Title: rootlinkd
Author: DAWN
Published: November 8, 2026
Last modified: November 8, 2026
---
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# rootlinkd
By [DAWN](https://profiles.wordpress.org/vyscocity/)
[Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/rootlinkd.2.5.24.zip)
* [Details](https://wordpress.org/plugins/rootlinkd/#description)
* [Reviews](https://wordpress.org/plugins/rootlinkd/#reviews)
* [Installation](https://wordpress.org/plugins/rootlinkd/#installation)
* [Development](https://wordpress.org/plugins/rootlinkd/#developers)
[Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/rootlinkd/)
## Description
rootlinkd automatically turns exact keywords and phrases into internal links across
your WordPress content.
Set one keyword or phrase and one internal destination URL. When that exact text
appears in eligible rendered content, rootlinkd creates the internal link automatically.
Your posts are never rewritten: links are added as each page is displayed, so changing
or deleting a rule updates every page at once.
**Free includes:**
* Unlimited internal-link rules
* One exact keyword or phrase and one internal destination URL per rule
* Whole-word, case-insensitive matching
* Every eligible exact match is linked, including headings (H1-H6) and the main
singular post/page title
* Links inherit the active WordPress theme’s normal link appearance
* Existing links and technical markup are protected from nested or corrupt links
* Works with Gutenberg, Elementor and the Classic Editor
**Pro** adds placement and volume control: a maximum number of links per page, linking
each keyword once per page, skipping headings and titles, skipping the first paragraphs,
excluding the current page, and turning auto-links off on individual posts or pages.
It also adds external links, trusted domains (your own other sites treated as internal),
one keyword variation per rule and five link styles.
**Business** adds affiliate links with `rel="nofollow sponsored"`, automatic affiliate
tag appending, click counts and analytics, a link randomizer, CSV import and export,
up to five keyword variations per rule and three more link styles.
**Developer** adds unlimited keyword variations and destination URL autocomplete.
rootlinkd was previously named DAWN Auto Links.
### External Service: Freemius
rootlinkd includes the Freemius SDK for optional account connection, licensing,
paid upgrades, payments, software updates, and related account features.
On the Free edition’s activation screen, you can skip the Freemius connection and
continue using the Free plugin. If you choose to opt in, Freemius may receive basic
profile, website, WordPress environment, and product-usage information needed for
the services you allow. Paid purchases and license activation also communicate with
Freemius.
Freemius service information: https://freemius.com/
Freemius Terms of Service:
https://freemius.com/terms/ Freemius Privacy Policy: https://freemius.com/privacy/
## Screenshots
[⌊Rules list⌉⌊Rules list⌉[
Rules list
[⌊Add/edit rule with keyword variations (paid plans)⌉⌊Add/edit rule with keyword
variations (paid plans)⌉[
Add/edit rule with keyword variations (paid plans)
[⌊Settings (paid plans)⌉⌊Settings (paid plans)⌉[
Settings (paid plans)
[⌊Analytics (paid plans)⌉⌊Analytics (paid plans)⌉[
Analytics (paid plans)
[⌊Links in published content⌉⌊Links in published content⌉[
Links in published content
## Installation
1. Install and activate rootlinkd.
2. Open rootlinkd -> Rules.
3. Add an exact keyword or phrase and an internal destination URL.
4. The Free edition automatically links every eligible exact match it finds.
## FAQ
### How many rules can I create in Free?
Unlimited. The Free edition has no rule-count quota.
### How many links can Free add to one page?
Free has no links-per-page or once-per-keyword control. Every eligible exact match
can be linked.
### Will Free link inside headings or titles?
Yes. H1-H6 content and the main singular post/page title are eligible. Paid editions
provide placement controls. Archive, navigation, and secondary-loop titles remain
protected where linking could create invalid nested anchors.
### Does Free have a Settings or Analytics page?
No. Free provides the exact-match internal-link engine and Rules management.
### Does Free support keyword variations, external links, or affiliate links?
No. Those are paid features.
### Can Free exclude the first paragraph or specific pages?
No. Placement and exclusion controls are paid features.
### What does Free protect?
rootlinkd does not create nested links inside an existing `` element and does
not modify script, style, code, preformatted, textarea content, or HTML tag attributes.
### Do my rules carry over when I upgrade?
Yes. Free and paid editions share the same rules table and settings, so data carries
across upgrades.
### Does deleting the plugin delete my rules?
No. Rules and settings stay in your database, so reinstalling brings them back.
### Was this plugin previously called DAWN Auto Links?
Yes. It was renamed to rootlinkd in version 2.5.21. Your rules and settings carry
over unchanged.
## Reviews
There are no reviews for this plugin.
## Contributors & Developers
“rootlinkd” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this
plugin.
Contributors
* [ DAWN ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/vyscocity/)
* [ Freemius ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/freemius/)
[Translate “rootlinkd” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/rootlinkd)
### Interested in development?
[Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/rootlinkd/), check
out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/rootlinkd/), or subscribe
to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/rootlinkd/) by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/rootlinkd/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss).
## Changelog
#### 2.5.24
* Fixed: editing a rule in Free failed with “The link you followed has expired”;
the rule form now posts to the clean Rules URL (this also fixes adding a rule
right after Delete/Enable/Disable)
* Removed the legacy DAWN Auto Links icon from the bundled Freemius assets
* Plugin classes renamed to the plugin’s existing dawnal prefix (Dawnal_Free_Plugin,
Dawnal_Premium_Plugin); the Free package no longer references the premium class
* No database, option, rule, settings, feature-gate or pricing changes
#### 2.5.23
* Author URI now points to the About page (https://rootlinkd.com/about/) so it
differs from the Plugin URI
* No functional, database, option, rule, feature-gate or licensing changes
#### 2.5.22
* Corrected upgrade promotion text: removed “Unlimited link rules” from the PRO
upsell (every edition, including Free, has unlimited rules); “click tracking”
wording now reads “click counts” to match what each plan shows
* Settings help text and placeholders now use neutral examples (example.com) instead
of real site and affiliate IDs
* No functional, database, option, rule, feature-gate or licensing changes
#### 2.5.21
* Renamed from DAWN Auto Links to rootlinkd (plugin name, slug, text domain and
admin menu)
* Upgrade tab corrected: site counts per plan, removed support-level and “unlimited
rules” claims
* No database, option, rule or settings changes; existing rules and settings carry
over
#### 2.5.20
* Code-quality cleanup in paid editions (input sanitization, output escaping, inline
script formatting); no Free changes
#### 2.5.19
* Plugin Check cleanup: removed a WordPress 6.1-only cache function from the settings
migration so the plugin stays compatible with WordPress 5.0+
* Debug logging now writes only when WP_DEBUG and WP_DEBUG_LOG are enabled
* Tightened input sanitization on the Add/Edit Rule form
#### 2.5.18
* Fixed Premium “Skip first paragraphs” leaking auto-links into Elementor opening
content when DAL received a widget fragment before the assembled page content
* When first-paragraph exclusion is enabled, DAL now defers Elementor per-widget
linking and applies the placement rule to assembled content instead
* Hardened paragraph-boundary handling so paragraph-less/fewer-than-requested fallback
fragments are left untouched rather than bypassing the exclusion
#### 2.5.17
* Documentation correction: clarified the 2.5.15 prefix-migration notes so they
no longer claim six Premium AJAX/admin-post hook registrations were migrated
before the 2.5.16 fix
* No functional, database, Freemius SDK, or plan/tier behavior changes from 2.5.16
#### 2.5.16
* Fixed six Premium AJAX/admin-post hook registrations that were still listening
on legacy `dal_*` action names after the 2.5.15 prefix migration
* Premium search, bulk toggle, click tracking, CSV export and CSV import now register
the same `dawnal_*` action names used by their callers
#### 2.5.15
* Migrated functions, constants, globals, options, post meta, AJAX action callers
and asset handles to the unique `dawnal_` prefix; six Premium AJAX/admin-post
hook registrations remained on legacy `dal_*` names and were corrected in 2.5.16;
existing settings migrate automatically on update
* Main-title linking now escapes the full returned title
* Fixed rule URLs containing query strings (`&`) being double-encoded in rendered
links
* Updated Plugin URI and Author URI
#### 2.5.14
* Fixed Premium Add/Edit Rule handling so duplicate keywords show an error instead
of a false success message
* Added direct capability checks to Premium Analytics and Upgrade content handlers
* Treats leading-slash relative URLs as internal links in Premium URL classification
* Updated a stale Developer-only AJAX comment; no Free-tier behavior or Freemius
packaging changes
## Meta
* Version **2.5.24**
* Last updated **21 hours ago**
* Active installations **Fewer than 10**
* WordPress version ** 5.0 or higher **
* Tested up to **7.1.4**
* PHP version ** 7.4 or higher **
* Tags
* [auto linking](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/auto-linking/)[internal linking](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/internal-linking/)
[internal links](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/internal-links/)[links](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/links/)
[seo](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/seo/)
* [Advanced View](https://wordpress.org/plugins/rootlinkd/advanced/)
## Ratings
No reviews have been submitted yet.
[Your review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/rootlinkd/reviews/#new-post)
[See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/rootlinkd/reviews/)
## Contributors
* [ DAWN ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/vyscocity/)
* [ Freemius ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/freemius/)
## Support
Got something to say? Need help?
[View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/rootlinkd/)