Smart Link Manager – internal linking for WordPress
Smart Link Manager inserts internal links according to your phrase rules, the moment the page renders. Post content in the database stays untouched, and you can undo any change instantly.
What is automatic internal linking?
Automatic internal linking means links between pages on the same domain, added by rules instead of by hand. They help readers find related content, and help search engine crawlers work through the whole site.
Smart Link Manager is a WordPress plugin that automates internal linking based on phrase rules. Instead of editing hundreds of posts, you set the rules once and the plugin applies them across the whole site.
SEO specialists
SEO specialists get a repeatable, controlled linking process. You set the rules once and scale them across the whole site.
Blogs and content sites
Blogs and content sites publish often, and at that pace linking easily falls apart. The plugin connects related articles and brings older posts back to the surface.
Agencies
Agencies running multiple WordPress sites need a predictable process. The same rules and the same rebuild process work for every client.
Business websites
Business websites guide visitors with links to related services and materials. The site structure becomes clearer without editing content in the database.
How does Smart Link Manager work?
Smart Link Manager works in three steps – from a rule to links visible in the content. Post content in the database stays untouched throughout.
How much does Smart Link Manager Premium cost?
The free version is free with no time limit. You can buy Premium monthly, yearly, or as a lifetime license, for 1 or 5 sites – the price updates instantly as you choose an option.
Free version
Free
no time limit
Internal linking based on phrase rules, link limits and a linking overview. Download it from the WordPress.org directory.
Premium version
$49.9
per year
Everything from the free version, plus external links, regular expressions, context words, priorities, a link map and the AI connector (MCP).
Prices are net. VAT is added at Freemius checkout, where you can pay by card or via PayPal.
How does the free version differ from Premium?
The free version handles full internal linking. Premium adds external links, more precise rules and analysis tools. We’ve split the comparison into four feature groups.
Rules and phrase matching
Both versions match phrases assigned to posts, and Premium adds more precise rules:
| Feature | Free | Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Phrases assigned to the destination post You add phrases in the metabox of the page the links should point to. A phrase higher on the list takes priority. | Yes | Yes |
| Tokens [string] and [words] Tokens match word endings and extra words, e.g. [string:5] or [words:max2]. A single rule then covers variants of the phrase. | Yes | Yes |
| Rules with regular expressions A regular expression covers many variants of a phrase with a single rule. It works for internal and external links, without case sensitivity. | No | Yes |
| Context words The link appears only when the specified words occur in the same HTML element. The phrase doesn’t get linked in a different sense. | No | Yes |
| Importing phrases from Internal Link Juicer A sync screen brings phrases over from the Internal Link Juicer plugin and skips duplicates. | No | Yes |
Internal and external links
Internal links work in both versions, external links only in Premium:
| Feature | Free | Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Internal links in content, excerpts and widgets Links get added to content the moment the page renders. The post content stored in the database doesn’t change. | Yes | Yes |
| rel, title, aria-label attributes and CSS class In the free version you set them globally for all links. Premium also lets you assign them to each external rule. | Yes | Yes |
| External link rules A separate screen matches phrases to addresses outside your site. Each rule has its own attributes, a per-page limit and a post scope. | No | Yes |
Linking control and limits
Limits and exclusions are in both versions, and page priorities are in Premium:
| Feature | Free | Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Link limits You set how many links can point to a single destination page and how many links a page can have in total. By default that’s 1 link per destination, with no overall limit. | Yes | Yes |
| Exclusions and linking scope You choose content types, HTML elements to skip and a minimum text length. You can exclude a single post from outgoing links. | Yes | Yes |
| Destination page priority 0–100 When several destination pages compete for links, the one with the higher priority wins. | No | Yes |
Index, analysis and tools
The index and linking overview work in both versions, and Premium adds analysis tools:
| Feature | Free | Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Background index rebuild The index rebuilds in batches through WP-Cron, and you can see progress in the admin bar. The plugin doesn’t send loopback requests. | Yes | Yes |
| Linking overview and scheduled scans The overview shows targets, phrases and the number of incoming links. You can run a scan manually, or schedule it daily or weekly. | Yes | Yes |
| JSON import and export A JSON file moves settings, phrases and post settings between sites. | Yes | Yes |
| Visual link map A radial graph or a tree shows how the pages on your site connect to each other. | No | Yes |
| Exporting pages and rules to CSV A CSV sheet lists pages and their rules, for example for an SEO audit. | No | Yes |
| Link aggregators Manually built sets of links, grouped alphabetically or by category. You insert them with a shortcode as a grid or a list. | No | Yes |
| Operation log A history of index rebuilds, scans, imports and settings saves, viewed page by page. | No | Yes |
| AI connector (MCP) Claude, Codex, Gemini and ChatGPT read and change plugin settings and page rules, with a token for each assistant. | No | Yes |
What else can Smart Link Manager do?
Smart Link Manager takes care of performance, a clear admin panel and comfortable work across multiple sites. Features marked Premium work in the paid version.
Link map (Premium)
The link map in the Premium version shows internal connections as a radial graph or a tree. You can assess your site’s structure at a glance.
Linking overview
The linking overview shows targets, phrases and the number of incoming links. You can refresh the scan manually or on a schedule, daily or weekly.
Settings import and export
You can move settings and phrases in a JSON file between sites, or from staging to production. No need to build a set from scratch.
No loopback requests
Loopback requests aren’t needed, since scanning and building the index use WordPress’s internal APIs. The rebuild doesn’t depend on whether the server lets the site connect to itself.
Operation log (Premium)
The operation log in the Premium version records index rebuilds, scans, imports and settings saves. You view the history page by page.
Link aggregators (Premium)
Link aggregators in the Premium version are manually built sets of links. You turn them on in settings and insert them with a shortcode, independent of automatic linking.
How do you manage linking with AI?
The AI connector in Premium links Smart Link Manager to Claude, Codex, Gemini and ChatGPT over the MCP protocol. Your assistant reads the rules and the link report and, when you allow it, changes plugin and page settings.
Your AI assistant
The connector works in Claude Code, Codex CLI and Gemini CLI as well as in claude.ai, Claude Desktop and ChatGPT. Ready-made setup steps for each of them are in the plugin dashboard.
Linking analysis
The assistant reads the phrase index, page rules, incoming and outgoing links from the latest scan and the operation log. From that it can suggest where to add or remove rules.
Rules on your pages
Ask for a new phrase, a removed rule, blocked outgoing links, a link cap for a page, a priority or allowed tags – the assistant changes it on the page you name.
Settings and external links
AI changes link attributes, per-page limits, skipped elements and external link rules. After a change it starts the index rebuild or the overview scan by itself.
Access tokens
Each assistant gets its own token: read-only or read and write. You revoke a token with one click, and the dashboard shows when it was last used.
Full control over changes
AI changes pass the same safeguards as the dashboard forms and land in the log with the token name. The assistant cannot purge data, import files or change the cleanup options.
What can you ask your assistant to do?
You write in plain language and the assistant picks the right connector tools. A few requests to start with:
- Show the pages with linking rules and their phrases
- Add the phrase “internal linking” as a rule on the Smart Link Manager page
- Block outgoing links on the terms of service and privacy policy pages
- Allow at most eight automatic links per page and rebuild the index
- Which pages got the most incoming links after the latest scan?
What does Smart Link Manager look like in the WordPress dashboard?
The Smart Link Manager panel shows the linking overview, global settings and the post metabox. You can manage everything without leaving WordPress.
Start linking smarter
Download the free version from the WordPress.org directory and build your first set of rules. When you need external links, upgrade to Premium.