Initial Configuration & Recommended Settings

After installing Link Whisper, proper configuration ensures you get the best results for your specific site. This comprehensive guide covers all essential settings, recommended configurations, and optimization tips to maximize your internal linking strategy.

Understanding Link Whisper Settings

Link Whisper's settings are organized into several sections, each controlling different aspects of how the plugin works:

Settings Navigation:

Access settings by going to Link Whisper → Settings in WordPress. You'll see tabs for:

📋 General Settings: Post types, statuses, basic behavior

🔗 Link Settings: Link appearance, styling, targeting

🤖 AI Settings: AI-powered suggestions configuration

⚙️ Auto-Linking: Automated linking rules and behavior

🎯 Advanced Settings: Domain settings, content ignoring, performance

General Settings Overview

These foundational settings control which content Link Whisper processes and how it behaves.

Post Types to Process

Location: Link Whisper → Settings → General Settings

What This Controls: Which content types Link Whisper will scan and provide suggestions for.

Default Selection: By default, Link Whisper scans Posts and Pages.

Custom Post Types:

If you use custom post types (common with plugins and themes), ensure you check those boxes here so the plugin "sees" that content.

Common Custom Post Types:

• Products (WooCommerce)

• Events (Event Calendar plugins)

• Portfolio (Portfolio themes)

• Testimonials (Review plugins)

• Documentation (Knowledge base plugins)

• Courses (LMS plugins)

How to Configure:

1. Go to Link Whisper → Settings → General Settings

2. Scroll to "Post Types to Process"

3. Check boxes for all content types you want Link Whisper to work with

4. Click "Save Changes"

Recommendation: Enable all post types where you publish substantial content (typically 300+ words). Exclude very short content types like:

• Team member profiles

• Simple image galleries

• Brief testimonials

Post Status Settings

What This Controls: Whether Link Whisper processes published content, drafts, or both.

Available Options:

✅ Published (always recommended)

What It Does: Scans all published posts/pages that are live on your site

Why Enable: This is your primary content that needs internal linking

📝 Drafts (optional)

What It Does: Includes draft posts in scans and suggestions

Why Enable: Allows you to add internal links while writing before the post goes live

When to Use: If you like to fully optimize posts (including internal links) before publishing

🗓️ Scheduled (optional)

What It Does: Includes posts scheduled for future publication

Why Enable: Pre-optimize scheduled content

Recommendation: We recommend keeping Published checked at minimum. Optionally check Drafts if you want to add internal links while writing before the post goes live.

Why Drafts Can Be Useful:

• Preview how links will look before publishing

• Complete all SEO work (including internal links) in one session

• Ensure new posts have proper link structure from day one

Minimum Word Count

What This Controls: The minimum number of words a post must have to be included in Link Whisper processing.

Default: Typically 300 words

Why This Matters:

• Very short content (< 300 words) often isn't substantial enough to warrant linking

• Prevents cluttering short posts with too many links

• Ensures link suggestions are contextually relevant

Recommendation: Keep at 300 words for most sites. Increase to 500 words if you primarily publish long-form content.

Recommended Settings for Most Sites

During the "One Click Setup" wizard, you can apply "Best Practices," which configure these defaults for you. Here's what those settings do and why they work:

Link Count Guidelines

Healthy Baseline: Ensure every post has:

• At least 3-7 outbound internal links (links FROM this post TO other posts)

• At least 1-3 inbound internal links (links FROM other posts TO this post)

Why These Numbers:

3-7 Outbound Links:

• Provides sufficient navigation options for readers

• Distributes PageRank/link equity across your site

• Helps search engines understand content relationships

• Avoids looking spammy (20+ links can seem excessive)

1-3 Inbound Links:

• Prevents orphaned posts (posts with zero incoming links)

• Boosts the post's authority in Google's eyes

• Increases likelihood of the post being discovered by readers

Link Display Settings

Location: Settings → General Settings or Link Settings

Number of Paragraphs to Skip

What This Controls: How many opening paragraphs Link Whisper avoids when suggesting link placements.

Recommended Setting: 1 or 2

Why This Matters:

• Your introduction should hook readers without distraction

• Too many early links can cause readers to click away before engaging with your content

• Gives readers time to understand the post before offering navigation options

Example:

• Setting = 1: Link Whisper won't suggest links in the first paragraph

• Setting = 2: Link Whisper won't suggest links in the first two paragraphs

When to Use Higher Numbers:

• Long-form content (3,000+ words) where intro is several paragraphs

• Sales pages where you want readers to read more before navigating away

Maximum Links per Post

What This Controls: The maximum number of outbound internal links allowed in a single post.

Options:

• No Limit (unlimited links)

• Set a specific cap (e.g., 10, 15, 20)

Recommendation:

While Google doesn't penalize high link counts, for readability and user experience, consider these guidelines:

Short Posts (< 1,000 words): 5-10 links maximum

Medium Posts (1,000-2,000 words): 10-15 links maximum

Long Posts (2,000-5,000 words): 15-25 links maximum

Very Long Posts (5,000+ words): No limit or 25-30 links

Why Limit Links:

• Prevents "spammy" appearance

• Keeps readers focused on your content

• Ensures each link feels intentional and valuable

Pro Tip: Rather than a hard limit, focus on relevance. If a 1,500-word post naturally has 20 highly relevant internal links, that's fine. If it only has 5, that's also fine.

Link Settings (Targeting, Styling, Behavior)

These settings control how your links appear and behave when clicked.

Location: Settings → Domain Settings or Advanced Settings

Open Links in New Tab

What This Controls: Whether links open in the same browser tab or a new tab.

Available Options:

All Internal Links Open in New Tab:

Recommendation: Generally leave this OFF (unchecked)

Why: Internal links should keep users in the same browsing session. Opening new tabs for every internal link creates tab clutter.

Exception: Some sites prefer new tabs for "resource" or "reference" links

All External Links Open in New Tab:

Recommendation: Turn this ON (checked)

Why:

• Opening external links in a new tab keeps users on your site longer

• Prevents visitors from navigating completely away

• Industry standard behavior (users expect it)

• Better for your bounce rate and session duration metrics

Visual Cue for New Tab Links:

You can enable an option to add a small icon (typically ↗ or 🔗) next to links that open in a new tab.

Benefit: Signals to users that they are leaving the current page, managing expectations.

Link Styling

What This Controls: Visual appearance of internal links created by Link Whisper.

Common Options:

• Use theme defaults (most common - links look like all other links on your site)

• Custom color (make Link Whisper links a specific color)

• Add underline (make links more prominent)

• Bold links (increase visibility)

Recommendation: Use theme defaults to keep consistent site appearance. Only customize if you want Link Whisper links to stand out for analytics purposes.

NoFollow Attributes

What This Controls: Whether to add rel="nofollow" to certain links.

Default: Internal links should NOT be nofollowed

Why: You want Google to follow and count your internal links. Nofollowing internal links defeats the SEO purpose.

Exception: External links (especially affiliate links) may warrant nofollow, but this is typically handled by other plugins.

Auto-Linking Settings

Auto-linking automatically creates links based on keyword matching rules you define.

When to Use Auto-Linking

Good Use Cases:

• Pillar content: Automatically link mentions of "SEO Guide" to your comprehensive SEO pillar post

• Product names: Auto-link "Link Whisper" to your Link Whisper review page

• Key topics: Auto-link recurring terms to their definitive resource

When NOT to Use:

• Generic keywords ("tips," "guide," "how to") - too broad

• Every mention of a word - can look spammy

Recommended Auto-Linking Safety Settings

Location: Link Whisper → Settings → Auto-Linking

"Select Links Before Inserting"

Recommendation: We highly recommend checking this box inside your Auto-Linking rules.

What It Does:

• Prevents the system from automatically inserting links without your knowledge

• Instead generates a report of potential links for you to approve manually

• Gives you quality control over every auto-link

Why This Is Important:

• Prevents over-optimization (too many links to the same target)

• Avoids awkward linking (e.g., linking "link" in every sentence)

• Lets you review context before approving

Workflow:

1. Set up auto-linking rules (e.g., "internal linking" → "Internal Linking Guide")

2. Link Whisper scans and suggests auto-link placements

3. You review suggestions in the Auto-Link Report

4. Approve the ones that make sense, skip the rest

5. Click "Insert Selected Links"

Limit Links per Post

What This Controls: Maximum number of times the same auto-link can appear in one post.

Recommended Setting: 1-2 links per target URL per post

Why:

• Prevents repetitive linking (linking the same destination 10 times in one post)

• Looks more natural to readers

• Avoids over-optimization penalties

Example:

If you have an auto-link rule for "SEO" → "SEO Guide," setting this to 1 means only the first mention of "SEO" in each post gets linked. Subsequent mentions remain plain text.

Content Ignoring (Exclude Specific Pages)

Location: Settings → Content Ignoring or Advanced Settings

What This Does: Tells Link Whisper to never auto-link FROM or TO specific pages.

When to Use:

If you have pages you never want to auto-link, add their URLs here:

Common Examples:

• Sales pages: Don't want internal links distracting from conversion

• Thank you pages: Users have already converted

• Cart/Checkout pages: Don't want anything disrupting purchase flow

• Privacy policy: Usually doesn't need internal links

How to Add:

1. Go to Settings → Advanced Settings → Posts to be Ignored for Auto-Linking

2. Enter the full URL or post ID of pages to exclude

3. One per line

4. Click "Save Changes"

Example:

https://yoursite.com/checkout/
https://yoursite.com/buy-now/
https://yoursite.com/special-landing-page/

Scanning Your Existing Content

Link Whisper must index your site to generate suggestions and reports.

The Initial Scan

When It Happens: Automatically during the setup wizard after activation.

What It Does:

• Catalogs all posts/pages matching your configured post types

• Extracts keywords from titles and content

• Maps existing internal links

• Calculates link metrics (inbound/outbound counts)

• Builds the database for suggestions

Duration:

Small Sites (< 50 posts): 10-30 seconds - almost instant

Medium Sites (50-500 posts): 1-5 minutes - visible progress bar

Large Sites (500-1,000 posts): 5-10 minutes - patience required

Very Large Sites (1,000+ posts): 10-15 minutes (sometimes up to 30 minutes for 5,000+ posts)

When to Re-Scan

You generally don't need to manually re-scan often. Link Whisper automatically updates when you:

• Publish a new post

• Update an existing post

• Change link settings

When Manual Re-Scanning Is Useful:

🔄 Bulk Content Upload: You imported 100+ posts from another platform

⚙️ Settings Change: You significantly changed post type selections or filters

🐛 Data Inconsistency: Link counts seem off or suggestions are stale

🆕 Major Site Restructure: You reorganized categories or merged sites

How to Manually Re-Scan

Method 1: From Reports Page

1. Go to Link Whisper → Reports

2. Look for "Scan Now" or "Refresh Data" button

3. Click it

4. Wait for scan to complete

Method 2: From Settings

1. Go to Link Whisper → Settings

2. Look for "Re-Scan Site" or similar option

3. Click "Start Scan"

4. Monitor progress

Important: Keep the browser tab open during scanning. Closing it will interrupt the process.

AI Settings (If You Have AI Credits)

If you've purchased AI credits, you can enable AI-powered link suggestions for even better relevance.

Location: Link Whisper → Settings → AI Settings

Enable AI Suggestions

What This Does: Uses advanced AI to analyze content context and suggest highly relevant links.

Benefits:

• Better accuracy: AI understands semantic relationships, not just keywords

• Contextual relevance: Suggests links based on meaning, not just word matching

• Fewer false positives: Reduces irrelevant suggestions

How to Enable:

1. Go to Link Whisper → Settings → AI Settings

2. Check "Enable AI-Powered Suggestions"

3. Click "Save Changes"

Note: Enabling AI consumes AI credits based on your usage. Monitor your credit balance.

AI Relevance Score Threshold

What This Controls: Minimum AI confidence score required for a suggestion to be shown.

Scale: Typically 0-100%

Recommended Settings:

High Precision (80-100%): Only shows extremely relevant suggestions, fewer total suggestions

Balanced (60-80%): Good mix of quantity and quality - recommended for most users

High Recall (40-60%): Shows more suggestions, may include some less relevant options

Default: Usually 60% or 70%

How to Adjust:

1. Go to AI Settings

2. Find "Minimum Relevance Score" slider

3. Adjust based on your preference

4. Save Changes

Advanced Performance Settings

For larger sites or slower hosting, these settings can improve performance.

Location: Settings → Advanced

Suggestion Limit

What This Controls: Maximum number of suggestions shown per post.

Default: 10-20 suggestions per post

When to Adjust:

• Slow loading: Reduce to 5-10 to speed up the editor

• Want more options: Increase to 30-50 for comprehensive suggestions

Processing Batch Size

What This Controls: How many posts are processed simultaneously during scans.

Default: Usually 50-100 posts per batch

When to Adjust:

• Timeouts during scanning: Reduce to 25 posts per batch

• Fast server: Increase to 200 for quicker scans

Recommended Settings Summary

Here's a quick reference for optimal settings:

For Most Sites:

✅ Post Types: Posts, Pages, + relevant custom types

✅ Post Status: Published (+ Drafts if desired)

✅ Min Word Count: 300 words

✅ Skip Paragraphs: 1-2

✅ Max Links: 10-15 (or no limit for long content)

✅ External Links: Open in new tab

✅ Internal Links: Same tab

✅ Auto-Linking: "Select before inserting" enabled

✅ AI Threshold: 60-70% if using AI

For Large Sites (1,000+ posts):

⚙️ Batch Size: 25-50 posts

⚙️ Suggestion Limit: 10-15 per post

⚙️ Min Word Count: 500 words (focus on substantial content)

Testing Your Configuration

After configuring settings, test them:

Quick Test Checklist:

1. Open a sample post in the WordPress editor

2. Scroll down to the Link Whisper meta box

3. Verify suggestions appear and are relevant

4. Check link appearance (styling, targeting)

5. Test adding links - click suggestions and insert

6. Preview the post - verify links work and open correctly

7. Check reports - ensure metrics update

If Issues Arise:

• Re-check settings match recommendations

• Clear WordPress cache

• Re-scan site content

• Contact support if problems persist

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do I need to configure everything at once?

A: No! The default settings work well. You can adjust as you learn what works for your site.

Q: Can I change settings later without breaking existing links?

A: Yes! Settings changes don't affect links you've already created - only future suggestions.

Q: What if I accidentally mess up settings?

A: Use the "Reset to Defaults" button (if available) or rerun the setup wizard.

Q: Should I enable all custom post types?

A: Only enable post types where you publish substantial content (300+ words). Skip things like team bios or testimonials.

Q: How do I know if my settings are working?

A: Check the Link Health Dashboard - you should see relevant suggestions and accurate metrics.

Need Help with Configuration?

If you're unsure about settings or need personalized recommendations:

Email: support@linkwhisper.com

Subject: "Settings Configuration Help"

Include:

• Your site URL

• Type of content you publish

• Number of posts

• Specific questions about settings

Response Time: Usually within 24 hours

With proper configuration, Link Whisper becomes a powerful tool for improving your site's internal link structure!