AI Internal Linking: add WordPress internal links automatically

Index your content and insert natural, relevant internal links between posts, with full control over anchors and limits.

Plan: Business

On this page

What it does

AI Internal Linking (ILM) analyzes your posts, builds a semantic index of what each one is
about, and inserts internal links between related posts using natural anchor text. Good internal
linking spreads authority, helps search engines understand your site structure, and keeps
readers moving through related content. Runs happen in the background, on demand or via
Autopilot, and every link is reversible for 30 days.

How to set it up

The module has three tabs: Settings, Dashboard, and the Inbound link manager.

Configure the Settings tab

  1. Go to DefiniteSEO > AI Internal Linking and open Settings.
  2. Turn on Enable Autopilot if you want links added automatically.
  3. Choose a Mode (Conservative, Balanced, Aggressive, or Custom), which sets the quality
    floor for how confident a suggestion must be before it is applied.
  4. Set your limits: max links per source post, max incoming links per target, and the minimum
    paragraph length eligible for a link.
  5. Choose the post types to link and the allowed anchor types.
  6. Select Save settings.

The AI Internal Linking settings tab with mode and link limits

Build the index and run a sweep

  1. Open the Dashboard tab to see index coverage and the queue.
  2. Select Start full sweep to index and link your content, or Process one tick to advance
    the queue a step at a time.
  3. Review Recent runs, expand a run to see the links it added, and use Undo to revert.

Add inbound links to a specific page

  1. Open the Inbound link manager.
  2. Pick a target post you want more links pointing to.
  3. Review posts that mention it and apply the inbound links you want.

Anchor types and diversity

Internal links use one of five anchor styles. You choose which are allowed:

  • Exact: the target's exact keyword.
  • Synonym: a close variant of the keyword.
  • LSI: a semantically related term.
  • Branded: your brand or site name.
  • Generic: a general phrase.

By default only Exact and Synonym are allowed, because they carry the strongest, least
noisy signal. Enable the others when your content calls for more variety. The module also tracks
anchor diversity and flags over-optimized targets so the same anchor is not overused.

Pillar pages and important targets

You can tell the module about your strategy so it links smarter:

  • Pillar pages get a scoring boost so related posts preferentially link to them.
  • Important target pages (services, pricing, key landing pages) are preferred as link
    destinations when the context fits.
  • Brand terms beyond your site name are treated as branded anchors.

Settings reference

Setting What it does Default Notes
Enable Autopilot Add internal links automatically Off Manual sweeps still work when off
Mode Quality floor for applying a suggestion Balanced conservative, balanced, aggressive, custom
Post types to link Which post types are linked Post Add pages, products, or CPTs explicitly
Max links per source post Cap on outbound links added per post 8 Pages default to a lower cap of 4
Max incoming per target Cap on links pointing to one post 20 Prevents over-linking a single target
Minimum paragraph words Shortest paragraph eligible for a link 25 Avoids linking from thin text
Allowed anchor types Which anchor styles may be used Exact, Synonym Also LSI, Branded, Generic
Preserve modified date Do not bump the post's modified date on apply On Keeps sitemaps and "last updated" clean
Recommendation engine Phrase-only (Plan A) or content-aware AI (Plan B) Plan A Plan B adds pillar, silo, and full-text candidates
Plan B apply mode How Plan B proposals are applied Preview preview, wrap_only, or both
Pillar boost Scoring multiplier for pillar targets 1.40 Set to 1.0 to disable the boost
Email digest Summary email of linking activity On Set recipient

Limits and good to know

  • Plan: Requires the Business plan or higher, and the AI Internal Linking dashboard card must
    be on.
  • Credits: Local indexing is usually free (it reuses signals already computed); deriving new
    semantics or ranking anchors with AI uses credits.
  • Undo: Every applied link is reversible for 30 days from the Activity log.
  • Background behavior: The queue processes every few minutes via WordPress cron, with a
    periodic re-sweep to keep the index fresh; large sites index over multiple runs.
  • Modified date: By default, applying a link does not change a post's modified date, so it
    will not flood your sitemap's last-modified timestamps.

FAQ

What is a pillar page and why does it matter here?

A pillar page is a cornerstone post you want other content to support. AI Internal Linking gives
pillar pages a scoring boost so related posts preferentially link to them, concentrating internal
authority where it helps most.

How do I stop the same anchor text from being overused?

The module tracks anchor diversity and reports over-optimized targets on the dashboard. Keep
a mix of allowed anchor types (start with Exact and Synonym) and review the over-optimized list
to rebalance.

No, not by default. Preserve modified date is on, so applying a link does not bump the post's
modified date. Your sitemap timestamps and "last updated" widgets stay accurate.

What is the difference between Plan A and Plan B?

Plan A is a phrase-only matcher that suggests links based on keyword matches. Plan B is a
content-aware AI flow that also considers pillar, silo, and full-text candidates for richer
suggestions. Plan B's apply mode lets you preview before anything is inserted.

Can I add links to one important page specifically?

Yes. Use the Inbound link manager: pick the target page, review posts that mention it, and
apply inbound links. You can also mark it as an important target so runs prefer it.