The Smart External Link Click Monitor Plugin allows you to track which external links your visitors click on.

Data are stored on your server. No external service needed.

Do I have to change the links?

No, all your links to external sites are changed automatically.

Will the changed links appear in the Editor?

No, the links are changed every time when a post or page is displayed - the original links are left unchanged.

What about all the odd characters in the generated links?

Those characters represent the encrypted link. The encryption produces different results on different websites. Using uncoded links for redirection could be used in phishing attacks to get users to visit malicious sites without realizing it by "hijacking" a reputable domain, e.g. http://www.example.com/?goto=http://www.this-is-a-very-bad-phishing-site.com.

Will this work with a Caching Plugin?

Yes, but if you change the parameter name you have to clear the cache.

Will the plugin work with my existing Theme?

The plugin should work with all Themes.

Will the plugin work on WordPress Multisite?

Yes, in a Multisite installation the plugin stores the link clicks per Blog.

5.0.2 (2022-10-01) FINAL VERSION

• removed all links to webiste
• removed request for rating
• removed manual

5.0.1 (2022-10-19)

• Settings interface adapted to my other plugins

5 (2019-03-10)

• plugin renamed from link-log to Link Log
• UI improvements
• code improvement

4 (2018-04-30)

• incorrect GDPR compliance alert fixed

3 (2018-04-14)

• encrypt IP-addresses for data protection reasons
• use 303 redirect to avoid browser caching
• priority of filter the_content changed
• minor code- & UI-improvements

2.4 (2017-11-16)

• faulty display in WP 4.9 fixed

2.3 (2017-07-03)

• redesigned admin interface
• code improvement
• 12 new bots added to detection list

2.2 (2016-10-21)

• made plugin ready for translation
• removal of needless characters from encrypted URLs
• faster encryption and decryption
• optional tracking of telephone links

2.1 (2015-12-11)

• Closed SQL Injection vulnerability

2.0 (2015-12-10)

• Closed HTTP Response Splitting vulnerability
• Closed Open Redirect vulnerability
• Menu item title for Link Click Analysis page is now customizable
• Page title for Link Click Analysis page is now customizable
• Customizable link descriptions to show on Link Click Analysis page instead of URLs

1.4 (2015-04-28)

• Option to add rel="nofollow" to links
• Option to track only specific posts/pages
• Complete documentation accessible from back end
• Click Analysis now accessible also for Editors, not only for Admins
• Click Analysis now uses standard WP table
• Filtering of results

1.3 (2014-10-26)

• Works now with WPML
  The WPML Plugin changes the Home URL by adding the language to it - Link Log now can handle that to work with WPML and other Plugins that change the Home URL (thanks to GREIFF for testing)
• Performance Improvement
  The browser is now forced to redirect to the target URL before the data is stored to the databse
• remove trailing slashes
  To avoid duplicate entries for e.g. example.com and example.com/ all trailing slashes are removed now
  Update Notice: when updating to version 1.3 all trailing slashes from all existing entries in the database are removed automatically

1.2 (2014-09-19)

• Omit search engines and other bots

1.1 (2014-06-25)

• Omit multiple clicks from same IP

1.0 (2014-02-20)

• Initial Release

General Settings



Advanced Settings



Automation Settings



Analysis Page Customization



Adding Link Descriptions



Link Click Analysis



GDPR Warning



Encryption of existing Database Entries