Debug Automatic Links with the Admin Bar
Use the WordPress admin bar to highlight automatic links on the frontend, toggle seobooster_showlinks, and troubleshoot missing keyword links.
How automatic links work · Automatic Links admin page · Why links may not appear
When to use this: A keyword rule exists but you cannot see links on the live page, or support needs a quick visual check without editing content.
Prerequisites
- You are logged in as an administrator (or another role that can see the WordPress admin bar).
- Automatic linking is enabled globally under SEO Booster → Settings → Automatic Links.
- The page has autolink enabled (
_sbp-autolinkcheckbox on the edit screen).
Highlight from the admin bar
On any frontend page (not wp-admin), open the WordPress admin bar:
- Click SEO Booster
- Click Highlight Automatic Links
SEO Booster adds ?seobooster_showlinks=1 to the current URL. Matching keywords are highlighted with a yellow background and underline so you can see where the engine would inject links.
Click Disable Keyword Highlighting to remove the parameter and return to normal view.
The same toggle works when other query parameters are already present — the plugin appends &seobooster_showlinks=1.
Manual URL parameter
You can also add the parameter yourself:
- First parameter:
?seobooster_showlinks=1 - Additional parameters:
&seobooster_showlinks=1
Highlighting only appears when autolink is allowed for that view (singular post/page with per-post autolink on). REST, search, feeds, and previews are skipped by the engine.
Support checklist
When a customer reports missing links, verify in order:
| Check | Where |
|---|---|
| Global autolink on | Settings → Automatic Links |
| Per-post autolink on | Edit screen checkbox or Pro post-list column |
| Rule exists for keyword | Automatic Links admin page |
| Keyword not inside excluded HTML | Why links may not appear |
Highlight visible with seobooster_showlinks=1 | Frontend admin bar toggle |
If highlighting works but normal visitors see no link, check theme output buffering or caching plugins that serve HTML without running SEO Booster’s buffer.
Related admin bar items
| Item | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Show Details / Hide Details | Frontend debug overlay (seobooster_showdetails) |
| Highlight GSC Keywords | Highlights imported GSC queries in page content |
| GSC Overview | Admin table of sitewide keywords |
| Automatic Links | Opens the rules admin page |
See Dashboard overview for the full admin bar map.