SEO Smart Link Targets
by Andrew Gunn · SEO
Also makes 10 other plugins · 1.4K+ installs across the portfolio →
Super lightweight solution to changing all external links and internal PDF attachments to open in a new tab.
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
D 45/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
40+
≈40 estimated
Momentum
+100%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “external links”, “link redirect” and “seo” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
45 health vs 65 average across 2,224 SEO plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.8%
of downloads still active
At least 40 of 4.8K lifetime downloads are still running, below its category: the median SEO plugin keeps 1.2%, across 1,193 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.
High removal-risk signals
63/100Maintenance and integrity signals that tend to precede a WordPress.org removal. Not an official status, a heads-up to act.
- Long abandoned. No update in 10+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 4.5.33, well behind 6.8.
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.
Under-optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 3754 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 4.5.33; the current branch is 6.8
5.0★ over 2 reviews, smoothed to 4.13★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 3754 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.
Not enough tracked days yet to call a direction. Momentum needs at least three keywords measured a week or more apart.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| exteral link redirect your tag | #1 | #1 | — |
| external links your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| link redirect your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| seo your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| seo links your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
1 search this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 4 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “external links”, “link redirect” and “seo” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 65 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #21,400 to #22,800, alongside the other plugins at 40+ 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.
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
10.3y ago
latest release · v1.0 · 22 Jul 2016
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 “40+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 9 days ago and a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, so the real count is still just over 40.
Install history since 26 Oct 2020
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ bioneer9.2y ago
Simple and effective solution for opening pdf files in new tabs. Works with WordPress 8.1.* and the Divi theme from Elegant Themes. Thank you for the effort.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Andrew Gunn10.3y ago
Automatically takes care of all external links
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
0 of 8 pass · checked 1 Nov 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ! Says what it does Short description names no action; say what the plugin does for the site.
- ! Has a FAQ No FAQ section.
- ! FAQ asks real questions No FAQ to judge.
- ! 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 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 108 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ! Tags match the text Only 1 of 5 tags appear in the text ("exteral link redirect", "link redirect", "seo", "seo links" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-10-23 30+ → 40+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2026-10-21 40+ → 30+ down after 187 days in tier
- 2026-04-17 50+ → 40+ down after 9 days in tier
- 2026-04-08 40+ → 50+ up after 61 days in tier
- 2026-02-06 50+ → 40+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2026-02-05 40+ → 50+ up after 20 days in tier
- 2026-01-16 50+ → 40+ down after 177 days in tier
- 2025-07-23 60+ → 50+ down after 70 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 Overview 1K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags C -
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag A -
LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag B -
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag A -
All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ installs · 4.7★ · 1 shared tag A -
XML Sitemap Generator for Google 1M+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for SEO Smart Link Targets into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/seo-smart-link-targets" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="SEO Smart Link Targets — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> SEO Smart Link Targets: 40+ active installs, 5.0★ (2 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/seo-smart-link-targets
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