Plain-English definitions for every term Linkilo uses. If you've read something in the guide and thought "wait, what does that mean?", check here.
A
AI provider The company whose AI models Linkilo uses. OpenAI is the default and powers link suggestions and content processing. OpenRouter can do the same through one account. Anthropic, Perplexity and xAI currently power only the chat assistant. Chosen in Settings → AI Settings, step 1.
AI Usage Meter The panel at the top of AI Settings showing this month's requests, tokens and estimated provider spend. It is an estimate of what your provider will bill you — never a Linkilo charge.
Anchor / Anchor text The visible words of a link — what readers see and click. In <a href="example.com">my favorite cigar</a>, the anchor text is "my favorite cigar." In 3.0 the AI picks each anchor from the sentence itself (usually 2–6 words).
API key A long string (an OpenAI key looks like sk-abc123...) that lets Linkilo talk to your AI provider on your behalf. Treat it like a password. Linkilo stores it encrypted.
Autopilot The "always on" mode of the AI suggestion engine. Continuously processes your site in small chunks in the background. Switch it on in AI Settings step 5 (Smart autopilot) or on the AI Suggestions page.
Auto-apply A step beyond Autopilot. When a suggestion scores above your Confidence threshold, Linkilo adds the link without asking. Everything below the threshold still waits in your review queue.
Auto Links A rule you write — "whenever this phrase appears, link it to this URL." Managed under Linkilo → Linking → Add New Auto Links. No AI needed.
B
Background task A piece of work WordPress runs without you watching — like the weekly site sweep or the broken-link checker. Relies on WP-Cron.
Broken link A link on your site that goes to a URL that doesn't work anymore. In 3.0 only a 2xx response counts as working. Found by the Broken Link Checker and fixed from Fix Link Health.
Build Queue The main button on the AI Suggestions page. It opens the Processing Settings panel; Start Processing then scans a capped batch of posts and fills your review queue.
C
Cannibalization When multiple pages on your site target the same keyword or get the same internal links, they compete for the same Google attention. Usually bad. See the Keyword Cannibalization and Link Cannibalization reports.
Canonical owner The "official" post for a given keyword. Multiple posts compete; one wins. Set it with Decide owner in Keyword Cannibalization or from Keyword Conflicts.
Cluster (Topic Cluster) A group of related posts. One pillar post, several supporting posts. Helps Google see you as an expert on the topic.
Cluster Visualization The map view on the Topic Clusters page — your clusters drawn as a diagram. Switched on under Settings → Topic Clusters → Topic Cluster Visualization.
Confidence How sure Linkilo is about a suggestion. Shown on every card. Minimum Confidence Level (AI Suggestions page → Processing Settings) hides weaker suggestions; Confidence threshold (AI Settings step 5) gates Auto-apply.
Cornerstone content Yoast SEO's tag for "this is one of my most important articles." Only link to Yoast Cornerstone posts in Content Filters makes Linkilo prefer them as link targets.
Crawler Analyzer The menu name (under Fix) for Linkilo's Server Log Analyzer. Records which bots — Googlebot, AI crawlers, SEO tools — visit which pages. Its settings are under Settings → Server Log Analyzer.
Cron / WP-Cron WordPress's system for running scheduled tasks. Used by Linkilo for background scans, broken-link checks, etc. Can be unreliable on managed hosts; Linkilo warns you when it stalls.
D
Debug Mode A checkbox on the AI Suggestions page (and in the post-editor box) that shows a detailed log while a scan runs. Different from Show PHP errors on the page in Settings → Advanced, which surfaces PHP errors.
Diagnostics The pane at Settings → Diagnostics: System Status checks, the last recorded error, background activity and a Copy system report for support button.
E
Editor Related Posts The Linkilo Related Posts panel in your post-edit screen showing related posts so you can manually link them. Different from the front-end Related Posts widget.
Embedding A mathematical representation of what a post is "about" that the AI uses to compare posts. You don't need to know how it works. Default model: text-embedding-3-small.
External link A link from your site to another website (not yours).
F
Fix Link Health The 3.0 page under Linkilo → Fix that turns broken links, redirected links, redirect chains and orphaned pages into one queue. Items are sorted into Safe fixes, Needs review, Manual decisions and Blocked, with Open, Applied and Ignored tabs.
Floating AI Assistant An optional chat box in the corner of Linkilo admin pages (admins only). Answers link-health questions and can start safe scans after you confirm. Turned on in AI Settings step 2.
Focus keyword The main keyword a post tries to rank for. Yoast, Rank Math and AIOSEO all let you set this per post. Linkilo reads them and manages them on the Focus Keyword page.
G
Generic anchor Anchor text like "click here," "read more," "this article." Not helpful for SEO. Linkilo flags these.
Googlebot Google's web crawler. Crawler Analyzer shows you exactly what it does.
GSC (Google Search Console) Google's free tool for site owners. Shows you which queries bring visitors, indexing status, crawl issues. Linkilo connects with one Connect Google Search Console & Analytics button and uses the data for smarter suggestions, Index Coverage and the cannibalization reports.
H
Hover preview / Link Preview A small card that appears when a reader hovers over a link, showing a preview of the destination. Settings → Link Preview.
I
Index / Indexed When Google has visited a page and added it to search results. Pages can be "submitted but not indexed," "indexed," or "blocked from indexing." Linkilo's Index Coverage report (under Diagnose) shows this per URL.
Internal link A link from one page on your site to another page on your site.
J
JS-driven processing A way Linkilo runs scans. Uses your browser to send small batches of posts for processing while the page is open. Much more reliable than WP-Cron alone on managed hosts.
K
Keyword Conflicts The AI Lab page that shows which posts compete for the same keyword and suggests an owner. Apply safe owner fixes handles the clear-cut ones in bulk.
Keyword Specialist The AI Lab page that builds a review queue of per-post keyword improvements. Nothing changes until you approve a row.
L
Legacy engine The classic keyword-matching link finder. Doesn't need an AI key. Less smart than the AI engine but still useful. In the post editor it's the Get Legacy Suggestions button.
License key The string from your linkilo.co account. Activate Linkilo with it on the license screen or via Settings → Licensing.
Link Priorities The first page under Linking. Tells you which pages deserve internal links next, grouped as Ready for Linkilo, Rescue targets and Needs demand data, each with a Next Move.
Linking rules Optional guardrails the AI reads before it suggests a link (AI Settings step 4) — for example a maximum number of links per section. Formerly called AI Rules.
M
MCP Access The page under Manage that lets AI assistants such as Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini read Linkilo data (and, if you allow it, make confirmed changes). MCP never spends your provider credits.
Metabox A panel on the post-edit screen. Linkilo adds several: Linkilo AI Suggestions (the suggestion buttons), Linkilo AI Profile, LINKILO – Settings (focus, custom and negative keywords), Linkilo Related Posts and Related Posts Settings.
Multi-site linking / Cross-site linking Feature for owners of multiple WordPress sites. Linkilo connects them so they can suggest links across each other. Settings → Advanced.
N
Negative keyword A phrase a specific post should never link on. Added per post in the LINKILO – Settings box or on the Focus Keyword page. Compare Stop word, which is site-wide.
Nofollow A rel tag on a link that tells Google "don't pass my ranking to this destination." Used for affiliate links, paid links, untrusted sources.
noopener A rel tag for security. Prevents the destination from grabbing control of your browser tab. Good for links that open in new tabs.
noreferrer A rel tag that hides the page you came from when a user clicks a link.
O
OpenAI The default AI provider. You need an OpenAI account and API key for AI suggestions and content processing.
Orphan page / Orphan post A page on your site that no other page links to internally. Search engines barely visit them. The Orphan Pages report lists them; Find source pages suggests pages that could link in.
Over-optimized anchor Same exact-match anchor text used too many times for the same target. Looks unnatural to Google. The Anchor Report flags these.
P
Perform Scan The Summary button that rebuilds Linkilo's link records from your content. Run it after upgrading and after changing which post types Linkilo scans. Refresh Dashboard only recalculates the cards from the last scan.
Pillar post / Pillar page The most comprehensive post in a topic cluster — the "guide" or "hub" article. Shown with a Parent badge in Topic Clusters.
Post type WordPress's term for the kind of content. "post" (blog), "page" (static), "attachment" (media), plus custom types from plugins.
Profile (Linkilo AI Profile) Linkilo's per-post tag for what kind of post it is — format (review, listicle, how-to), role, topic. Used for smarter suggestions. You can override it in the Linkilo AI Profile box.
R
Regenerate Complete Map The Topic Clusters button that rebuilds the whole cluster map. Manual clusters are kept; weak matches go to the Review Queue. Audit Current Map re-checks the existing map without rebuilding it.
Redirection Setting up a "go here instead" rule when a URL changes. Prevents broken links and preserves SEO.
Rejection ledger Linkilo's memory of which suggestions you've rejected. An exact source → target → anchor combination never returns; after three different anchors are rejected for the same pair of posts, the pair is blocked.
rel attribute Metadata on a link telling search engines about the relationship. Includes nofollow, sponsored, ugc, noopener, noreferrer.
Revenue page A page that earns you money (sales, affiliate commissions). Linkilo doesn't have a separate "money page" switch; Link Priorities uses your GA4 data to show which valuable pages deserve support links.
Review Queue On the Topic Clusters page: posts waiting for a cluster decision (Ready to place, Awaiting analysis, Analysis needs attention, Not analyzed). On the AI Suggestions page, "review queue" simply means your list of pending suggestions.
Rollback snapshot A copy Linkilo keeps of a post before Fix Link Health edits it, so the change can be undone. Snapshots are kept for 180 days; the five most recent are listed on the page.
S
Safe Mode (Performance Safe Mode) A switch in Settings → Diagnostics that pauses all Linkilo background work if your host reports high load, while keeping reports and settings usable.
Scan The act of Linkilo analyzing your posts — either Perform Scan (recording existing links) or an AI Suggestions run (finding new link opportunities).
SEO Search Engine Optimization — making your site more visible in Google's search results.
Setup Guide The page under Manage where you switch optional tools on or off with one click each and see your next steps.
Sponsored A rel tag for paid links. Required by Google for affiliate / sponsored content.
Stop word A common word filtered out before scoring. "The," "and," "or" are stop words. Linkilo has a built-in list plus Your stop words in Content Filters.
Subtype dimension A way the AI checks if anchor text and target post are compatible. Has axes like "tech_type" (analog vs smart), "power," "tier," etc.
Suggestion engine The part of Linkilo that finds and ranks link opportunities. Two modes — AI (your provider) and Legacy (keyword matching).
Summary The home page of Linkilo in your admin (called Dashboard in older versions). Shows link totals, Link Health, Link Growth Over Time and the scan buttons.
T
Target post The post a suggested link would point TO. Compare to "source post" (the post the link goes IN).
TOFU / MOFU / BOFU Top / Middle / Bottom of Funnel. Where each post fits in a buyer journey. TOFU = informational, MOFU = comparison, BOFU = purchase-intent.
Topic cluster See "Cluster."
U
UGC (User-Generated Content) A rel tag for links from users (comments, forum posts). Tells Google "the site owner didn't add this."
URL Records Linkilo's inventory of every tracked page with its inbound and outbound link counts. In 3.0 you reach it as Linkilo → Linking → Add URLs.
V
Verifier (Semantic Verifier) A final-pass AI check before a link is suggested. Asks "does this link actually make sense in context?", picks the anchor from the sentence and writes the Why this link makes sense note on the card.
W
Weekly site sweep A scheduled scan that re-checks posts that haven't been analyzed for a while. AI Settings step 5.
Workbench (Linkilo AI Workbench) The page behind Linkilo → AI Lab → Linkilo AI – Beta. Shows what Linkilo can do next: Link Health Cleanup, Content Intelligence, Suggestion Queue, Suggestion Learning, Assistant, Client Reporting and Usage Guardrails.
WP-Cron WordPress's scheduled-task system. Used by Linkilo for background work.
Y
Yoast SEO A popular WordPress SEO plugin. Linkilo integrates with it for focus keywords and cornerstone content.
Common Support Terms
- 404 — page not found
- 500 / 5xx — server error
- 301 — permanent redirect (good for SEO)
- 302 — temporary redirect
- AJAX — how Linkilo's UI updates without a full page reload
- JSON — the data format Linkilo uses to send results to your browser
Last reviewed for Linkilo 3.0.0 (October 2026).