A powerful WordPress link management plugin for shortening, tracking, and organizing your links.
The most powerful free affiliate link management and URL shortener plugin for WordPress.
Royal Links is a complete link cloaking, click tracking, and link management solution that gives you every tool you need to shorten, cloak, track, and optimize your affiliate links and marketing URLs — without paying a cent. No “lite” version, no feature gates, no upsells. Everything competitors charge $200/yr for is included free.
Whether you manage affiliate links, run marketing campaigns, track click performance, or just want clean branded short URLs on your own domain, Royal Links has you covered.
Link Management
- Branded Short URLs — Create clean links using your own domain
- Multiple Redirect Types — 301, 302, and 307 redirects
- Link Categories & Tags — Organize everything with taxonomies
- Nofollow / Sponsored / UGC Attributes — Stay compliant with search engine guidelines
- Password-Protected Links — Gate access to sensitive destinations
- Link Scheduling — Set start and end dates for any link
- Affiliate Disclosure Notices — Automatically display FTC-compliant disclosures
Click Tracking & Analytics
- Detailed Click Analytics — Browser, device, OS, referrer, and country data
- Dashboard Widget — At-a-glance stats with period-over-period comparison
- QR Scan Tracking — See how many clicks come from your QR codes
- UTM Parameter Builder — Build campaign-tagged URLs without leaving WordPress
Advanced Redirects
- Geo-Targeting — Redirect visitors to different URLs based on their country
- Device-Based Redirects — Send desktop, mobile, and tablet users to different destinations
- Time-Based Redirects — Automatically swap destinations on a schedule
- A/B Split Testing — Test multiple destinations and track which converts best
Content & Display
- QR Code Generator — Generate downloadable QR codes for any link
- Product Display Boxes — Eye-catching product cards with images and CTAs
- Automatic Keyword Linking — Define keywords and Royal Links auto-links them across your content
- Gutenberg Block & Classic Editor — Insert links from either editor
Site Health
- Broken Link Checker — Automatic monitoring flags dead destinations
- Link Health Dashboard — See all link issues at a glance
Migration Wizard
Switching from another plugin? Royal Links imports your links, categories, and click data in one click:
- Pretty Links — Full import including groups and clicks
- ThirstyAffiliates — Full import including categories and click data
- BetterLinks — Full import including analytics
Why Royal Links?
Most link management plugins offer basic features for free and lock the good stuff behind a paid upgrade. Royal Links takes a different approach — every feature is included from day one. Geo-targeting, A/B testing, QR codes, auto-linking, product displays, device redirects, and link scheduling are all built in with no restrictions.
Powered by Royal Plugins
Royal Links is built by the team behind Royal MCP and SiteVault — free WordPress plugins trusted by thousands of sites. We believe powerful tools should be accessible to everyone.
External Services
This plugin connects to the following external service under specific conditions:
ip-api.com
Royal Links uses the ip-api.com geolocation API to determine a visitor’s country for the geo-targeting feature. This service is only contacted when a site administrator has configured country-based redirect rules on a specific link. If no geo-targeting rules are configured, no data is sent to this service.
When geo-targeting is active on a link and a visitor clicks that link, the visitor’s IP address is sent to ip-api.com to determine their country. The country result is then used to decide which destination URL the visitor should be redirected to.
- Service URL: http://ip-api.com
- Terms of Service / Privacy Policy: https://ip-api.com/docs/legal
- Data sent: Visitor IP address (only when geo-targeting rules exist on the clicked link)
- Data received: Country code for the visitor’s IP address
- Data retention: Royal Links does not store the IP-to-country lookup. The country is used only for the redirect decision. IP addresses are only stored in the click log if the “Store IP Addresses” setting is enabled (disabled by default).
- When it is used: Only when a visitor clicks a link that has geo-targeting redirect rules configured by the site admin
- When it is NOT used: If no links have geo-targeting rules, this service is never contacted
Screenshots
Link management dashboard with click stats
Create/edit link with all options
Geo-targeting with country-based redirects
A/B split testing results
QR code generator
Product display boxes
Analytics dashboard with charts
Auto keyword linker settings
Migration wizard — import from Pretty Links, ThirstyAffiliates, BetterLinks
Link health monitoring
What makes Royal Links different from other link management plugins?
Royal Links gives you every feature for free. Geo-targeting, A/B split testing, QR codes, automatic keyword linking, product displays, device-based redirects, link scheduling — features that other plugins charge $100-200/yr for are all included at no cost. There is no premium tier and no upsell.
Can I import my links from Pretty Links, ThirstyAffiliates, or BetterLinks?
Yes. Go to Royal Links > Tools and use the Migration Wizard. It imports your links, categories, and click history from Pretty Links, ThirstyAffiliates, or BetterLinks in one click. Your existing short URLs and redirects will keep working.
Is geo-targeting really free?
Yes. Configure country-based redirect rules on any link at no cost. When a visitor clicks that link, their country is detected and they are redirected to the appropriate destination. No API key needed, no usage limits.
Does Royal Links work with Amazon Associates?
Yes. Amazon’s terms require that affiliate links are not cloaked (the destination must be visible). Royal Links supports uncloaked redirects — just set the redirect type and Amazon links will work within their guidelines. You can also use the nofollow attribute for compliance.
What redirect types are supported?
Royal Links supports 301 (permanent), 302 (temporary), and 307 (temporary, preserves method) redirects. On top of that, you can layer device-based redirects, geo-targeting redirects, and time-based redirects that automatically switch destinations on a schedule.
Is there a Pro version?
No. Royal Links is the full version. Every feature is included and there is no paid upgrade. We built this as a completely free plugin.
How does the automatic keyword linker work?
Define keywords and associate them with your links. Royal Links automatically scans your post and page content and turns matching keywords into linked text pointing to the destinations you configured. You control the maximum number of links per keyword, which post types to scan, and which content areas to target.
Is my data private?
Your links, analytics, and settings are stored entirely in your own WordPress database. The only external service Royal Links contacts is ip-api.com, and only when you have configured geo-targeting rules on a specific link. If you don’t use geo-targeting, no external requests are made. See the External Services section for full details.
What is link cloaking and why do I need it?
Link cloaking replaces long, ugly affiliate URLs with clean, branded short links on your own domain (e.g., yoursite.com/go/product-name instead of affiliate-network.com/ref?id=12345&tracking=abc). This makes links more trustworthy to visitors, easier to share, and protects your affiliate commissions from being stripped. Royal Links handles all of this automatically with 301, 302, or 307 redirects.
How do I track affiliate link clicks in WordPress?
Install Royal Links and create a new link with your affiliate URL as the destination. Royal Links automatically tracks every click with detailed analytics — browser, device, operating system, country, referrer, and timestamp. View performance in the analytics dashboard with charts, top-performing links, and referrer breakdowns. You can also track QR code scans separately.
What happens to my existing links if I deactivate the plugin?
Your links and click data remain in the database. If you reactivate Royal Links, everything will be restored. If you want to permanently remove all data, use the standard WordPress uninstall process (delete the plugin from the Plugins page).
ChangeLog
2.0.2
- New: WordPress Playground live preview — click “Live Preview” on the plugin listing to try Royal Links in a browser sandbox with 10 sample links and click history pre-seeded.
- New: Video walkthrough embedded on the plugin listing page.
- New: Ten screenshots showcasing link management, analytics, geo-targeting, A/B testing, QR codes, product boxes, auto-linking, migration wizard, and link health.
2.0.1
- Fix: Settings page now renders with white card background
- Fix: Dashicon alignment on Short URL copy/test buttons
- Fix: Geo-targeting country selector now uses bundled Select2 (no longer depends on WP core)
- Fix: Geo-targeting backward compatibility with legacy single-country rules
- Improved: Bundled Chart.js locally (removed CDN dependency)
2.0.0
- MAJOR: All premium features are now completely free — no paid tier, no upsells
- New: Geo-targeting — redirect visitors based on country using ip-api.com
- New: A/B split testing with conversion tracking
- New: QR code generation for any link
- New: Product display boxes with images and CTAs
- New: Automatic keyword linking across your content
- New: UTM parameter builder
- New: Device-based redirects (desktop, mobile, tablet)
- New: Time-based redirects with scheduling
- New: Password-protected links
- New: Affiliate disclosure notices
- New: Link scheduling with start/end dates
- New: Migration wizard for Pretty Links, ThirstyAffiliates, and BetterLinks
- Improved: Enhanced analytics with QR scan tracking
- Improved: Dashboard widget with period comparison
1.2.0
- New: Migration wizard — import links from Pretty Links, ThirstyAffiliates, and BetterLinks
- Fixed: Migrate button was non-functional (form handler was missing)
1.1.3
- New: Redesigned dashboard widget with period-over-period comparison (30d vs previous 30d)
- New: Change badges showing click trends, new links, and unique links clicked
- New: Broken links warning bar with direct link to health checker
1.1.2
- Security: Improved sanitization of $_GET and $_FILES superglobals
- Fix: Moved all inline CSS to external stylesheet (WP.org compliance)
- Fix: Inline JavaScript now uses wp_add_inline_script() properly
- Fix: PHP limits (set_time_limit, ini_set) now scoped to batch processing only
- Updated: Chart.js upgraded to v4.5.1 (from v4.4.0)
- Updated: Contributors field corrected for WP.org username
1.1.1
- Fixed remaining “WP Links” text in comments, Gutenberg block descriptions, and admin notices
- All code references now correctly use “Royal Links” branding
1.1.0
- Rebranded internal references from wp_link to royal_link
- Updated post type slug for consistency with Royal Links Pro
- Updated all CSS classes and JS handles to use royal-links prefix
1.0.6
- Security: Additional output escaping (intval) for numeric values
- Security: Changed wp_redirect to wp_safe_redirect for safer redirects
- Security: Proper SQL query preparation with single prepare() call
- Fix: Bundled Chart.js locally (WP.org disallows external scripts)
- Fix: Moved documentation link to plugin row meta
- Fix: Removed deprecated load_plugin_textdomain (WordPress handles automatically)
- Compatibility: Tested up to WordPress 6.9
1.0.5
- Fix: Redirect 404 issue – rewrite rules now properly registered on activation
- Fix: Admin menu now displays “Royal Links” instead of “WP Links”
- Fix: Added documentation link to plugins page
- Added: Import limits info (500 links per batch) to Import/Export page
1.0.4
- Security: Fixed SQL injection vulnerabilities in analytics queries using proper $wpdb->prepare()
- Security: Added proper output escaping throughout plugin (esc_html, intval, wp_kses_post)
- Code quality: Added PHPCS ignore comments for valid file operations
1.0.3
- Added dismissible admin notices for broken link warnings
- Improved import error handling with specific error messages
- Added validation for required CSV columns on import
- Added skipped count display for import results
- Added BOM handling for Excel-exported CSV files
1.0.2
- Fixed table formatting issues on All Links page
- Improved column alignment
1.0.1
- Bug fixes and improvements
1.0.0
- Initial release
- Link shortening with custom slugs
- 301, 302, 307 redirect support
- Click tracking and analytics
- Categories and tags
- Nofollow/sponsored attributes
- Gutenberg block
- Classic Editor integration
- Import/Export functionality
- Broken link detection
