Hey there, WordPress beginner! Are you ready to unlock the power of links on your website? Adding links in WordPress is a crucial skill that can help you boost your traffic, engage your audience, and even make you money.
But with so many types of links and places to add them in WordPress, it can feel overwhelming at first. Don‘t worry though – I‘m here to break it all down for you step-by-step in this ultimate guide to WordPress linking.
Why Are Links Important in WordPress?
Before we dive into the technical process of adding links in WordPress, let‘s talk about why links are so essential in the first place.
1. Internal Linking for SEO and User Experience
Internal links are hyperlinks that point from one page on your website to another page on your site. Not only do internal links help your visitors discover more of your amazing content, but they also help search engines like Google understand your site structure and spread authority to your other pages.
According to Google, "Some pages are known because Google has already crawled them before. Other pages are discovered when Google follows a link from a known page to a new page." So the more internal links you have, the easier it is for Google to find and rank your content!
Additionally, internal links help create a better user experience by guiding visitors to related content they‘re interested in. One study found that sites with a strong internal linking structure had an average of 5 pageviews per visitor compared to only 1-2 pageviews on sites with poor internal linking.
2. External Links for Credibility and Partnerships
External links are hyperlinks that point from your website to another website. While some SEOs worry that external links drive visitors away from your site, when used strategically, outbound links can actually boost your site‘s credibility and form mutually beneficial partnerships.
As Databox explains, "Outbound links to related pages helps Google figure out your page‘s topic. It also shows Google that your page is a hub of quality info."
In fact, the data shows that websites with external links to authoritative resources outperform those that don‘t link out at all. Reboot conducted a study where they created 10 new websites and found that the sites with outbound links ranked higher than all the other sites.
External links are also a great way to build partnerships with other websites in your niche. You can use external links to cite expert quotes, link to helpful tools and resources, and more. Many websites will even return the favor and link back to you!
3. Affiliate Links for Monetization
Affiliate links are special tracking links that allow you to earn a commission when someone clicks your link and makes a purchase on the linked website. These links are an easy way to monetize your WordPress site, even if you don‘t have your own products or services to sell.
To give you an idea of what‘s possible, Ryan Robinson reported earning over $17,000 per month from affiliate links on his blog. And according to Ahrefs, 81% of brands rely on affiliate programs.
The key to success with affiliate links is to only recommend products you genuinely use and trust. You should also always disclose your affiliate relationships to be transparent with your audience.
4. Call-to-Action Links for Conversions
Call-to-action (CTA) links are links that encourage your visitors to take a specific action, such as signing up for your email list, registering for a webinar, or purchasing a product. You‘ll often see CTA links as buttons with phrases like "Sign Up Now" or "Get 50% Off Today."
Adding clear CTA links in your content and sidebar can dramatically boost your conversion rates. WordStream found that adding CTA buttons to your blog posts can increase conversion rates by 28% compared to just using a text link!
How to Add a Link in WordPress (4 Key Areas)
Now that you understand the power of the different types of links you can add in WordPress, let‘s walk through exactly how to add them step-by-step.
Adding Links in the WordPress Block Editor
- Open the post or page you want to add a link to (or create a new one)
- In the block editor, select the text you want to make into a link
- Click the link icon in the toolbar (it looks like a chain link)
- Type or paste the link URL into the field
- Click the settings icon to choose whether to open the link in a new tab
- Click "Apply" to insert the link
Adding Links in the WordPress Classic Editor
- Open the post or page you want to add a link to (or create a new one)
- Make sure you‘re on the "Visual" tab of the classic editor
- Highlight the text you want to turn into a link
- Click the link button above the toolbar (it looks like a chainlink)
- Paste the link URL into the URL field
- Choose whether to open the link in a new tab
- Click "Add Link" to insert the hyperlink
- Go to Appearance > Menus in your WordPress dashboard
- Select the menu you want to add links to (or create a new one)
- Under "Add menu items", choose the pages, posts, categories, or custom links to add
- Click "Add to Menu" to add your selected links
- Drag and drop the menu items to reorder them
- Click "Save Menu" to publish your changes
Adding Button Links in WordPress
- Add a new "Button" block in the WordPress editor
- Enter the button text in the block
- Paste your link URL into the "Link" settings on the right
- Choose the button style, color, width, and other design settings
- Update or publish the post or page to make the button link live
How to Add Advanced Link Attributes in WordPress
To really make your links work for you, you need to understand link attributes. Link attributes are bits of code that tell browsers and search engines more information about your links. The most important link attributes you should know are:
- NoFollow (
rel="nofollow") – Tells search engines not to pass PageRank through this link (often used for sponsored or untrusted links) - Sponsored (
rel="sponsored") – Identifies links that are advertisements or paid placements - UGC (
rel="ugc") – Marks links added by users in user-generated content like blog comments - Open in New Tab (
target="_blank") – Makes the link open in a new browser tab
In HTML, a link with all these attributes would look like this:
<a href="https://example.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow sponsored ugc">Example Link</a>
To add link attributes in the block editor, click on the link and go to the "Link settings" on the right sidebar. There you can toggle the "Open in new tab" option on or off, and type nofollow, sponsored, or ugc into the "Link rel" field.
7 Internal Linking Best Practices for WordPress
Want to really level up your internal linking game? Here are 7 WordPress internal linking best practices the pros use:
- Link deep – Make sure to add internal links not just to your homepage or first-level pages, but to relevant deeper pages as well
- Use keyword-rich anchor text – When linking, try to use anchor text that includes keywords you want the linked page to rank for
- Link to relevant content – Only add internal links to other pages that are truly relevant to the topic at hand
- Don‘t overdo it – Aim for 2-5 internal links per 1000 words to avoid looking spammy
- Incorporate internal links naturally – The links should flow with the content, not feel forced or stuffed in
- Add links to new and old content – When you publish a new post, go back and add internal links from related older posts to spread the authority
- Audit and update internal links regularly – Use an SEO tool like Ahrefs or Screaming Frog to check for broken links, fix them, and find new internal linking opportunities
| Internal Linking KPI | Target |
|---|---|
| Internal Links Per Page | 2-5 per 1000 words |
| Broken Internal Links | <1% |
| Orphan Pages (Pages with no internal links) | 0 |
| PageRank Distribution | PageRank flowing to key pages, not just homepage |
5 Helpful WordPress Link Manager Plugins
Finally, if you really want to streamline your WordPress linking process, you can use link management plugins. Here are some of the most useful WordPress plugins for links:
- Pretty Links – Shortens and tracks your affiliate links
- ThirstyAffiliates – Manages and cloaks your affiliate links
- WP Links – Adds a "Links Manager" to WordPress for curating external links
- Broken Link Checker – Monitors and notifies you of broken links on your site
- Internal Link Juicer – Suggests contextual internal links to add based on your content
You‘re Ready to Become a WordPress Link Master!
Whew, that was a lot to cover! But I hope this guide has given you the knowledge and tools you need to confidently add links in WordPress. Just remember:
✅ Add a variety of internal, external, affiliate, and CTA links
✅ Always choose relevant, natural anchor text
✅ Set external links to open in a new tab
✅ Add attributes like nofollow and sponsored when appropriate
✅ Use link plugins to save time and add advanced tracking features
Now get out there and start adding those links! Your WordPress site traffic and profits will thank you.
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