9 Best Internal Linking Plugins for WordPress (Automatic + Manual)

As an experienced webmaster, I know that internal links are one of the most important optimization strategies for WordPress sites. Properly interlinking your content allows both users and search engines to better crawl and discover your pages.

But manually adding internal links to all your content is extremely tedious and time-consuming!

That‘s why utilizing an internal linking plugin is so valuable. It can automatically handle this critical SEO task for you.

In this post, I‘ll share my top 9 favorite internal linking plugins for WordPress based on over 15 years of webmaster experience. I‘ve used all of these plugins extensively, so you‘ll get the inside scoop on which ones work best!

Why You Should Be Using an Internal Linking Plugin

Here are some of the biggest benefits you‘ll gain from implementing an internal linking plugin:

Save Hours of Time

Manually adding well-optimized internal links takes forever! With thousands of posts on most sites, interlinking them by hand simply isn‘t feasible.

A good internal linking plugin will automatically analyze your content and insert contextual internal links. This frees you up to focus on creating new resources instead of laboring over link optimization.

Get Link Suggestions

The best plugins don‘t just add random internal links. They intelligently assess your content and recommend optimal pages to link to.

This prevents you from missing high-value linking opportunities to reinforce your site structure.

Track Link Statistics

Internal linking plugins provide helpful link reports and metrics so you can visualize your interconnections.

For example, you can see orphaned pages lacking links, identify over-optimized pages to link from, find broken links, and evaluate overall link equity distribution.

Vary Anchor Text Smartly

Too much repetitive anchor text looks spammy and unnatural. A quality plugin will optimize your anchor text to use varied, meaningful keywords and phrases.

Boost Rankings

Strategically interlinking your most valued pages and resources will improve their rankings in search results. A strong internal link profile enhances SEO authority.

Enhance User Experience

Contextual internal links allow visitors to easily discover related content on your site. This facilitates navigation and information-finding, reducing bounce rates.

Increase Organic Traffic

All of these benefits compound to drive more organic search traffic to your site! So implementing a robust internal linking toolkit pays dividends across the board.

According to SEMrush, sites utilizing internal linking plugins see an average of 15-25% higher organic traffic within 6-12 months.

Now let‘s look at my top recommended plugins for supercharging your internal linking! I‘ll share why I love each one based on extensive hands-on use.

1. AIOSEO – Best Overall Internal Linking Plugin

AIOSEO is my #1 recommendation for most users due to its unparalleled internal linking capabilities.

AIOSEO‘s Link Assistant module is incredibly robust and gives you granular control over managing internal links.

Here are just some of the powerful features:

• Automatic crawling – Indexes every internal link on your site then generates reports and recommendations.

• Link reports – See overall link stats or drill into any page to view inbound/outbound links. Easily identify orphaned pages.

• Contextual link suggestions – Analyzes content to recommend optimal anchor text and targets based on existing structure.

• Nofollow/Sponsored/UGC – Add these attributes to any inserted link with a click.

• Drag-and-drop editor integration – Seamlessly insert suggested links while writing content.

These capabilities allow unparalleled optimization and management of your internal link profile – both automatically and manually.

In my experience, AIOSEO turbocharges internal linking better than any other plugin available today. Their Link Assistant is a game-changer!

2. Yoast SEO – Solid Internal Linking Basics

Yoast SEO is one of the most popular SEO plugins for WordPress. The premium version includes helpful internal linking functionality.

Here are some of the key features Yoast offers:

• Missed link notifications – Flags potential internal links you should add to a post.

• Contextual suggestions – Recommends relevant pages and anchor text to link based on your content.

• Link attributes – Add nofollow, UGC, and sponsored tags to inserted links.

• XML sitemaps – Improve indexation with XML sitemaps.

I appreciate how seamlessly Yoast integrates link suggestions directly within the editor for easy insertion. The interface is clean and intuitive.

However, Yoast lacks robust reporting and automation capabilities compared to AIOSEO. But it provides a solid starting point, especially if you‘re already using Yoast.

3. RankMath – Decent Built-In Link Tools

RankMath is another respected WordPress SEO plugin that contains internal linking tools.

Here are some key features RankMath offers:

• Link suggestions – Scans content and recommends relevant phrases and pages to link to.

• Anchor text optimization – Varies your anchor text automatically to appear more natural.

• Clickable sitemap integration – Easily manually link to other pages via the sitemap.

• Intuitive editor – Internal link suggestions are conveniently displayed in the sidebar.

Overall, RankMath provides a straightforward internal linking experience. But again, it lacks some of the more advanced capabilities of AIOSEO.

The integration within the content editor is great. And I like how it optimizes your anchor text diversity automatically.

4. Link Whisper – Specialized Internal Link Plugin

If you want an SEO plugin focused solely on internal link optimization, Link Whisper is a good pick.

Some key aspects of Link Whisper:

• Link recommendations – Identifies relevant pages and keywords to link based on your content.

• Customize links – Change suggested anchor text or targets as needed before inserting.

• Automatic insertion – Adds links seamlessly to your content.

• Find orphaned pages – Unlinked pages are flagged so you can improve their equity flow.

I appreciate how this niche plugin specializes in internal linking. The suggestions and reporting streamline optimization. It‘s beginner-friendly and straightforward to use.

For users that need only internal linking capabilities without a full SEO suite, Link Whisper is an ideal option.

5. Internal Link Juicer – Free Automated Linking

If you want automated contextual internal linking for free, Internal Link Juicer is a great plugin.

Here‘s an overview of what it offers:

• Target keyword linking – Specifies keywords/phrases to generate links for.

• Contextual links – Automatically inserts relevant internal links to those targets.

• Anchor text optimization – Varies your anchor text seamlessly.

• Link controls – Limit links per post, exclude pages, and more.

For a free plugin, I‘m impressed with Internal Link Juicer‘s capabilities. The contextual linking automation saves time and links important targets.

It‘s beginner-friendly and provides ample controls over the linking process. The reports also supply helpful optimization insights.

6. Interlinks Manager – Free Link Analysis

Interlinks Manager is another worthwhile free internal linking plugin.

Some useful aspects include:

• Link graph visualization – See a spiderweb map of your internal links.

• Link equity metrics – Get data like page authority and link juice flow.

• Manual optimization – Use the data to guide manual link building.

• Page management – Fine-tune specific pages‘ outbound links.

A key value of Interlinks Manager is providing link equity/authority metrics to optimize manually.

The graphical analysis offers great visualization of your overall interlinking structure. I use this free plugin on many sites complementarily with other tools.

7. SEO Auto Linker – Simple Automated Linking

SEO Auto Linker provides basic automated contextual linking.

Some of the functionality it offers:

• Automatic contextual linking – Analyzes content to add relevant internal links.

• Keyword targeting – Specifies keywords and phrases to link.

• Link controls – Customize type of links, anchor text, and frequency.

• Simple setup – Gets linking with minimal config.

SEO Auto Linker doesn‘t have the most extensive feature set. But the hands-off contextual linking can still be useful.

I‘d mainly recommend it if you want a simple, automated way to interlink targeted keywords across your site content.

8. Auto Internal Links – Another No-Frill Option

Auto Internal Links is a simplistic automated linking plugin.

It provides:

• Scans content – Searches posts for keywords and linked phrases.

• Automated linking – Adds contextual internal links automatically.

• Basic controls – Limit links per post, exclude pages, etc.

• Some anchor text settings – Optimizes variability.

This bare-bones plugin offers worthwhile contextual linking functionality. But advanced users may want more customization and insights.

I‘d suggest Auto Internal Links for users that just need hands-off help interlinking their content.

9. Post Indexer – Quickly Index Your Content

Post Indexer creates an A-Z listing of your posts for easy internal linking.

The key features are:

• A-Z post index – Lists all posts/pages alphabetically by title.

• Enhanced crawlability – Helps search engines discover your content.

• Quickly build links – Manually link pages via the index.

Post Indexer provides an easy way to manually interlink content from an organized index.

It essentially functions like a site table of contents while improving search visibility. This can supplement automated plugins nicely.

Which Internal Linking Plugin is Best?

So which internal linking plugin would I recommend above the rest?

For most users, I think AIOSEO is hands-down the best internal linking plugin available today.

The breadth of automated linking capabilities, detailed analytics, and customization options AIOSEO provides are unmatched.

It essentially supercharges your internal optimization process with minimal effort. The plugin integrates seamlessly into any workflow.

Yoast SEO and RankMath also offer worthwhile (albeit limited) internal linking functionality. Their integration directly inside content editors is convenient for basic needs.

Many of the free niche internal linking plugins like Link Juicer provide automated contextual linking as well. These are great for simplifying the process if you have budget constraints.

Ultimately the ideal plugin depends on your specific site, objectives, and level of experience. But I‘m confident AIOSEO will exceed most users‘ expectations!

I hope this overview of my favorite internal linking plugins was helpful. Please feel free to reach out if you have any other questions!

Optimizing internal links is one of the highest ROI activities for improving WordPress SEO. So leverage one of these solutions to work smarter, not harder when interlinking your content.