customers actually use

Group products into themes a customer would recognize, not how your org chart is set up. A theme should match one clear search intent. “Email security” is a theme. “Enterprise Solutions Group” isn’t.

Before you pick link targets, mark pages that shouldn’t receive backlinks because they can’t carry the story:

• Thin pages with little substance or unclear purpose.
• Near-duplicates (same products, tiny differences).
• Temporary promo pages.
• Pages blocked from indexing or not meant to rank.
• Pages you’ll replace soon.

Now draw a simple map of how authority should flow. Keep it small enough to explain in one breath:

Theme -> hub page -> supporting pages

Supporting pages can be guides, comparisons, key subcategories, or use cases that add detail without competing with the hub.

A quick example

Imagine you sell three lines: payroll software, time tracking, and benefits admin. Instead of sending backlinks to whichever product is trending, create three themes with one hub each (like “Payroll software for small teams”), then connect supporting pages beneath each hub (pricing, integrations, use cases). That way, when you earn or place high-authority backlinks, you already know which hub is meant to represent each theme and you avoid accidental winners hoarding the authority.

Choose the right target page type for each product line

A good plan starts with choosing the right kind of page to receive links. If you point everything at the highest-converting product page, one product line often wins by accident and the rest stays invisible.

Think in terms of page jobs. “Money pages” are built to sell. They can rank, but they’re usually harder to cite. Explainers and comparisons exist to teach and help people decide, so they’re easier to reference and more natural link targets.

Hubs vs individual product pages

As a rule, send most external links to a page that can represent the whole product line, then use internal linking between products and supporting pages to feed the important product URLs.

A simple way to choose:

• Use a hub page when a product line has multiple SKUs or use cases.
• Use an explainer when people need education before they buy.
• Use a comparison page when buyers are choosing between options.
• Link directly to a single product page only when it’s the main thing you sell and it has enough real content to deserve links.

Example: if you sell Analytics, CRM, and Billing, each line should have one strong “home” page (a hub or guide). Backlinks go to those three pages first. Then you internally link out to key pages (pricing, features, integrations) so the whole line benefits.

Products that fit two themes

Some products sit in two topics, like “CRM for agencies” and “CRM integrations.” Pick one primary home for backlinks (the page that best matches the main search intent). Support the secondary theme with internal links and a short section on the primary page.

Pick an allocation model that fits reality

A good model stops “whoever shouts loudest” from taking all the links. For SEO for multi-product websites, start by grouping product lines by business role, not by whoever has the biggest search volume this month.

A practical approach is three buckets: protect what pays the bills, invest in what matters next, and still feed smaller pages that capture specific intent.

A starting split many teams can follow:

• Core revenue: 60% of new backlinks.
• Strategic growth: 30% of new backlinks.
• Supporting long-tail: 10% of new backlinks.

Treat these as defaults, not rules carved in stone. Early-stage companies often lean heavier on growth. Mature catalogs may raise the long-tail share to maintain depth.

Rules that prevent chaos

Set a couple of rules now so you don’t renegotiate every month.

For launches, give a temporary boost, then normalize. Example: for the first 6 to 8 weeks, move 10% from Core revenue into Strategic growth for the launch, then return to baseline.

For seasonal lines, front-load links before the peak. Example: shift 10% to 20% into the seasonal product line for 4 to 6 weeks ahead of the busy period, then stop. Once the season passes, don’t keep feeding it just because it performed well last month.

Step by step: a simple backlink allocation process

This works best as a routine, not a one-off push. The goal is straightforward: build authority across product lines without confusing search engines about what your site is really about.

Start with an inventory of where you already have momentum: which pages have the strongest backlinks, which pages rank, and which product line gets most organic visits. This shows whether one product is soaking up attention.

Next, pick a small set of targets you can support. A practical set is 5 to 10 pages that matter for revenue or positioning, spread across product lines.

Then set anchor text themes before you place anything. Keep it varied but sensible: brand mentions, category or problem phrases, product-family wording (not a single SKU every time), and natural anchors that read like a real citation.

Plan timing. If you dump a burst of links onto one page in a week, you create an obvious spike and you starve other product lines. Spread placements over several weeks and rotate targets so each line makes steady progress.

Document every placement: target URL, product line, anchor theme, date, and what you expected it to improve. When one line starts pulling ahead again, those notes make rebalancing faster and less emotional.

Keep the topical story clear while spreading authority

The goal isn’t to “share power” randomly. It’s to make Google and customers understand what each product line is about, while still giving every line a fair shot.

Write a one-paragraph topic story for each product line: what problem it solves, who it’s for, and what makes it different. If you can’t explain it in 3 to 5 sentences, your pages will probably feel mixed too.

Match that story to a tight set of keywords and the page types that can rank for them. Most product lines need one strong “main” page (hub or category) plus a few supporting pages (use cases, comparisons, FAQs). That gives you clear places to point backlinks without turning every page into a catch-all.

Signals your topical story is staying clean:

• The target page answers one main intent (buy, compare, learn, or choose).
• The keywords are closely related, not “same audience, different topic.”
• The page mostly links to pages inside the same product line.
• If you removed the product line from the page, it would feel incomplete.

Avoid the temptation to build links to a “mega” page that mentions every product just to spread authority. That usually weakens relevance and makes rankings less stable.

Use internal linking to support your backlink plan

Backlinks rarely land evenly across every product line. Internal links are how you turn a few strong wins into planned growth, without making your strongest product even more dominant.

Start by choosing hub pages for each product line. These hubs explain the topic clearly (category page, solution overview, or guide). When a hub gets stronger, it can pass value to the product pages that need rankings.

Supporting content helps without forcing links where they don’t fit. A short use-case page (for example, “How teams use X for monthly reporting”) can naturally link to the right products and keep the story clean: problem -> approach -> product.

A simple rule that prevents authority hoarding

Pick one rule set and use it every time you publish or update content:

• Each product-line hub links to a small set of priority pages.
• Every priority product page links back to its hub.
• New supporting content links to one hub and one relevant product page.
• Cap “featured” links to the already-dominant product inside other hubs.

If Product A has most of your backlinks, keep it as a normal option inside its own hub. But let the hub also point to Products B and C when they genuinely match user needs. You’re not hiding Product A. You’re letting structure do its job.

Example: rebalancing links across three product lines

A multi-product site sells (1) Project Management, (2) Customer Support, and (3) HR Tools. Project Management got early press, so most backlinks keep landing there. Rankings look great for that line, but the other two struggle to break onto page one.

Before (what’s happening now):

After (rebalanced targets):

What changes first isn’t the long-tail. It’s the pages that can carry a whole product line.

Improve one hub per product line (clear promise, key features, who it’s for). Choose 1 to 2 category pages per line that match how people search. Point most new backlinks to hubs and categories, not to the single “best” product page. Save minor features and small integrations for later, after the hub is stable.

The trade-off is real: the dominant product might dip a little in the short term because it’s not receiving every new link. But the site often wins overall when Support and HR start ranking for their own terms and the flagship product still benefits from stronger hubs reinforcing it.

Common mistakes that cause authority hoarding

Authority hoarding usually isn’t “bad SEO.” It’s normal business behavior: you push what sells. The problem is that links are slow to earn and fast to waste, so a few habits can lock gains into one product line.

Over-targeting the one page that converts best is the classic trap. Sending links to the same money page feels safe, but it leaves the rest of the catalog with no path to grow. A healthier pattern is to separate “revenue priority” from “link priority” so the site can expand in more than one place.

Another mistake is pointing links at weak pages that aren’t ready. If a product-line page has thin copy, unclear intent, or no real reason to exist beyond a sales pitch, backlinks won’t stick. Fix the page first (clear promise, proof, FAQs, comparisons), then build.

Anchor text can also cause problems. Using the same anchor everywhere looks unnatural and pushes relevance into a narrow corner. Mix brand mentions, partial phrases, and natural wording that matches how people talk.

Changing targets too often is a quieter issue. If you switch destinations every week, you never learn what worked. Pick a simple plan, run it for a full cycle, then review.

Finally, many teams skip hub pages and only build links to individual products. That makes each product fight alone. A strong hub can collect authority and pass it down through internal links, which supports cleaner topical authority planning over time.

Quick checklist before you build the next links

Before you place the next backlink, do a quick check to make sure you’re not feeding the same product line by habit.

• Each product line has one clear hub page picked in advance.
• Your next batch of targets is mixed on purpose (at least two product lines represented).
• Anchor text reads like a normal mention, not a forced exact match.
• The hub passes value to priority pages in that product line.
• You have a review date on the calendar to rebalance.

If you want this to be repeatable, write the chosen hub pages and the next 10 targets in a simple doc before any placements. That one step prevents “whatever page feels important today” from taking over.

Next steps: make link placement predictable and repeatable

The easiest way to stop authority hoarding is to treat links like a monthly budget. Start small and build a routine you can follow.

Pick a monthly allocation (even 4 to 8 links total) and assign them to the hub pages you mapped. Then watch for movement for 4 to 6 weeks before changing anything. One product line often reacts fast while another needs more time, so avoid reshuffling after a few days.

Write the plan down where it survives team changes: the target hubs per product line, what went live, which anchor was used, and what you expected to improve. Check results monthly and rebalance quarterly based on what’s underperforming, not on who asks loudest.

If your plan depends on getting placements on specific authoritative sites, it helps to remove uncertainty. For example, SEOBoosty (seoboosty.com) is built around premium backlinks from high-authority websites, so you can choose domains from a curated inventory and point each link to the hub pages you planned, rather than defaulting to the current top seller.

Keep the system boring on purpose. Consistency is what stops one product line from quietly taking all the authority.