Auto Internal Linker Plugin By KentDevTools (Documentation)

Installation Guide — Auto Internal Linker By KentDevTools

Core Installation Steps

• Plugin Activation: Upload the plugin files to your WordPress site and activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu.
• Review Settings: Navigate to Internal Linker → Settings. Confirm your preferences for maximum links per post, enable the “auto-link on save” feature, and select your desired source and target post types.
• Rebuild the Keyword Index: Go to Internal Linker → Keyword Index and click the Rebuild Keyword Index button. This scans all published posts to build the necessary keyword-to-URL map.
• Front-end Verification: Visit any post on your website as a visitor. Links are injected automatically via output buffering when the page loads; no manual saving or clicking is required for existing posts.

Integration Requirements

• Prerequisite: This plugin relies on keywords generated by the Focus Keyword Detector By KentDevTools.
• Empty Index Troubleshooting: If the dashboard displays “No keywords in index,” it indicates that no posts have confirmed keywords. You must install the Focus Keyword Detector and run its Bulk Analysis tool before rebuilding the index in the Auto Internal Linker.

Technical Support

• Official Website: kentdevtools.com
• Email Support: support@kentdevtools.com

Settings — Auto Internal Linker By KentDevTools

Link Distribution Settings

• Max Links Per Post: The maximum number of auto-links allowed in a single post. This prevents your content from looking like spam. Default: 3.
• Link Only Once Per Keyword: When enabled, if a keyword appears multiple times in a post, only the first occurrence becomes a link. Default: On (recommended).
• Skip Existing Links: The plugin will not add an auto-link if the keyword is already inside an existing <a> or <h> tag. This prevents nested or redundant links. Default: On.
• Minimum Word Count: Posts with fewer words than this limit will not have any auto-links inserted. Default: 100 words.

Link Attributes

• Open in New Tab: Adds target="_blank" to all auto-inserted links. Default: Off.
• Add Nofollow: Adds rel="nofollow" to all auto-inserted links. Default: Off.
• Case Sensitive: If enabled, the keyword “WordPress” will not match “wordpress”. Default: Off.

Scope & Exclusion Settings

• Source Post Types: Choose which post types should have links inserted into their content. Default: Posts.
• Target Post Types: Choose which post types can be linked to. Only keywords from these post types will be included in the index. Default: Posts, Pages.
• Excluded Categories: Posts in these categories will not have any links inserted. Useful for News or Press Release sections. Default: none.
• Excluded Post IDs: A comma-separated list of IDs to exclude as both link sources and link targets. Note: You must click Rebuild Keyword Index after changing this to update the data. Default: empty.

Where to Find Settings

All configuration options are located at Internal Linker → Settings in your WordPress admin menu. Settings are global and apply across the entire site. Individual post exclusions can be managed via the post IDs setting.

How It Works — Auto Internal Linker By KentDevTools

The Linking Process

• Front-end Injection: Unlike early versions of the plugin, the current version does not save links into your database. Instead, it uses a high-performance output buffer to inject links into your content exactly when a visitor loads the page. This keeps your original post content clean and safe.
• The Keyword Index: To know which words to link, the plugin builds an “Internal Keyword Map.” It scans your site for keywords (saved in the _fkd_focus_keywords meta key by the Focus Keyword Detector) and maps them to the URL of the post they belong to.
• The Linking Logic: When a post is loaded, the plugin searches the text for any keywords found in the index. If a match is found, it converts that text into a link to the corresponding post, provided it meets your settings (like max links per post).

Working in the Editor

• The Internal Linker Meta Box: Every post has a meta box in the editor that shows you exactly which keywords are being used to link to this post.
• Preview & Link Now: You can use the “Preview Links” tool to see how your post will look with auto-links before you publish it. If you need to “hard-code” the links into the database for a specific reason, the “Link Now” button will perform a one-time injection into the content.
• Custom Keywords: If you want a post to be linked by specific words that aren’t in your focus keywords, you can add them to the “Custom Keywords” field in the meta box. Click Rebuild Keyword Index afterward to activate them.

Integration with Focus Keyword Detector

• Data Source: This plugin is designed to be the “engine” that uses the data from the Focus Keyword Detector. It looks for the _fkd_focus_keywords meta key to build its link map.
• Automated Updates: Every time you save a post in the Focus Keyword Detector, the Auto Internal Linker automatically updates its index so your links stay current without any extra work.

Database Cleaner (For Legacy Users)

• Fixing Corrupted Content: If you used very early versions of the plugin (v1.0–v1.7) that saved raw HTML directly to your posts, your content might show visible code.
• How to Clean: Go to Internal Linker → Settings and click the red Clean All Posts button. This will strip the corrupted HTML from your database. Users on version 3.0.0 or higher do not need to use this tool as the new system never writes to the database.

FAQ — Auto Internal Linker By KentDevTools

Common Questions

• Will this plugin slow down my site? No, the plugin uses a high-performance output buffer to inject links only when a page is loaded. It does not perform heavy database queries on the front-end, ensuring your site speed remains fast.
• Does it save links into my database? Version 3.0.0 and above does not save any HTML links into your database. Links are added dynamically at display time. This keeps your original post content clean and allows you to deactivate the plugin without leaving broken code behind.
• Why do links disappear when I deactivate the plugin? This is a deliberate feature. Since links are injected during page load rather than stored in your posts, deactivating the plugin immediately stops the injection. Your content remains exactly as you originally wrote it.

Keyword and Indexing Issues

• Why is my Keyword Index empty? The “No keywords in index” message means the plugin cannot find any data to link. This happens if you haven’t confirmed any keywords in the Focus Keyword Detector plugin. Ensure that plugin is installed and that you have run a Bulk Analysis or manually confirmed keywords for your posts.
• How often should I rebuild the index? You should rebuild the index whenever you make major changes to your site’s structure, such as deleting many posts or changing excluded categories and post IDs in the settings. For standard post saving, the plugin updates the index automatically.
• Why are some keywords not being linked? Check your “Link Distribution” settings. The plugin might be skipping keywords if you have already reached the “Max Links Per Post” limit, or if the keyword is already inside a heading (H1-H6) or an existing link tag.

Technical and Integration

• Is it compatible with SEO plugins? Yes, the Auto Internal Linker is fully compatible with RankMath and Yoast SEO. It can sync with the keywords and data provided by these tools.
• What happens if I have corrupted code from an old version? If you used versions 1.0–1.7 and see raw HTML code in your posts, use the red “Clean All Posts” button in the settings sidebar. This will strip out the old, hard-coded links so the new version can handle them correctly.
• Does it work with the Block Editor? Yes, the plugin works with both the Classic Editor and the Gutenberg Block Editor. It provides a meta box in the editor to manage custom keywords and preview links before publishing.