4Linking vs OrphanPages – Internal Link Audit, Orphaned Pages, Broken Links & SEO Content Structure Analyzer

4Linking automates internal linking in WordPress. You define the rules once — which keywords link to which pages — and the plugin keeps your internal link structure clean and consistent across the whole site, from a small blog to an editorial site with thousands of posts, without the manual work internal linking usually requires. 4Linking is built around a simple, controllable idea: rules. Instead of guessing or linking by hand, you tell the plugin how your content should connect — and it applies those relationships automatically as you publish. Key features Rule-based internal linking — decide which keywords link to which URLs, with custom anchor text, frequency caps and priority. You stay in full control of every link the plugin creates. Pillar pages — mark your strategic pages so related content sends them preferential internal links, reinforcing your most important URLs. Visual link map — see how internal links are distributed across your site at a glance, with totals per rule and per page. URL exclusions — keep specific URLs (legal pages, login, checkout…) out of internal linking entirely, so links only land where you want them. Synonyms and variations — a rule can match a keyword and its variations, so natural writing still triggers the right links. Bulk processing — apply your rules across existing posts in one pass, not just on new content. Block editor and Classic editor — works with both, no setup friction. Runs entirely on your server — no external services, no account, no signup. Your content never leaves your site. Who it’s for Bloggers and site owners who want a tidy internal link structure without editing every post by hand. Online editors and media sites publishing daily, who need internal architecture to scale without becoming a full-time job. SEO agencies and content teams that need to apply consistent linking rules reliably across one site or many. Why 4Linking There are many SEO plugins, and they all have their place. 4Linking does one job well: serious internal linking, with full control. Alongside your SEO plugin (Yoast, Rank Math) — those handle analysis and on-page SEO; 4Linking handles the actual mechanics of internal linking. They complement each other. Versus manual linking — no more opening old posts to add links by hand. Define a rule once and it applies everywhere, including posts you publish later. Versus guesswork — every link follows an explicit rule you wrote, so you always know why a link exists and where it points. Privacy and data 4Linking runs entirely on your own server, using WordPress’s standard database and APIs. It makes no calls to any external service, requires no account and collects no data. Your content stays on your site. Looking for AI content and semantic linking? 4Linking has a separate commercial version, 4Linking PRO, available at 4linking.com. It adds AI article generation, semantic internal linking, knowledge bases, AI image generation, translation and automation pipelines. PRO is a separate product — this free plugin is fully functional on its own and is not time-limited or feature-gated in any way. Requirements WordPress 6.0 or higher PHP 7.4 or higher

Internal links are one of the most underrated components of WordPress SEO. They help search engines discover your content, pass authority between pages, improve crawlability, and define your site structure. Yet as websites grow, internal linking becomes harder to maintain, and important content often becomes isolated, underlinked, or even completely invisible to both users and search engines. OrphanPages provides a full internal link audit for your website. It scans all public post types, analyzes how your content links together, and identifies: Orphaned pages and posts (URLs with 0 incoming internal links) Weakly linked pages with poor link depth Moderately and strongly linked content hubs Broken outgoing links that return 404 or unreachable results External links leaving your site Full incoming and outgoing link paths Anchor text usage and linking context This plugin offers a complete overview of your site’s internal link structure, link health, broken links, and outgoing link patterns — all inside a clean, sortable, easy-to-read interface. Why internal linking matters Search engines rely heavily on internal linking to understand content relationships, assign importance to different URLs, and discover new pages. A strong internal linking strategy improves indexing speed, ranking potential, and user navigation. A weak structure leads to low crawlability, inconsistent link depth, buried content, and orphan pages. Even with an updated XML sitemap, pages without incoming internal links often fail to get indexed reliably. Fixing internal linking is one of the simplest and most impactful SEO improvements any site can make. OrphanPages helps you identify issues like: Important content with no links pointing to it New posts that were never linked from older articles Pages that exist only in menus but not in contextual links Broken internal or external links harming site quality Outdated references after site migrations or URL changes Content deep within the architecture with low crawl priority Outgoing links pointing to irrelevant, old, or redirected URLs What OrphanPages analyzes The plugin performs a comprehensive internal linking audit and reports: Orphaned posts (0 incoming links) Weak links (1–2 incoming links) Moderate links (3–4 incoming links) Strong internal linking (5+ internal references) Incoming links per page (link source, anchor text, link type) Outgoing internal links and outgoing external links Broken links such as 404s or unreachable URLs Canonical URL versions of links to avoid mismatches Internal linking patterns between posts and pages Anchor text variations and linking context Link distribution across your entire content library All results appear inside a sortable, paginated dashboard with per-post expandable details. The plugin never modifies any posts, URLs, or metadata. All analysis is read-only. Who is this plugin for? WordPress site owners improving SEO Publishers managing large content libraries Editors reviewing linking consistency across articles SEO professionals performing internal linking audits Content teams ensuring new content gets indexed E-commerce stores checking underlinked product pages Agencies providing link health and structure reports Features One-click internal link analysis Full internal link checker for all public post types Identify orphan pages and weakly linked content Comprehensive link audit including incoming and outgoing links Broken link detection for internal and external URLs External link overview for SEO audits and affiliate review Canonical URL normalization to prevent mismatched link detection Link distribution dashboard and crawl depth insights Expandable per-post detail panel for deep link inspection Sortable, filterable, paginated results table Read-only scanning ensures safety for all sites Works with custom post types and custom permalinks Fully localizable No tracking, no ads, no front-end impact License This plugin is licensed under GPLv2 or later. You may modify, redistribute, or build upon it under the terms of the GPL.