Auto External Link Nofollow
by Viktor Androshuck · SEO
Automatically adds rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" to all external links in post and page content.
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
C 65/100
Stale · Few reviews
Active installs
10+
≈19 estimated
Momentum
-33%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “content filter” and “external links” for “noreferrer” and “noopener”. “content filter” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “noreferrer” sits at #16 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “external links” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “noopener” sits at #20 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
65 health vs 65 average across 2,230 SEO plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.7%
of downloads still active
At least 10 of 580 lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median SEO plugin keeps 1.2%, across 1,196 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other SEO plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
Details
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Well optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 442 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.8.12; the current branch is 7.1
5.0★ over 1 review, smoothed to 4.12★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 442 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
Get the full rank-higher report →Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
46
Momentum
Holding steady
+0.3
Velocity
places per keyword, 22d
33%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 22d
+0.7
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| noreferrer | #16 | #20 | 0 |
| noopener | #20 | #23 | 0 |
| nofollow external link | #23 | #24 | 0 |
| nofollow external links | #24 | #24 | — |
| rel noopener | #24 | #24 | — |
| content filter your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| external links your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| nofollow your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| rel your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| seo your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
5 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “content filter” and “external links” for “noreferrer” and “noopener”. “content filter” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “noreferrer” sits at #16 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “external links” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “noopener” sits at #20 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
Daily downloads
Since 17 Aug 2025 · 442 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 59 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #30,400 to #44,800, alongside the other plugins at 10+ installs. Plugins with the same install count swap places between wp.org requests, so this is where most of them sit. Checked monthly, last on 1 Nov 2026.
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
Update activity
Downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites.
Not enough installs to measure. This needs at least 100 active sites; below that, a handful of downloads reads as tens of thousands.
Release cadence
No release in a yearHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
0
releases in the last 12 months
1.2y ago
latest release · v1.0.0 · 17 Aug 2025
1
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 100% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “10+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 33 days ago and a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, so the real count is still just under 20.
Install history since 17 Aug 2025
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ EncodeDotHost12mo ago
Does exactly what it says on the tin! No fluff, just “no follow” external links across your site 👍
Read on wp.org ↗
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 4 languages, 3 at 90% or more
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
4 of 8 pass · checked 28 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Automatically adds rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" to all external links in post and page content."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 3 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 3 of 3 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 1 list; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 331 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "content filter" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-09-30 20+ → 10+ down after 8 days in tier
- 2026-09-22 10+ → 20+ up
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
-
External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window 80K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags A -
Title and Nofollow For Links (Classic Editor) 10K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags A -
Nofollow for external link 9K+ installs · 3.8★ · 2 shared tags D - E External Links 8K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags D
-
noindex SEO 3K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags B - U Ultimate Noindex Nofollow Tool II 3K+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags D
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Auto External Link Nofollow into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/auto-external-link-nofollow" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Auto External Link Nofollow — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Auto External Link Nofollow: 10+ active installs, 5.0★ (1 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-02. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/auto-external-link-nofollow
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