How to setup Auto Link Keywords

What is Auto Link Keywords?

Automatically convert keywords or phrases in your post content into clickable short links — without editing each post manually.

How It Works?

When a visitor loads a post, the plugin scans the content for your configured keywords and wraps each match in an anchor element pointing to the designated short link. Existing links and HTML tags are never modified.

Enable the Feature

Go to URL Shortify → Settings → Links tab.
Scroll to the Auto Link Keywords section.
Toggle Enable Auto Link Keywords to On.
Click Save Settings.

Auto Link Keywords Settings

Disabling this toggle turns off all keyword linking site-wide, without deleting your individual rules.

Configure Global Defaults (optional)

These defaults pre-fill values when creating new keyword rules, saving time if most rules share the same settings.

Setting	What It Controls
Default Post Types	Which post types new rules apply to by default
Open in New Tab	Pre-checks the "Open in new tab" option
Add rel="nofollow"	Pre-checks the nofollow option
Case Sensitive	Pre-checks case-sensitive matching
Default Status	Whether new rules start as Active or Inactive

Create a Keyword Rule

Option A - From the Auto Link Keywords page

Add Auto Link Keyword Rule

Go to URL Shortify → Auto Link Keywords.
Click Add New.

Fill in the form:

Field	Description
Keywords	One or more keywords separated by commas (e.g. `WordPress, WP, wordpress plugin`)
Short Link	Select the short link to use — search by name or slug
Post Types	Choose which post types this rule applies to; leave all unchecked for all post types
Open in New Tab	Adds `target="_blank" rel="noopener"` to the generated anchor
Add rel="nofollow"	Adds `rel="nofollow"` to the anchor
Case Sensitive	Match keywords exactly as typed
Status	Active (rule runs) or Inactive (rule is paused)

Click Save.

Option B - From the Link Add/Edit form

Auto Link Keywords in Link Form

Open any short link for editing (URL Shortify → Links → Edit).
Find the Auto Link Keywords field in the link form.
Enter keywords separated by commas.
Save the link.

This creates (or updates) a keyword rule for that link using your global default settings.

Manage Existing Rules

Go to URL Shortify → Auto Link Keywords to see all rules.

Manage Auto Link Keyword Rules

Column	What It Shows
Keyword	All keywords for the rule (shown as badges)
Short Link	The target short link name and URL
Post Types	Applicable post types, or "All"
Options	Active options (New Tab, Nofollow, Case Sensitive)
Status	Active / Inactive badge
Created On	Rule creation date

Row actions: Edit · Delete Bulk action: Delete selected rules

Verify It's Working

Open any post that contains one of your configured keywords.
View the published post on the frontend.
The keyword should appear as a clickable link pointing to your short URL.

Notes & Limitations

Keyword matching uses word boundaries (\b), so WP will not match inside WPress.
Each rule targets one short link but can contain multiple comma-separated keywords.
Rules apply only to the post content (the_content filter) — not titles, excerpts, or widgets.
Existing <a> tags inside content are never modified.
Requires URL Shortify PRO.

REST API

Refer to the REST API documentation for more details on authentication, request formats, and error handling.