How to Use Link Suggestions

Link suggestions are the core feature of Link Whisper, powered by intelligent algorithms that analyze your content and recommend relevant internal linking opportunities. This comprehensive guide will help you master link suggestions to build a stronger site structure and improve your SEO.

What Are Link Suggestions?

Link suggestions are automatically generated recommendations for internal links based on:

Content Analysis: Link Whisper scans your posts and pages to understand their topics and themes

Keyword Matching: The plugin identifies where keywords from one post appear naturally in other posts

Relevance Scoring: Each suggestion is ranked by how topically relevant the link would be (using AI-powered analysis if enabled)

Context Preservation: Suggestions are shown within complete sentences, making it easy to see if the link makes sense

Benefits of Using Link Suggestions:

✅ Saves Time: No more manually searching through hundreds of posts to find linking opportunities

✅ Improves SEO: Creates a stronger internal link structure that helps Google understand your site

✅ Reduces Orphaned Content: Ensures every post receives inbound links

✅ Boosts User Engagement: Keeps visitors on your site longer by connecting related content

✅ Natural Link Building: Suggestions are based on actual content, creating contextually relevant links

Accessing Link Suggestions

You can access link suggestions in two primary ways, depending on your workflow:

Method 1: The Links Report (Recommended for Bulk Linking)

This method is ideal when you want to improve your overall site structure or work on multiple posts at once.

Step-by-Step:

1. Navigate to Reports: In your WordPress admin sidebar, go to Link Whisper → Reports → Links Report

2. View Your Posts: You'll see a list of all your posts/pages with columns showing:
   • Post title
   • Inbound links count
   • Outbound links count
   • Link relation score
   • Other key metrics

3. Click the "+" Icon: Next to any post in the report, click the "+" (plus) icon

4. View Suggestions: A panel will open showing both Outbound and Inbound link suggestions for that post

Why This Method is Recommended:

• See your entire site's link structure at a glance

• Easily identify posts with low inbound/outbound counts

• Work systematically through your content

• Perfect for orphaned post cleanup (posts with zero inbound links)

Method 2: The WordPress Editor (For Individual Posts)

This method works when you're actively writing or editing a specific post.

Step-by-Step:

1. Edit a Post: Open any post or page in the WordPress Block Editor (Gutenberg) or Classic Editor

2. Scroll Down: Navigate to the bottom of the edit screen (below your content)

3. Find Link Whisper Meta Box: Look for the Link Whisper meta box/panel

4. View Suggestions: The box shows suggestions specifically for the post you're currently editing

When to Use This Method:

• Writing new content and want to add links immediately

• Editing an existing post and want to improve its link structure

• Working on a specific post rather than site-wide optimization

Understanding Suggestion Types (Inbound vs. Outbound)

Link Whisper provides two types of suggestions, each serving a different purpose:

Outbound Suggestions (Links FROM This Post)

Definition: These are suggested links FROM the current post you're viewing TO other pages on your site.

Purpose: Enhances the value of the current article by connecting readers to related, helpful content

Example: If you're editing a post about "WordPress SEO," outbound suggestions might include links to your posts about "SEO Plugins," "Meta Descriptions," or "XML Sitemaps"

Best Practice: Include 3-7 outbound links per post for optimal SEO and user experience

Inbound Suggestions (Links TO This Post)

Definition: These are suggested links FROM other posts on your site TO the current post you're viewing.

Purpose: Helps fix orphaned posts (posts with zero inbound links) and strengthens the current post's authority

Important Note: When you "Add Inbound Links," you are actually editing other posts on your site to point to the current one. The plugin automatically updates those other posts.

Example: If you're viewing a post about "WordPress Security," inbound suggestions show you sentences in your "Malware Removal" and "Firewall Setup" posts where you could add a link pointing back to "WordPress Security"

Why Inbound Links Matter:

• Google uses inbound links as ranking signals

• More inbound links = higher perceived importance

• Fastest way to eliminate orphaned content

• Distributes link equity throughout your site

How to Add Suggested Links

Adding link suggestions is designed to be quick and intuitive. Here's the detailed process:

Step 1: Review the Suggestion

Read the Sentence: Each suggestion shows a complete sentence from the target post with the proposed anchor text highlighted in blue

Check Relevance: Ensure the link makes sense in context. Ask yourself:

• Does this link add value for the reader?

• Is the anchor text natural and descriptive?

• Does the target post actually relate to this topic?

Review Link Relation Score: If you have AI-powered suggestions enabled, you'll see a relevance score (0-100%):

• 80-100%: Highly relevant, excellent match

• 60-79%: Good relevance, worth considering

• Below 60%: Low relevance, may not be contextually appropriate

Step 2: Edit (Optional)

You don't have to use suggestions exactly as shown. You can customize:

Editing Anchor Text:

How: Click on words in the sentence to add them to or remove them from the blue highlighted anchor text

Adding Words: Click on unhighlighted words to include them in the anchor

Removing Words: Click on blue-highlighted words to exclude them from the anchor

Best Practice: Aim for 3-7 words in your anchor text. This is the sweet spot for:

• Providing context to search engines

• Looking natural to readers

• Avoiding over-optimization

Example:

Original suggestion: "Learn more about WordPress security"

You could expand it to: "Learn more about WordPress security best practices" by clicking on "best practices"

Editing the Sentence:

How: Click the "Edit Sentence" button below the suggestion

When to Use:

• The suggestion has grammatical issues

• You want to rewrite for better flow

• The sentence doesn't quite fit the context

What You Can Do:

• Completely rewrite the sentence

• Adjust tense or voice

• Add transitional phrases

• Make it match your writing style

Important: The anchor text (link) must remain within the sentence you write

Step 3: Select the Suggestion

How: Click the checkbox next to the suggestion you want to add

Multiple Selection: You can select multiple suggestions at once (see Bulk Adding Links below)

Visual Indicator: Selected suggestions show a checkmark in the box

Step 4: Insert the Links

How: Click the "Insert Links" button (usually blue or green) at the top of the suggestions panel

What Happens:

• Link Whisper automatically updates the content on your site

• For outbound links: The current post is updated immediately

• For inbound links: The other posts are updated automatically

• Changes are saved to your database

Confirmation: You'll usually see a success message like "X links added successfully"

Time to Complete: Typically takes 1-3 seconds per link insertion

Bulk Adding Links (Power User Feature)

One of Link Whisper's most powerful time-savers is the ability to add multiple links at once.

How Bulk Adding Works:

Step 1: Review Suggestions

Look through the list of suggestions for a post

Step 2: Select Multiple

Check the boxes for all the suggestions you want to add (e.g., the top 5 most relevant links)

Step 3: Insert All at Once

Click "Insert Links" at the top of the column

Link Whisper will add all selected links in a single operation

Best Practices for Bulk Linking:

⚠️ Don't Use "Check All" Blindly: While there may be a "Check All" option, we strongly recommend reviewing and selecting specific, high-relevance links rather than accepting everything

Why?

• Maintains a natural link structure

• Avoids over-optimization

• Ensures links actually add value

• Prevents irrelevant or low-quality links

🎯 Recommended Approach:

1. Sort suggestions by relevance score (if using AI)

2. Select the top 3-7 most relevant

3. Skip any that seem forced or off-topic

4. Add the selected batch

Efficiency Tip: You can process multiple posts quickly using the Links Report:

1. Click "+" on Post A

2. Select and add 5 relevant links

3. Click "+" on Post B

4. Select and add 5 relevant links

5. Repeat for 10-20 posts in one session

Why Some Posts Have No Suggestions

Occasionally, you might see "No suggestions found" for a post. Here's why this happens and how to fix it:

Reason 1: Site Size / Content Length

The Issue:

• If the post is very short (under 300 words), there's less content for Link Whisper to analyze

• If your site has fewer than ~50 posts, there simply aren't many linking opportunities available

Solutions:

• Expand short posts: Add more content to provide more context

• Write more content: As you publish more posts, suggestions will improve

• Lower minimum word count: Go to Settings → Post Selection and reduce the minimum word count filter

Reason 2: No Keywords Identified

The Issue:

Link Whisper relies on keywords to find matches between posts. If the plugin doesn't know what a post is about, it can't suggest relevant links.

Solutions:

Connect Google Search Console:

1. Go to Link Whisper → Settings → Integrations

2. Connect your Google Search Console account

3. This imports the keywords your posts actually rank for

4. Dramatically improves suggestion accuracy

Run AI Keyword Analysis:

1. If you have AI credits, enable AI-Powered Suggestions

2. Go to Settings → AI Settings

3. The AI will analyze your content and extract keywords automatically

Manually Add Focus Keywords:

1. Edit the post in WordPress

2. In the Link Whisper meta box, look for "Focus Keyword" field

3. Enter 2-5 keywords that describe the post

Reason 3: AI Not Active

The Issue:

The basic suggestion engine is limited to simple keyword matching. It may miss contextual connections.

Solution:

Turn on "AI Powered Suggestions":

1. Navigate to Link Whisper → Settings → AI Settings

2. Enable "Use AI for Link Suggestions"

3. Purchase AI credits if needed (Settings → AI Credits)

Why AI Makes a Difference:

• Understands context and meaning, not just exact keywords

• Finds semantic connections (e.g., "WordPress" and "CMS" are related)

• Provides relevance scores for each suggestion

• Dramatically increases the number and quality of suggestions

Example: Without AI, Link Whisper might only connect "dog food" to posts that contain the exact phrase "dog food." With AI, it connects to posts about "pet nutrition," "canine diet," "puppy feeding," etc.

Reason 4: Active Filters

The Issue:

You may have accidentally left a filter active that's limiting results

Common Filters:

• "Same Category Only" - Only suggests links within the current category

• "Same Post Type" - Only suggests links to the same post type (post, page, etc.)

• "Minimum Relevance Score" - Only shows suggestions above a certain AI score

Solution:

1. Look for a Filters panel or dropdown in the Link Whisper interface

2. Check if any filters are active (usually shown with a colored indicator)

3. Disable or adjust filters to see more suggestions

4. Click "Reset Filters" or "Clear All Filters" if available

When Filters Are Useful:

• Building category-specific content silos

• Ensuring links stay within a specific topic cluster

• Maintaining content hierarchy (e.g., only linking pages to pages)

Pro Tips for Maximizing Link Suggestions

Tip 1: Use Relevance Scores

If AI is enabled, prioritize suggestions with 80%+ relevance scores - these are your highest-quality linking opportunities

Tip 2: Address Orphaned Posts First

In the Links Report, filter by "0 Inbound Links" and use inbound suggestions to fix orphaned content quickly

Tip 3: Set a Weekly Linking Session

Schedule 30 minutes weekly to work through the Links Report and add 5-10 links per post until your entire site is well-connected

Tip 4: Combine with Your Content Calendar

When publishing new content, immediately use Link Whisper to:

• Add outbound links to established content

• Add inbound links from established content to the new post

Tip 5: Monitor Link Relation Scores

After adding links, check the Link Relation Score in Reports. Aim for 70%+ average across your site.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How many links should I add per post?

A: We recommend 3-7 outbound links and ensuring every post has at least 1-3 inbound links. Quality over quantity.

Q: Will adding too many links hurt my SEO?

A: As long as links are relevant and natural, there's no hard limit. Avoid adding 10+ links to a single short post, which may look spammy.

Q: Can I undo a link I added?

A: Yes! Simply edit the post in WordPress and manually remove the link using the editor, or use Link Whisper's URL Changer tool if you need to update multiple links at once.

Q: Do suggestions work with Gutenberg and Classic Editor?

A: Yes! Link Whisper works with both editors seamlessly.

Q: Why do some suggestions seem irrelevant?

A: If using the basic engine, relevance depends on exact keyword matches. Enable AI suggestions for much better contextual relevance.

Q: Can I suggest links manually?

A: Link Whisper's suggestions are automated, but you can always manually add links using the WordPress editor as well.

Need Help?

If you're having trouble with link suggestions:

Email: support@linkwhisper.com

Include:

• Description of the issue

• Whether AI suggestions are enabled

• Example post URL where you're not seeing suggestions

Our team typically responds within 24 hours to help optimize your link suggestion experience!