Internal linking is crucial for search engine optimization. It helps Google discover all pages on a site and assign value to them. The more links to a page, the more important it is.
The structure of a site affects internal links. Examples include navigation, footer links, “related articles” and “related products”.
However, the most impactful links are “contextual” because Google looks at the surrounding context to assign relevance signals. A link in the body of this article is contextual.
Contextual links are difficult to scale, especially for sites with thousands of pages, but AI technology can help. AI can detect phrase variations and synonyms to identify relevant pages for contextual links.
Here are three AI-powered internal linking tools.
LinkWhisper
LinkWhisper
LinkWhisper is a WordPress plugin and Shopify app that analyzes contextual links (internal and external), identifies pages with zero or too many inbound links, and suggests where to add links. The tool focuses only on contextual links, ignoring navigation links, widgets and sidebars.
The report is also useful for identifying broken and orphaned pages, those that have no inbound internal links (accessible via external links or sitemaps).
LinkWhisper suggests relevant internal links as a user types in the WordPress editor. It’s a practical reminder. The tool can also recommend internal links to a list of pages.
Pricing for LinkWhisper starts at $97 for a one-time fee WordPress license or $7 a month for the Shopify app with a 7-day trial.
LinkActions
LinkActions
LinkActions connects to Search Console to analyze a site’s structure and provide internal linking suggestions. You can also add internal links automatically. Just paste the LinkActions code snippet into your site’s header and enable internal link insertions.
Pricing for LinkActions starts at $64 per month for up to three sites and 1,500 pages. The free trial includes limited reporting without automation.
LinkStorm
LinkStorm
LinkStorm track a site and reveal:
Immediate internal linking opportunities based on content, Additional copy for each article to increase linking opportunities based on the semantic similarity of the two posts.
It also quotes the optimal number of internal links for each page and shows where to place a link on the page and the preferred anchor. However, it does not automatically add the link.
LinkStorm costs $30 per month for 1,000 pages on unlimited sites. A free trial is available.
