Customize External Links and add Icon
by Janine · Uncategorized
Also makes 2 other plugins · 1.3K+ installs across the portfolio →
Customize link attributes, such as nofollow links, remove noreferrer, add icons to indicate external links
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Health
D 54/100
Stale · Few reviews
Active installs
200+
≈270 estimated
Momentum
+0%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “external links” for “noreferrer”. “external links” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “noreferrer” sits at #15 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
54 health vs 58 average across 25,769 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →2.4%
of downloads still active
At least 200 of 8.4K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,778 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Uncategorized 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.
Room to improve
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 673 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.7.11; the current branch is 7.1
3.7★ over 6 reviews, smoothed to 4.06★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 673 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.
32
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.5
Velocity
places per keyword, 26d
0%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 26d
+0.5
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| noreferer your tag | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| noreferrer | #15 | #12 | down 1 |
| external links your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| icon external link your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| nofollow your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| nofollow links your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
4 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 2 listed. 2 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 4 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “external links” for “noreferrer”. “external links” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “noreferrer” sits at #15 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,490 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 675 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #11,300 to #12,900, alongside the other plugins at 200+ 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.
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
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
1.8y ago
latest release · v2.3.2 · 29 Dec 2024
14
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 96% 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 “200+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 4 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 68% of the way through.
Install history since 13 Aug 2022
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Victoria2.3y ago
Make the update more carefully and test it, and don’t just post it publicly, I’m deleting your plugin, I don’t need the search bot to constantly index links to other sites or not
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Jimmy Lee4.4y ago
Good External Link Marker, Thank you!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ ireneuszjulkowski4.8y ago
The plugin works well in conjunction with Extra Elegantthemes and the DIVI builder. Unfortunately despite checked “Noreferrer” option the tag does not appear in the page code.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Gilbert Cattoire5.5y ago
Nice. Does all you need for SEO, getting rid of the default “no referrer” attribute. I also like the fact that you do not have to rely on an external resource like Font Awesome for the icon : less bloat, faster site. == EDIT== Taking off 2 stars for now because, as mentioned by another user, it shows the external link icon with anchor links. Too bad. Please correct this. This topic was modified 5 years, 2 months ago by Gilbert Cattoire.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ mauri015.6y ago
Nothing fancy, but exactly how it should be for SEO. Thank YOU!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ yeoric6.1y ago
Very satisfied, works very well. Minus 1 star for the fact that page-internal links (#-Links, for example to jump to other post sections) are also marked as “external”. Otherwise fiull 5 stars, no problems after a few days of use.
Read on wp.org ↗
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
2 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 "Customize link attributes, such as nofollow links, remove noreferrer, add icons to indicate external links"
- ! Has a FAQ Only 2 questions in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 0 of 2 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("undefined").
- ! 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 811 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "icon external link", "noreferer" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-07-10 300+ → 200+ down after 19 days in tier
- 2026-06-21 200+ → 300+ up after 3 days in tier
- 2026-06-18 300+ → 200+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2026-06-16 200+ → 300+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2026-06-14 300+ → 200+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2026-06-13 200+ → 300+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-06-12 300+ → 200+ down after 15 days in tier
- 2026-05-28 200+ → 300+ up after 4 days in tier
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 - E External Links 8K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags D
- B Better WordPress External Links 400+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags D
-
Leaving Notice Popup For External Links – nofollow, noopener & New Tab 200+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags A - N NoFollowr 200+ installs · 3.7★ · 2 shared tags D
- E External & Affiliate Links Processor 100+ installs · 3.9★ · 2 shared tags D
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Customize External Links and add Icon into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/customize-external-links-and-add-icon" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Customize External Links and add Icon — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Customize External Links and add Icon: 200+ active installs, 3.7★ (6 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-02. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/customize-external-links-and-add-icon
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