Best Internal Linking Plugins for WordPress (Manual and AI SEO)

Internal linking can be tedious and overwhelming to conduct.

Folks who don’t have a good knowledge of what goes in and out of their site (as in blog posts) find internal linking that way most of the time.

The pain of internal linking can be clear when you add a new page — that stress of visiting related old pages for interlinking opportunities! 🤔

While internal linking can be hard and requires a perfect strategy to carry out rightly. It can’t be forsaken or taken down because the consequences can’t be easily escaped.

Thankfully internal linking tools for WordPress have come to help. 

Why are internal links important for SEO?

Internal Links are important for SEO for so many reasons.

A good internal linking structure helps both readers and search engines fully understand your content, know your most important pages, and give them deserved ranking.

The importance of internal linking is summarized below

• Good user experience and satisfaction
• Positive dwell time
• Guide search crawlers to related content
• Speeds up indexing as search bots get to discover more of your content
• Used to pass link equity

You can learn more about internal linking on WordPress.

Internal Linking Best Practices

Internal linking isn’t just pasting links upon keywords; it’s more than that especially when you’re in the arena of Search engine optimization.

Here are the best internal linking SEO Practices to always adhere to to make the most of your internal links

• Build a content hub and grow with it
• Link From your most linked content to your important pages
• Link your important pages firstly on every content and do so using optimized anchors
• Link naturally and with context not as much as possible
• Use the right Link attribute
• Avoid keyword cannibalism by linking pages with different anchors
• Visit your older content for internal linking whenever you add a new post
• Fix orphaned content (i.e., pages without incoming internal links)
• Fix dead-end content (pages without outgoing internal links)
• Implement AI internal linking using internal linking tools
• Repeat, watch your result, and adapt!

What are Internal Linking Plugins for WordPress?

Internal linking plugins are WordPress extensions that ease the SEO process of internal link building. These plugins go to the extent of incorporating advanced AIs into the work, enhancing the output and speeding up the task.

SEO internal links plugins fall under internal link building tools. They have the same mission but the formal make it so much easier for WordPress users who want to use internal linking automation on their site.

An Internal linking tool that doesn’t have a native plugin is generally more expensive than one who does. This is because — as a WordPress Plugin, the extra work involved in crawling all pages is minimized, unlike internal linking tools that work online or in the cloud.

Factors to consider when choosing the right WordPress Internal Linking Plugin

Here are the factors to consider when deciding to buy an internal linking plugin.

The terms below touch on the different features and functions that make an internal linking tool special, usable and worth the time.

Inbound Internal Link Suggestion (Add internal links from older pages)

Inbound Internal Link Suggestion should be the #1 feature you should look for in an internal linking tool.

Without the feature, you’ll still need to visit older pages after you add a new post. And that’s actually the main point of investing in an interlinking solution.

Here’s how Inbound Internal Link Suggestion works generally —

A particular page is chosen or selected. And the plugin is prompted to show internal linking opportunities from older pages.

When the tool reveals that, the user will then need to go through the list of the suggestions, accepting the right ones.

Outbound Internal Link Suggestion (Add internal links within a page)

The Outbound version of it may not be as important as the Inbound one because it suggests opportunities for internal links within a particular page, usually happening as you write or edit a page.

The internal linking tool concerned will match phrases from the content and then suggest pages that can blend with the phrases, creating easy interlinks.

The same manual process of reviewing the suggested phrases/pages is used by the end user to achieve relevant links.

AI-powered Internal Linking Automation

AI-powered Internal linking tells whether the plugin uses the power of artificial intelligence for its operation.

The AIs used commonly are NLP and Machine Learning.

Top tools also integrate with LLMs like OpenAI to perform even better work.

GSC Integration

Integration to Google Search Console allows internal linking plugins to extract more “Target Keywords” which it uses when suggesting internal linking opportunities.

The Target Keywords is just like the main unit, because the primary feature which is the Link suggestion is dependent on it.

After GSC integration, LSI keywords are pulled and the plugins can even offer more internal linking possibilities.

Note: The target keywords here ain’t the same with the one used for keyword-based linking.

Keyword-based Linking

Unlike internal link suggestion, keyword-based linking is a way to add links automatically on WordPress, often not requiring any human assistance.

It’s characterized by specifying accordingly keywords and respective pages/URLs. Then the automation follows.

Most internal linking tools have advanced the process — Instead of the traditional one-click process, a kind of directives called autolink filters are used. This enables the linking to follow a specific pattern or manner and not just linking every keyword match.

The most advanced filter is the Preview ability. It allows human interference in the work, showing them the location where the automation will be taking its toll, and giving them options to reject undesired areas.

Internal Link Report and Analysis

The Internal Link Report function of internal linking plugins provides users with an overview of the link counts on their site.

Links are mostly categorized as

• Incoming internal links
• Outgoing internal links
• And External links

The Internal Link Analysis just as its name goes deeper to uncover all the links that are present or pointing to your pages. This functionality settles the question — how to find internal links (on/to a page).

Users have flexibility such as playing around with the individual links — they can edit them right from the section.

The internal link report and analysis is also a resource where orphan pages are discovered.

Link Visualization

Link Visualization is simply put — the concrete representation of the Link Report/Analysis feature.

It reveals your interlinking and exterlinking sitemap. And orphaned pages can also be discovered through it.

The fix is done through Link suggestion which these plugins have as a primary feature.

Linked-to Domain Report and Analysis

The Linked-to Domain Report provides an overview of how many times a domain appears across your site (i.e., the number of pages it is linked from) and how many other links point to its root domain.

The Analysis section goes deeper. It lists all the pages on your site where a specific domain (including its internal pages) appears. Additionally, it shows the exact locations of these links, along with their anchor texts and URLs.

Link setting automation

Configuring link settings every time you add the same domain or link on your page/site is time-consuming.

And if you want to follow best internal linking practices, you must ensure that the boxes are ticked correctly.

Link setting automation provides a set and forget approach. You merely need to manage the applied link attribute and behavior on a Domain level, and it will take care of past and future occurrences for you.

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The features explored above are the core functions of internal linking plugins. You will likely use them as you perform internal link automation on WordPress. Beyond these features are also others, but these groups are less important and are not used as often.

Best Internal Linking Plugins (AI-powered and Manual)

Let’s now see the best internal linking tools for WordPress, for less work.

• Link Whisper — best overall internal linking plugin for WordPress and Shopify
• Linksy — 2nd seat for a clever internal link automation after Link Whisper
• LinkBoss — Best for web-based internal linking
• Linkilo — 4th seat for a clever internal link automation
• Interlinks Manager — considerable option for simplistic internal linking
• Internal Link Juicer (ILJ) — perfect specialist for keyword-based linking
• Auto links Manager — powerful keyword autolinker after ILJ
• Rank Math SEO — the only SEO link plugin here that covers beyond internal link building

Note: We have ranked the internal linking plugins following the factors we explored earlier. The nearer the tool in fulfilling those needs, the higher its ranking.

Offers —

• Link Whisper discount code (zealoff)
• Linksy discount code (zealoff)
• LinkBoss discount code (zealoff)
• Linkilo discount link
• Interlinks Manager creator’s Link
• Internal Link Juicer creator’s Link
• Autolinks Manager creator’s Link
• Rank Math SEO

1. Link Whisper as the best internal linking plugin

Link Whisper is an internal linking plugin for WordPress and Shopify that offers a range of internal link automation features including Link suggestion and keyword-based linking.

The Plugin uses the combination of basic artificial intelligence, NLP and advanced approaches like the power of OpenAI to work.

The tool also Integrates with SEO Plugins and GSC. The integration comes up with refined internal link opportunity suggestions, as more keywords are pulled.

The internal linking plugin which has occupied the #1 position in the industry for a long time—is well worth the price.

With the Plugin, you no longer have to open older content for internal link suggestions. Take that with a piece of cake though, because we have had times when the tool didn’t succeed in solving its #1 tackle.

A way to consider the tool in a manner you won’t misunderstand it — It’s a tool that can completely save the stress involved in adding internal links but it doesn’t serve all the time just like others.

Link Whisper will work better if you already have articles that are related to your new post. At that point, it is easier for it to find linkable phrases.

Above all, Link Whisper has all the features that we covered in the “factors to consider section”. And it has them at their best abilities.

The tool also comes with other features such as internal link click reports, search and replace, broken link report, related post widget, and link arrow icon.

Features —

• Inbound Internal Link Suggestion
• Outbound Internal Link Suggestion
• Open-AI integration
• NLP and Machine Learning
• GSC and SEO Plugin Integration
• Internal Link Report and Analysis 
• Link Visualization
• Keyword-based linking
• Linked-to Domain Reports
• Link setting automation
• Target Keywords
• Search and Replace
• Track Link clicks
• Add Related Posts
• Link Arrow Icon.

Pros —

• The task of visiting older pages for internal linking sake is taken care of
• Open-AI integration
• Time-saving and stress-relief

Cons —

• Link suggestion can disappoint sometimes albeit powered by AI Language Model

Choose IF —

• You want the best internal linking plugin overall
• You want the best internal linking app for Shopify
• You want the best Link suggestion tool
• You only want natural placement not fully automated solution

Use Link Whisper coupon code (zealoff) to save $15 on your next purchase.

Learn how to use Link Whisper to automate internal linking.

Read the full Link Whisper Review to know it all!

2. Linksy as the second choice for an internal linking plugin

Linksy is an AI-powered internal linking plugin for WordPress for less work. The Plugin uses NLP and other Artificial intelligence to make internal linking a breeze.

The Link suggestion, which is the #1 feature of interlinking tools is great here. The quality is the same as that of Link Whisper.

The keyword-based linking also comes with the needed filters that make arriving at the desired point very attainable.

Linksy Plugin also integrates with GSC and SEO Plugins to pull relevant keywords which is one of the components it uses to find link-able places.

For the price, Linksy is affordable and well worth the price for the time and stress it saves.

When installed, one mostly doesn’t need to visit older content any longer for internal linking opportunities. Linksy does that for you through the power of AI.

Regarding the features present in the “factors to consider…”  section, Linksy possess them all plus extras that ease the process of internal link building.

These are the other features that Linksy offers — search and replace, broken link report, anchors cloud, focus keyword rating and playground, etc.

Features—

• Inbound Internal Link Suggestion
• Outbound Internal Link Suggestion
• NLP and other AI
• GSC and SEO Plugin Integration
• Internal Link Report and Analysis
• Keyword-based linking
• Linked-to Domain Reports
• Link setting automation
• Target Keywords
• Search and Replace
• Focus keyword rating
• Playground keyword research 
• Broken link report
• Anchors cloud
• Paragraph Rewriter
• And More

Pros—

• The task of visiting older pages for internal linking sake is taken care of
• Time-saving and stress-relief

Cons—

• Link suggestion can disappoint sometimes

Choose IF—

• You want a good Link suggestion tool
• You need a Link Whisper alternative that works

Use Linksy discount code (zealoff) to save 10% off!

Read Linksy Plugin review.

3. LinkBoss for web-based linking

LinkBoss is a cloud-based interlinking tool for WordPress. A Plugin connects the system to WP.

It’s powered by NLP and Machine learning — LinkBoss has the core feature — Link suggestion which is required for interlinking automation to take place.

LinkBoss is relatively new to the market. In terms of price, it’s costlier than dedicated wordpress plugins that run on the CMS. This is owing to its cloud-based nature which seeks more resources for page crawling and all of them.

It’s also worth noting that the Plugin lacks many good features compared to the first two tools on the list. And it happened to be costlier.

LinkBoss just like the main aim of WordPress internal linking plugins stops you from opening older pages for link-able places after adding a new post.

For the main features to consider when buying a Plugin in this category, LinkBoss nearly has them all. Some others like GSC integration are still on their roadmap.

Where LinkBoss seems to beat the competition is the area of bulk linking (which is different from keyword-based linking). Bulk linking uses the power of AI to assign pages to related ones and subsequently merge them using AI-generated sections placed on your content. The AI-generated section carries the anchor text and the page URL which points to another.

LinkBoss doesn’t have keyword-based linking yet.

Features—

• Inbound Internal Link Suggestion
• Outbound Internal Link Suggestion
• NLP and Machine Learning
• SEO Plugin Integration
• Internal Link Report and Analysis
• Linked-to Domain Reports
• Anchor Analysis
• Bulk Linking

Pros—

• The task of visiting older pages for internal linking sake is taken care of
• Time-saving and stress-relief

Cons—

• Link suggestion can disappoint sometimes
• Takes time before the Link appears on live site
• Bulk linking is fond of irrelevant placement 
• Expensive

Choose IF—

• You want a good Link suggestion tool
• You want the best one-click plugin for internal linking (i.e., bulk linking)
• You want the best Internal linking plugin in terms of setting up Silos

Use LinkBoss discount code (zealoff) to save 10% off!

Or read the full review of LinkBoss.

4. Linkilo — a promising plugin with fresh approaches to link automation

Linkilo is an internal linking plugin for WordPress made to help you stop doing internal linking the hard way—especially if you run a big site with many posts.

The Plugin doesn’t use AI for now, but it still does a great job by helping you find internal link opportunities. It works in two ways: it shows link suggestions inside the content you’re writing (outbound links), and it also helps you build links to that content from your older posts (inbound links).

Let’s start with the Inbound Internal Link Suggestion. The feature is called “Add URLs to Older Posts.” You pick a page and then the plugin scans your other content to find where it can add links to that page. You’ll see matching phrases and suggested pages. You just go through the list, check the right ones, and links are created.

The Outbound Internal Link Suggestion happens as you write. Linkilo will spot phrases in your content and suggest matching pages that can link from those phrases. You can edit the anchor, swap the link, or add your own. There’s also a “Related Posts” box that shows up on the editor, making it easy to copy every relevant link.

Now, Linkilo doesn’t use OpenAI, NLP, or any deep AI stuff like Link Whisper. So its link matching isn’t as smart. But if you just want to link stuff quickly, it gets the job done.

It also comes with Auto-linking. You enter your keyword and a target link, and Linkilo will turn the keyword into a hyperlink whenever it appears. You can also choose where to apply or skip the links before publishing—no blind automation.

It supports Internal Link Analysis, but it only shows the links used inside that page. It doesn’t show incoming links from other pages. Still, you’ll see the anchor texts and links used, so you can keep track.

Other cool stuff:

• Link Preview: shows page info when you hover over a link.
• Keyword/Link Cannibalization Report: helps you fix cases where one keyword links to multiple pages.

What it doesn’t have:

• Link Visualization
• Domain report features
• Link setting automation
• GSC or SEO plugin integration
• AI-powered keyword suggestions

But that aside, Linkilo is a great plugin to consider—especially if you want something simple, neat, and that covers the basics of internal linking.

Features —

• Inbound Internal Link Suggestion
• Outbound Internal Link Suggestion
• Keyword-based linking (Auto-linking)
• Internal Link Analysis (within a page)
• Anchor Text Report
• Link Preview
• Keyword/Link Cannibalization Report
• Related Posts box

Pros —

• You don’t have to open older posts to build internal links
• Gives link suggestions as you write
• You can control how auto-links are applied

Cons —

• No AI/NLP — link suggestions are basic
• Doesn’t show incoming links from other posts
• No OpenAI or advanced filters

Choose IF —

• You want a simple plugin for internal linking
• You need an alternative to Link Whisper

Or, check the Linkilo Review to see everything it can do.

5. Interlinks Manager as a simple WordPress internal linking plugin

Interlinks manager is a WordPress Plugin built by DAEXT for internal link building.

The Plugin currently doesn’t make use of AI in its work. But it still works with some technology like contextual analysis and thesaurus match.

The core feature which we always look for — internal link suggestion — is different in form compared to other plugins explored above. It’s merely a basic version. And it only happens as you write. That’s to say, it doesn’t dig for opportunities in other content.

The Link suggestion is presented like a list of related pages and users can copy the links, then manually place them on their site.

While interlinks manager didn’t do a good job in internal link suggestions. It offers other useful features such as anchor text analysis, keyword-based linking, internal link report and optimization, and others.

The Plugin’s value in price is comparable to what it has to offer. At $39/year, you can get your hand on the Plugin for one site.

Overall, interlink manager can be considered as a simplistic plugin for internal linking. Its sister Plugin, the Autolinks Manager from the same company, may be needed to slightly access the offerings of top tools like Link Whisper.

Features—

• Basic Link suggestion
• Keyword-based linking
• Internal Link Report
• Broken Link Report

Pros—

• Time-saving and stress-relief
• Very cheap

Cons—

• You still have to struggle finding internal linking opportunities
• You still have to visit older content after adding a new content
• Its Keyword-based linking doesn’t support external links 

Choose IF—

• You want a simplistic solution at a lower price
• You already have its sister product, the Autolinks Manager to pair with it.

6. Internal Link Juicer for keyword-based linking

Internal Link Juicer is one of the long-standing SEO Interlinks Plugin.

ILJ uses target keywords to connect internal pages together; the Plugin doesn’t offer helpful internal linking features like the Link suggestion and Link Analysis.

Its main approach is to use provided target keywords to link pages throughout your site. With a range of filters to control the Autolinks, you can pilot the keyword-based linking in a sensible manner.

Overall, the Internal Link Juicer is just an auto-linker. So therefore, users must still struggle with finding internal linking opportunities.

Features—

• Advanced keyword-based linking
• Autolinks Report
• Import and export of autolinks

Pros—

• Keyword-based linking
• Time-saving and stress-relief

Cons—

• You still have to struggle finding internal linking opportunities
• You still have to visit older content after adding a new content
• Just a keyword linker plugin

Choose IF— You only need keyword-based linking

7. Autolinks Manager as an SEO interlinks plugin

Autolinks Manager is a sister product of Interlinks manager. They comprehend each other but can’t replace themselves.

Interlinks manager is built primarily for internal link building whereas Autolink manager specializes on keyword-based linking.

That said, Autolinks manager takes things further. Starting from where interlink manager stopped, the Plugin allows all link types to get linked (not just internal links).

Autolinks Manager comes with a great number of filters that drive the auto linking Job. The Plugin and her sister have one of the best filters in town.

Autolink’s usefulness can only be seen by those who want to completely automate the task of converting keywords to links. Commendably, it gives you a preview feature which allows you to view autolinks before they are converted to Links.

Features—

• Advanced Automatic Linking
• Autolinks Tracking and Click Analytics

Pros—

• Advanced keyword-based linking
• Time-saving and stress-relief

Cons— Doesn’t deal with internal linking

8. Rank Math internal linking

Rank Math is rated as the best SEO WordPress Plugin for a lot of reasons. Its ability to touch interlinking areas is one of those reasons.

After making a page a “pillar”, the Plugin will start suggesting it as a worthy internal link in your other content, usually related to the pillar.

Here’s a complete guide on how to implement the power of Rank Math internal linking

1. Enable Link Suggestions

Navigate to Rank Math SEO → Titles & Meta → Posts (or the relevant post type) in your WordPress dashboard.

Ensure you are in Advanced Mode.

Scroll down to the “Link Suggestions” feature and toggle it to “Activated”. 

2. Identify Pillar Content:

Mark important pages as “pillar content” within Rank Math. Rank Math will prioritize these pages in link suggestions.

To mark a page as pillar content, hover over the Rank Math section at the top bar (as you edit the page), scroll down and tick the box “This post is Pillar Content”.

3. Utilize Link Suggestions

When writing a post, Rank Math will provide link suggestions based on the content and categories.

You can choose to display these suggestions as the suggested post title or keyword.

These suggestions will include pages marked as pillar content within the same category. 

4. Optimize Anchor Texts:

Use descriptive anchor texts that accurately reflect the content of the linked page.

Avoid generic phrases like “click here” and instead opt for specific terms that describe the content in 2-5 words.

Make sure to use relevant keywords and avoid keyword stuffing. 

6. Link Counter

Rank Math’s link counter keeps track of internal, external, and incoming links.

This can help you monitor your internal linking strategy and identify areas for improvement.

You can use this to detect orphan content on your site which can be hurting your SEO ranking.

Harmonizing Automated Internal Linking with Rank Math

Rank Math and Internal Linking Plugins have some common features that aid internal linking.

That’s why we initially compared Link Whisper and Rank Math.

The first-choice is Rank Math of course.

It’s not just with internal linking features but incorporates all you need to come up with an Seo-optimized site.

Link Whisper and other internal linking plugins are dispensable since proper interlinking can be performed manually.

Rank Math and SEO Plugins have become one of the must-have assets for bloggers and content creators alike.

Let’s quickly see how Rank Math works hand in glove with internal linking plugins —

The brain of internal linking tools is the target keywords (called focus key phrases in SEO WordPress Plugins).

Every internal linking tool requires that for it to work.

The focus/target keywords are used as the element of the Link suggestion. It directs these plugins on how they should suggest opportunities for internal linking.

In order to pull the focus keywords you have already set, SEO Interlinks Plugins integrate with Rank Math and all the key phrases are collected to their database, eliminating double work.

Typically, the keyword import from Rank Math works automatically when you install an internal linking tool.

That said, it’s accurate to say that these plugins may not work as supposed if you don’t have Rank Math or other SEO Plugin yet.

You have to enter the target keywords manually without an SEO Plugin.

Internal Linking Plugins comparison

Let’s quickly compare the best internal linking plugins to facilitate swift decision-making.

Now for a smart comparison, lets go back to the “factors to consider before buying” section. It is a two-way review; both reader and author are doing the work.

Lets summarize the factors/features as —

• ILS, Inbound Link Suggestion
• OLS, Outbound Link Suggestion
• AI, AI-powered Internal Linking
• INT, Integration to GSC, SEO Plugin, and LLM
• KBL, Keyword-based linking
• KBLP, Keyword-based linking preview
• ILR, Internal Link Report
• ILA, Internal Link Analysis
• LV, Link Visualization
• LDR, Linked-to Domain Report
• LDA, Linked-to Domain Analysis
• LSA, Link setting automation

Conclusion

Internal linking tools for WordPress have become one of the best selling apps this time of AI.

With some internal linking plugins incorporating the power of the Large Language Model to their Link suggestion, target keyword generation and some of their functions, it’s worth trying these plugins and see what they can do.

AI has revolutionized a lot of SEO tasks; internal linking is being gradually covered. And we expect complete dominance in the foreseeable future.

Start using AI internal linking tools today!

FAQs

What’s the best internal linking plugin?

The best internal linking plugin overall would be determined based on a lot of factors. 

The relevancy of the link suggestion, integration with other Software (whether it integrates with LLMs like OpenAI), and how helpful its other features are.

After reviewing the best internal linking tools, we were able to extract one as the best overall. It is Link Whisper, which now integrates with OpenAI to suggest even better links.

Can I automate internal linking with confidence?

Even though LLM power has been brought into internal linking automation, we still don’t have the full confidence of contextual/natural linking results from fully automated solutions.

However, if you’re talking about Link suggestion, which follows the semi-automation approach, then Yes!!!

Because humans can review the suggested new internal links, the confidence of contextual linking is there.

Is Internal Link Automation risky?

Starting from 2024 till date, there’s no more risk associated with adding internal links automatically as much as you’re using the leading plugins.

Even keyword autolinkers which SEOs criticized aforetime have now added Autolink filters and settings which regulate the whole process.

The links created with the internal linking plugins on this post remain forever even after you uninstall the plugins. You can also return back to a previous state too.

Permit me to say — It’s riskier to still remain on manual link building than implement interlinking automation as competitors who use the new method can overtake you anytime.

Internal linking costs time. And you can use those periods to create more content.

What about internal linking tools (not just plugins)?

Internal linking tools is a general name and it includes software that operate online and off WordPress.

You can see the masterpiece to see what options we have as leading names — internal linking tools for less work!

What are the best SEO links Plugin

The best SEO Link plugins include Link Whisper and Rank Math. Internal linking plugins fall under the category.

SEO links generally involve plugins that deal with search engine optimization while also helping to streamline internal linking.