However, manually adding internal links is time-consuming and inefficient, especially for larger websites. This is where internal linking tools<\/a> come in, automating the process and making it more scalable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, we\u2019ll compare the features, strengths, and weaknesses of two popular options\u2014LinkStorm<\/strong> and Link Whisper<\/strong>\u2014to help you decide which tool best suits your needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unlike other tools, LinkStorm lets you maintain complete control over which link opportunities you want to accept or reject. It also provides additional information about the link suggestions for a data-driven approach to internal links.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition, LinkStorm offers a long list of other features to streamline your internal linking process and ensure a successful campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Aside from creating internal links post-publication, the tool can suggest linking opportunities as you write your content in WordPress\u2019s text editor. You can also configure the tool to embed links automatically whenever certain words are mentioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Link Whisper has many helpful features, but perhaps the highlight is its internal link reporting and analytics, which we\u2019ll discuss later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n LinkStorm features a simple, user-friendly dashboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After logging in and selecting a project, you\u2019ll see key sitewide data pulled from Google Search Console, including click-through rate, impressions, average position, and total clicks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Below that, LinkStorm provides insights into your site, such as the number of web pages, hyperlinks, detected issues, and internal linking opportunities. Clicking on any of these metrics takes you directly to the relevant section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Navigating the tool is seamless, with all features easily accessible from the sidebar menu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since Link Whisper is a WordPress plugin, you will find its tab on the WP admin\u2019s sidebar menu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Link Whisper offers a clean and intuitive interface, showing an overview of your website\u2019s link stats. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This includes the number of pages crawled, links found, internal links, any orphan pages, broken links, and 404 errors. It also shows additional insights, like your most linked domains and a graph demonstrating the distribution between internal and external links<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The dashboard has tabs for exploring the tool\u2019s features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n LinkStorm offers five essential reports found in the sidebar menu:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here is a quick breakdown of how these reports help optimize your site\u2019s internal linking campaigns:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Pages tab lists all of the discovered pages on your website. It includes essential data about those pages, such as GSC metrics, word count, number of inbound and outbound contextual links, and number of outbound and inbound internal link opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The GSC integration in the Pages report is helpful for site owners to assess which pages are performing well and which need more content optimization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Moreover, the Links In<\/em> and Links Out<\/em> data helps site owners fix link imbalances, such as when a page has too many outbound links but too few inbound links.<\/p>\n\n\n\n LinkStorm\u2019s Opportunities tab shows LinkStorm\u2019s list of internal link suggestions across your website\u2019s content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n (We\u2019ll discuss this more in the \u201cInternal Link Suggestions\u201d section.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Links Report shows all of the existing internal and external links, which includes essential details like the linking and linked pages, type of link (image or text), rel attribute, anchor text used, and the HTTP status. Users may also configure the table to include GSC metrics for additional insights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here is the Links Report interface for internal links:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, here is the Links Report for external links:<\/p>\n\n\n\n LinkStorm\u2019s Anchor report makes anchor text optimization<\/a> effortless by providing an overview of all anchors used across your internal and external links. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It tracks how often each anchor was used, helping you spot opportunities to diversify and avoid over-optimizing anchor texts<\/a> by overusing the same anchors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Click any number under the Internal Links or External Links columns to show which pages use the adjacent anchor text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Issues Report shows the internal link mistakes<\/a> discovered by LinkStorm on your website, such as broken links, nofollow links, and URL redirects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n (We\u2019ll discuss this more in the \u201cIdentifying Sitewide Internal Link Issues\u201d section.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Link Whisper includes four reports for optimizing internal linking campaigns:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here is a run-through of how Link Whisper\u2019s reports work:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Links Report provides a list of all pages on your website, along with data on inbound internal links, outbound internal links, and outbound external links.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pressing the drop-down under each column will show the specific inbound and outbound links from the adjacent pages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Link Whisper\u2019s Domains Report shows which internal pages link to what domain. This is useful for getting a bird\u2019s eye view of all your external links. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Source: Tech O\u2019Clock<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Posts column displays the internal pages linking to the domain in the leftmost column. Meanwhile, the Links column reveals the specific URLs within that domain that are being linked to from your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Clicks Report is a click-tracking mechanism that measures how many clicks your internal links get. More clicks mean your internal linking strategy<\/a> works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Source: Tech O\u2019Clock<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Link Whisper\u2019s Clicks Report is a useful SEO auditing feature for determining the effectiveness of your internal linking campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Error Report lets you see the broken links that your pages are linking to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It also includes additional information, like the anchor text used, the type of link (whether internal or external), the HTTP status code (202, 404, 404, 503), and when the tool discovered the broken link. <\/p>\n\n\n\n (We\u2019ll discuss this more in the \u201cIdentifying Sitewide Internal Link Issues\u201d section.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Unfortunately, Link Whisper primarily focuses on broken links and does not detect other issues like nofollow links or problematic redirects, unlike LinkStorm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n LinkStorm\u2019s internal link opportunities are arranged according to relevance, but you can rearrange the list according to your desired preference. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Unlike other internal linking tools that depend on the presence of keywords or anchor texts for internal link suggestions, LinkStorm\u2019s AI uses \u201csemantic analysis\u201d to assess the contextual relationship between pages, hence, the Relevance Score. This makes LinkStorm\u2019s internal link suggestions superior versus other tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A higher Relevance Score means the two pages are contextually relevant, and an internal link between them will make sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Opportunities Report includes the meta title and URL of the referring and target pages, along with the suggested anchor text. Users can select a different anchor if preferred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition, LinkStorm also shows the pages\u2019 click depths<\/a> or how many clicks it takes to reach a page from the homepage. Creating internal links from low-click depth to high-click depth pages helps optimize Googlebot\u2019s crawling efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Users can customize the columns to include additional insights from GSC to support a data-backed internal linking process<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, applying the scale-down approach<\/em> means linking from a page with a high average position to one with a lower average position, helping boost the latter’s performance in SERPs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the other hand, the scale-up approach<\/em> focuses on linking high-performing pages together to strengthen their rankings even further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By incorporating key GSC metrics, LinkStorm enables you to build internal links strategically, aligning with your SEO goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can use the search bar at the top of the report to target specific pages or anchor texts to build internal links.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Click Accept under the Status column, and the link will automatically embed on your content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Link Whisper offers several ways to access internal link suggestions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first is via the WP text editor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n After writing or pasting your article in the text editor, scroll to the bottom of the page to find the suggested internal links to your content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Users can select a new anchor text or edit the sentence before accepting a link. If you wish to use an alternative link, press the custom link button and paste the new target URL. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To accept the suggestion, toggle the check box beside the link opportunity and click the \u201cinsert links into post\u201d button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The second way is via the Links Report from the main dashboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Click \u201cAdd\u201d under the Inbound internal links column to access Link Whisper\u2019s internal link suggestions to the desired page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Follow the same process: edit the anchor (optional), toggle the check box for accepted links, and click \u201cAdd Links\u201d to embed the internal links.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unfortunately, Link Whisper does not include GSC data in its internal link suggestions report, making the opportunities less data-driven than LinkStorm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another way to build links with Link Whisper is via its auto-linking feature. This is done by pre-defining a keyword and assigning a corresponding link. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The link gets automatically embedded whenever the keyword is mentioned in the content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While this approach is convenient, it can lead to overusing exact-match anchors, possibly harming SEO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For more SEO-friendly results, we recommend letting Link Whisper\u2019s AI dynamically suggest anchor texts instead of pre-defining them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another helpful feature is Link Whisper\u2019s URL Changer, which lets you set a command that updates old URLs with new ones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a valuable feature for affiliate marketers who intend to replace the old link with your affiliate link or if you want to replace basic links with URLs with UTM parameters for link-tracking purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n LinkStorm makes a perfect SEO audit tool mainly due to its versatility in identifying sitewide issues, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n On LinkStorm\u2019s dashboard, select the Issues tab. This report lets you jump between broken links, nofollow links, and URL redirects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Broken internal links<\/a> lead to non-existent pages, which might be caused by page deletion, website restructuring, or URL slug revision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These links lead to 404 error pages, which ruin the user experience and serve as dead-ends in Googlebot\u2019s crawling activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The report shows essential details, like the anchor text used, the broken target URL, and the status code. In this example, 410 means the target page has already been deleted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Use this insight to remove or replace the broken URL with the correct link on your CMS dashboard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Nofollow internal links<\/a> refer to hyperlinks that are qualified with a rel=”nofollow” attribute. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Unfortunately, this signals Googlebot not to crawl the linked page, which also prevents the transfer of page authority<\/a> from the source page to the destination URL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maintaining nofollow internal links is not a good practice, but they can happen inadvertently. This feature allows you to qualify links properly so they can serve your SEO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n URL redirects<\/a> are server-side instructions that automatically send users and search engines to a different page than initially requested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While not inherently bad, they can cause redirect chains or redirect loops when not managed properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n LinkStorm lets you track the flow of redirections, which is essential when conducting internal link audits<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n True orphan pages<\/a> have no incoming internal links or backlinks, rendering those pages disconnected from the site structure and inaccessible to web crawlers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But even if a page has backlinks and no internal links, they can already be considered orphaned. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n A 2022 study by Linkody found that backlinks have a link decay rate<\/a> of >40% in 7 years. This means that pages with no internal link will become orphan pages eventually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The only way to prevent this is by building internal links to these pages and reconnecting them to the site structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To find orphan pages on LinkStorm, visit the Pages tab and look at the Links In column. This shows the number of internal links to that page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pages with zero Links In value don\u2019t have inbound contextual links<\/a>, making them vulnerable to becoming orphan pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To resolve this, click the number under the Semantic Opp. In<\/em> column next to the orphan page. This will display all internal link suggestions for that page, which you can accept to reintegrate the page into the site structure and prevent it from being orphaned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Link Whisper is quite limited when it comes to identifying internal link issues. The tool\u2019s capability is restricted to finding sitewide broken links and orphan pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here is how it works:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Access the Error Report from Link Whisper\u2019s dashboard to find the broken links.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Configure the list by clicking the Status Codes dropdown, and then uncheck everything except the 404 Not Found checkbox to focus on broken pages. However, you may keep them checked to see pages with other error codes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Doing so will reveal all of the broken URLs found on your website, as shown in the screenshot below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can edit the broken URL with the correct one using the Edit button under the Broken URL column or delete the URL altogether by pressing the X button in the rightmost column.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To find orphan pages using Link Whisper, click the Links Report tab from the dashboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This will list all your website\u2019s pages and the number of inbound internal links, outbound internal links, and outbound external links it has. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Toggle the inbound internal links column to arrange the list according to the least number of incoming internal links. These are your orphan pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Select the add button adjacent to the orphan page, and Link Whisper will provide suggestions for internal linking. Accept the link opportunities so the page will no longer be orphaned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n LinkStorm is a stand-alone online tool\u2014not a WordPress plugin\u2014which is a good thing for several reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, it does not add additional load to your website as other plugins do, slowing down your operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Secondly, you safeguard your website from plugin errors that might cause irreversible damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, it works well on all websites and content management systems, making it suitable for SEO professionals managing multiple websites built on different CMS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you want LinkStorm to embed accepted link suggestions into your content directly, you must paste a code snippet on your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\nKey Takeaways<\/h2>\n
\n
A Brief Overview of LinkStorm and Link Whisper<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Before we begin, let\u2019s first acquaint ourselves with the candidates for this comparison and review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is LinkStorm?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/wp.linkstorm.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/LinkStorm-homepage-1024x498.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
LinkStorm<\/a> is an internal linking tool that uses AI and semantic analysis to suggest relevant contextual links across your web pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is Link Whisper?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n![\"LinkWhisper](\"https:\/\/wp.linkstorm.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/LinkWhisper-homepage-1024x406.jpg\")
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Link Whisper<\/a> is an internal linking WordPress plugin that uses AI to find sitewide internal link opportunities<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
LinkStorm vs Link Whisper: A Feature Comparison<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019ll compare LinkStorm and Link Whisper based on seven shared features. If you wish to skip ahead to any category, just click the anchor link below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
1. User Interface and Dashboard<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
LinkStorm<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/wp.linkstorm.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-of-LinkStorm-dashboard-1024x412.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Link Whisper<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/wp.linkstorm.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-of-Link-Whisper-dashboard-1024x497.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
2. Internal Link Reports<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
LinkStorm<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/wp.linkstorm.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-of-LinkStorm-reports.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
A. Pages Report<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/wp.linkstorm.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-of-LinkStorm-Pages-report-2.0-1024x546.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
B. Opportunities Report<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/wp.linkstorm.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-of-LinkStorm-Opportunities-report-1024x461.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
C. Links Report<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/wp.linkstorm.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-of-LinkStorm-Links-report-1024x492.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/wp.linkstorm.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-of-LinkStorm-Links-report-external-links-1024x386.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
D. Anchor Report<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/wp.linkstorm.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-of-LinkStorm-Anchor-report-1024x512.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
E. Issues Report<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Link Whisper<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/wp.linkstorm.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-of-Link-Whisper-reports.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
A. Links Report<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/wp.linkstorm.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-of-Link-Whisper-Links-Report-1024x446.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
B. Domains Report<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/wp.linkstorm.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-of-Link-Whisper-Domains-report-1024x507.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
C. Clicks Report<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/wp.linkstorm.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-of-Link-Whisper-Clicks-Report-1024x501.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
D. Error Report<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/wp.linkstorm.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-of-Link-Whisper-Error-Report-1024x446.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
3. Internal Link Suggestions<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
LinkStorm<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/wp.linkstorm.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-of-LinkStorm-Opportunities-report-with-GSC-metrics-1024x340.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/wp.linkstorm.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-of-LinkStorm-Opportunities-report-search-bar-1024x83.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Link Whisper<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/wp.linkstorm.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-of-Link-Whisper-internal-link-suggestions-content-editor-1024x506.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/wp.linkstorm.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-of-Link-Whisper-Add-Inbound-Internal-Links-Report-1024x455.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Link](\"https:\/\/wp.linkstorm.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/image-7-1024x495.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Link](\"https:\/\/wp.linkstorm.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/image-8-1024x502.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
4. Identifying Sitewide Internal Link Issues<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
LinkStorm<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n
A. Broken Links<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/wp.linkstorm.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-of-LinkStorm-Broken-Links-report-1024x286.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
B. Nofollow Links<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/wp.linkstorm.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-of-LinkStorm-nofollow-links-report-1024x477.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
C. URL Redirects<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/wp.linkstorm.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-of-LinkStorm-URL-redirects-report-1024x385.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
D. Orphan Pages<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/wp.linkstorm.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-of-LinkStorm-Pages-report-1024x521.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Link Whisper<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
A. Broken Links<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/wp.linkstorm.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-of-Link-Whisper-dashboard-with-arrow-to-Error-Report--1024x359.png\"){kind=icon}
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/wp.linkstorm.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-of-Link-Whisper-Error-Report-Status-Code-Configuration-1024x397.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/wp.linkstorm.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-of-Link-Whisper-list-of-broken-URLs-1024x272.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
B. Orphan Pages<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/wp.linkstorm.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-of-Link-Whisper-Dashboard-with-arrow-to-Links-Report-1024x359.jpg\"){kind=icon}
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/wp.linkstorm.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Screenshot-of-Link-Whisper-internal-links-report.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
5. Website Integration<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
LinkStorm<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"LinkStorm](\"https:\/\/wp.linkstorm.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/LinkStorm-pricing-1024x401.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Link](\"https:\/\/wp.linkstorm.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Link-Whisper-pricing-1024x499.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n