The Complete WordPress Linking Guide for Beginners and Experts

Welcome friend! Let me walk you through everything you need to know about adding links in WordPress.

I‘ve been building sites with WordPress for over 15 years, so I have a few pro tips to share beyond the basics. Links may seem simple, but they can make or break your site‘s usability and growth when used properly.

In this complete guide, you‘ll learn:

• Linking fundamentals and why they are crucial for all sites
• How to easily link content in the WordPress editor
• Advanced tips from my years of experience
• Power user techniques like affiliate links and social sharing
• Custom solutions for unique situations

Let‘s dive in!

Why Linking is Essential in WordPress

Without hyperlinks, the internet would just be isolated islands of information. Links stitch everything together into an interconnected web.

They allow you to:

• Guide visitors seamlessly to related content on your own site.
• Enrich posts with links to high quality external sources.
• Get discovered through organic search engine optimization.
• Generate income via affiliate programs.
• Spread content when visitors share social media links.

Basically, links facilitate discovery. They help readers navigate your content while creating pathways for new visitors to find your site.

According to HubSpot research, pages with over 100 outbound links get over 2x more search traffic. Proper linking leads to higher engagement.

When writing posts, I make sure to spend time identifying where strategic links can improve the user experience. It‘s worth the effort.

Now let‘s get into the different ways you can add links in WordPress.

Linking Text and Images in the WordPress Editor

The WordPress editor makes adding links easy without touching any code. Here‘s how:

1. When editing a post or page, highlight the text you want to link. This text is called the anchor text.

2. Click the link button in the toolbar (it looks like interlocked rings).

3. A popup appears where you can enter the destination URL.

4. Click "Open in a new tab" if linking to another site.

5. Select "Add Link" and the anchor text will become clickable!

You can also paste URLs directly onto text to automatically create the link. No need to use the toolbar button.

To add visual impact and interest, link relevant images to related content as well.

When editing an image block in WordPress, the same "Link" button appears in the block toolbar. Handy!

Andy‘s Pro Tips for Optimizing Links

Here are some best practices I‘ve learned over the years:

• Choose descriptive anchor text focused on the destination page topic. "Click here" links are practically invisible to search engines.

• For navigational links, use consistent anchor text across pages. Like always saying "Contact us" instead of changing it.

• Open external links in new tabs so readers return to your content afterward.

• Add the title attribute to external links to indicate where they go:

  <a title="Wikipedia Link About Cats" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat">Read More</a> 

• Use rel="nofollow" on paid or untrusted links to avoid passing equity.

• Include contextual internal links whenever you mention related content. But don‘t force it – trust your instincts on what adds value.

• Make sure link text flows naturally within sentences. No awkward grammatical constructions!

Let‘s move on to automating internal links for efficiency.

Advanced: Automate Internal Linking with AIOSEO‘s Link Assistant

Manually adding related links in each post grows tedious.

Luckily, plugins like AIOSEO Pro have intelligent link assistants that suggest relevant pages to link to right in the editor.

AIOSEO scans your site and analyzes the content. As you write posts, it recommends topically-related pages to link to based on your existing content structure.

The Link Assistant integrates directly with the block editor too. With one click, you can insert a suggested link without leaving the page.

This saves tons of time versus manually hunting down linking opportunities across posts. It leads to more comprehensive internal linking.

I consistently use AIOSEO Pro on client sites to automate suggested internal links. It‘s an easy way to improve site navigation and SEO through contextual links.

Now let‘s explore some advanced linking strategies.

Beyond Basics: Affiliate Links, Widgets, and Custom Links

Once you master basic post linking, a few advanced tactics can take your site to the next level.

Monetize with Affiliate Linking

Affiliate links allow you to earn commissions from purchases made by site visitors.

First, join an affiliate program that offers products relevant to your niche. Popular networks include Amazon Associates, ShareASale, and FlexOffers.

Next, install a plugin like Pretty Links or ThirstyAffiliates to manage your links.

These tools create cloaked affiliate links that redirect to your actual affiliate URL:

Real Affiliate Link:
    https://company.com/product?aff=YOURID 

Cloaked Masking Link:
    yoursite.com/go/product 

The cloaked link keeps your affiliate ID private while still tracking referrals.

By centralizing your links, you can update the destination URL sitewide whenever an affiliate program changes their payout structure.

Linking in HTML Widgets and Text Areas

WordPress widgets offer areas to add custom HTML and text. To add a link:

1. Paste or type out the complete anchor tag HTML:

   <a href="https://example.com">Link Text</a>

2. Customize the href URL and link text as needed.

3. Add attributes like target="_blank" (opens in new tab) or title (tooltip text). For example:

   <a href="https://example.com" target="_blank" title="Tooltip Text">Anchor Text</a>

4. Save the widget to apply your link!

This manual HTML method works anywhere custom code or text is allowed.

Advanced Link Customization with Attributes

WordPress‘s default link tool only allows setting the URL. To customize link behavior and SEO, you need to manually edit the HTML anchor tag.

For example, to open a link in a new tab:

<a href="https://example.com" target="_blank">Link Text</a>

The target="_blank" attribute forces a new tab to open.

Other useful attributes include:

• title – Tooltip text on hover e.g. title="This is tooltip text"
• rel="nofollow" – Nofollow link attribute for SEO
• id – Internal anchor ID for deep linking
• class – Link or anchor CSS classes

Editing the raw <a> tag code enables full customization when needed.

Encourage Sharing with Social Media Linking

Adding share buttons helps readers easily promote your content:

1. Install a social sharing plugin. Popular options:

   • Shariff (focuses on privacy)
   • Social Warfare (advanced styling)
   • AddThis (max networks)

2. Select the social networks to include. I recommend 8 or fewer.

3. Output sharing links using shortcodes or the sharing block in the editor.

4. Position sharing buttons prominently near the top and bottom of posts.

Pro tip: Share buttons work best when they stand out visually. Social Warfare includes stylish social sharing designs.

According to research from Social Media Today, social sharing can drive over 50% of visitors from top platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

Make sharing intuitive and readers will happily spread your content for you!

Wrapping Up

That covers everything from basic link insertion to advanced tactics like automated internal linking and social sharing.

Practice regularly adding high-quality links in your content, widgets, navigation, and images. Make them contextual to the content at hand.

Over time, you‘ll master making your links appear natural while enhancing the user experience. Improved discoverability and engagement will follow.

Link intelligently and prosper, my friend!