How to Connect Other External Sites You Own

When this is useful

If you own more than one WordPress site, say a main blog and a shop, you can connect them so Linkilo suggests links from one to the other. While you edit a post on Site A, Linkilo can suggest posts and pages from Site B.

Keep links between your own sites few and relevant. Search engines can treat heavy cross-linking between sites with the same owner as a link scheme. Add a cross-site link where it helps the reader, not on every post.

What the sites share

Connected sites share the titles and addresses of their published posts and pages. Password-protected posts are left out. Each site keeps its own AI provider key, settings and reports. Linkilo imports up to 1,000 posts and pages from each connected site.

Before you start

• Both sites run Linkilo 3.0 or later with an active licence.
• Both sites can be reached on the public internet. Linkilo cannot connect to localhost or a private network address.
• You can sign in to the WordPress admin of both sites, because each side has a step to do.

Step 1: Turn on cross-site linking on both sites

Do this on Site A and on Site B:

1. Go to Linkilo → Settings and click Advanced in the left navigation.
2. In the Connected sites card, switch Enable cross-site linking to On.
3. Click Save Settings at the bottom of the page.

After saving, the card shows Your connected sites and an Add a site field. While the switch is off, other sites cannot connect to this one or import its posts, and no connected-site suggestions are shown.

Step 2: Send a connection request from Site A

1. On Site A, open Linkilo → Settings → Advanced and find the Connected sites card.
2. Under Add a site, enter Site B's home address as it appears in your browser, for example https://example.com/. Include www if Site B uses it.
3. Click Send connection request.

Site B appears under Your connected sites with the status Waiting for the other site to accept. The request stays open for 2 days.

Step 3: Accept the request on Site B

Sign in to Site B. You can accept the request in either of two places:

• The admin notice. While a request is waiting, Linkilo screens show Linkilo: another site wants to connect with Accept and Decline buttons. On the WordPress Dashboard the notice has an Open Connected sites button instead.
• The Connected sites card. Open Linkilo → Settings → Advanced. The request is listed under Requests from other sites. Click Accept.

Accepting connects the sites both ways: Site A can import Site B's posts, and Site B can import Site A's. Site A also appears in Site B's list of connected sites.

If you don't recognise the site, click Decline. Site A then shows Declined by the other site and can send a new request later.

Step 4: Import the other site's posts

1. On Site A, reload Linkilo → Settings → Advanced. Site B now shows Connected.
2. Click Import now on Site B's row.

When it finishes you see Import complete with the number of posts and pages imported, and the row shows Imported posts and Last import. Imports don't repeat on their own: click Import now again when Site B has new posts you want suggested.

To get suggestions in the other direction, click Import now on Site B as well.

Where the suggestions appear

1. Edit a post on Site A.
2. In the Linkilo AI Suggestions box, click Get Legacy Suggestions.
3. Suggestions from Site B are marked Connected site: followed by Site B's address. Click Apply Link to insert the link.

Linkilo suggests a Site B post when its title, or a 2–4 word part of its title, appears in your text. The Title source must be switched on. You get up to 5 connected-site suggestions at a time, and posts you already link to are skipped. Get AI Suggestions does not include connected sites yet.

Managing connected sites

Each connected site has a row with its status, the number of imported posts, the last import time and these buttons:

• Import now: fetches the other site's current list of posts and pages. The old list is replaced only after the new one arrives, so a failed import never empties it.
• Pause suggestions: stops suggesting posts from that site but keeps the connection and the imported posts. The row shows Suggestions paused. Click Resume suggestions to turn them back on.
• Remove: deletes the imported posts from this site, and Linkilo stops suggesting that site. Links already in your posts are not changed. Removing works on this site only. To disconnect both ways, remove the connection on the other site too; otherwise the other site shows Needs reconnecting the next time it imports.
• Cancel request: shown instead of Remove while a request is waiting for an answer.

What each status means

• Connected: the sites are connected. Use Import now to fetch posts.
• Waiting for the other site to accept: the request was sent. On the other site, accept it as described in Step 3.
• Request expired: the other site did not answer within 2 days. Add the site again to send a new request.
• Declined by the other site: the other site said no. Add the site again to send a new request.
• Needs reconnecting: the other site no longer recognises the connection, usually because it was removed there. Your imported posts are kept. Add the site again to reconnect.
• Not connected: the site was left half-connected by an older version of Linkilo. Add it again to reconnect.

Error messages

If something goes wrong, the card shows a message with a title. If an import fails, the row also shows Last import failed. followed by the reason.

"The other site's Linkilo licence is not active"

Linkilo is installed on the other site, but its licence isn't active there. Activate the licence on that site, then try again. While no licence is active, the Linkilo menu on that site opens the licence screen.

"Cross-site linking is off on the other site"

On the other site, open Linkilo → Settings → Advanced → Connected sites, turn on Enable cross-site linking, click Save Settings, then try again.

"The other site no longer recognises this connection"

The other site rejected this site's connection code, usually because the connection was removed there. The row changes to Needs reconnecting and your imported posts are kept. Add the site again to send a new request.

"The other site needs an update"

The other site is still on Linkilo 2.x. Update it to 3.0 or later, then try again.

"Linkilo did not answer on the other site"

Nothing answered at the address you entered. Check that it is the site's home address (for example https://example.com/), that Linkilo is installed and active there with an active licence, and that Enable cross-site linking is on.

"Could not reach the other site"

Linkilo could not contact the other site at all. Check that the address is right and that the site is online, then try again.

"The other site refused the request"

The other site did not accept this site's credentials. Remove the site here, remove this site on the other site if it is listed there, then connect again. Sites behind a proxy or CDN that changes their IP address are not supported yet.

"The request is no longer open"

The other site no longer has this connection request, usually because it expired. Send a new request.

"Check the address"

Enter the full home address, including https:// or http://. This message also appears for localhost and private network addresses, which Linkilo cannot connect to.

"The other site had an error"

The other site returned a server error. Try again in a few minutes. If it keeps happening, check that site's PHP error log or contact support.

Troubleshooting

No connected-site suggestions appear

• The row shows 0 imported posts: click Import now.
• The row shows Suggestions paused: click Resume suggestions.
• The Title source is off in the suggestions box: switch it on.
• None of the other site's post titles appear in your text. Connected-site suggestions only come from title matches.

The other site never sees my request

Make sure Enable cross-site linking is on and saved on the other site, then look under Requests from other sites in its Connected sites card. If the request has expired, add the site again.

www, subdomains and licences

For the connection, https://example.com and https://www.example.com are different addresses, so enter the one the site really uses. For licensing, example.com, www and its subdomains count as one licence domain.

Last reviewed for Linkilo 3.0 (October 2026).