So anyone got any tips on internal link structure for small and large sites, in particular controlling link flow resulting in raising the profile of key pages... feel free to get pretty detailed as im no n00b im just finding that my efforts in this area are working around the DEWEY update pretty well and want to see if im missing anything?
Internal linking can be a great method of increasing your pages importance related to the number of links directed towards that single page. The key to a succesful internal linking structure for a website would be having a good navigation system in place. You need to ensure every page is linked to every other page and that the pages have good anchor text, which is relevant to the pages content. As well as this adding a sitemap to a website can be a great idea as the importance of a sitemap is sometimes under rated. Another strategy is not only to have a navigation system which may link to every single page but also to implement catergories in to your website so that you can then list every page again under the catergory page. Having a home page which displays the most recent article posts is also a great way to build links and to ensure readers know that you have a new article. Having an exceprt on the home page of the newest article can have some great effects on the number of page views you receive, also allowing you to add a link. Wordpress do a great homepage excerpt plug in however if like me its a basic html page then you can just make it yourself, more work but worth it. Having a "Most popular articles" box also allows you to display your best work which will increase link numbers and increase the amount of page views your website receives. Hope this helps. P.S You from Manchester, UK? If so, welcome a fellow Mancunian.
I wrote a blog post on this a while back, so apologies for not writing it all out again! http://www.clicks.ws/blog/2008/05/19/optimal-site-structure-and-hierarchy-for-seo/
The internal link structure and directory structure of your pages is very important. There is only so much stuff that you can fit on the home page.
That would spread the PR evenly among your pages. To prioritize certain pages, as the OP seems to desire, I suggest that all pages link to those prioritized pages. But do not in turn link from those main pages to all the other pages. Otherwise, you defeat the purpose. Put a lot of your secondary, less important pages two clicks from the main-emphasis pages, not just one click away.