📋 Overview

When you generate articles from a topical map in OTTO, you can have internal and external links added automatically — no manual linking required after the fact. The key is configuring the Links to Include settings in AI Settings before you run article generation. This article walks you through exactly how to do that.

🗺️ How Automatic Linking Works

OTTO's AI Settings include a Links to Include section that controls two types of links inserted during content generation:

• Global Internal Links — links to other pages on your own website, helping build a connected silo structure across your topical map articles.
• Global External Links — links to third-party sources that add authority and context to the generated content.

When these settings are configured before generation, OTTO applies them automatically to every article produced from the topical map. There is no separate "Internal Linking Engine" or "Auto-Link by Map" feature — the Links to Include configuration in AI Settings is the correct tool for this workflow.

🛠️ Step-by-Step: Configure Links Before Generating Articles

1. In the left sidebar, click OTTO SEO, then open SEO Automation.
2. Locate the project or site you want to configure, then open its AI Settings.
3. Scroll to the Links to Include section.
4. To add internal links, find the Global Internal Links field. Enter the URLs from your own site that you want OTTO to link to within the generated articles. These should be key pillar pages or other topical map articles you want to interconnect.
5. To add external links, find the Global External Links field. Enter any third-party URLs you want referenced across your generated content.
6. Save your AI Settings.
7. Navigate to Content → Topical Maps in the left sidebar.
8. Select your topical map and proceed to generate articles as normal. OTTO will now apply your configured links automatically during generation.

✅ Tips for Best Results

• Add internal links before your first generation run. Links configured after articles are already generated will not be retroactively applied to existing content.
• Prioritise pillar pages and cluster hubs in your Global Internal Links list. This strengthens the silo structure across your topical map.
• Keep your link list focused. Adding too many URLs can dilute link placement. Aim for the most strategically important pages first.
• Review generated articles after the first batch to confirm links are appearing as expected before scaling to larger topical maps.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Can I add different internal links for different topical maps?
AI Settings are configured at the project or site level. If you need different link sets for different topical maps within the same project, you may need to run separate generation batches after updating the settings each time.

Will OTTO link to every URL I add on every article?
OTTO places links contextually based on relevance within the generated content. Not every URL will appear in every article — the AI selects placements where the link fits naturally.

What if I already generated articles without configuring Links to Include?
You can manually add internal links to existing articles using the editing tools in Content → Topical Maps, or regenerate articles after configuring the settings.

💬 Need More Help?

If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.