Troubleshooting

TL;DR: Common issues include links not redirecting (check permalink settings and flush rewrite rules), clicks not tracking (check caching plugins and bot filters), and health scans not running (verify WordPress cron is active). Most problems resolve by flushing permalinks or clearing your cache.

Quick solutions to common problems with Link Manager Pro.

Quick Fixes

Try these first — they resolve most issues:

1. Clear all caches — browser, WordPress, and server/CDN
2. Flush permalinks — go to Settings → Permalinks → Save Changes
3. Deactivate other plugins — reactivate one at a time to find conflicts
4. Update WordPress and the plugin — make sure you run the latest versions

Links Not Working

Link shows 404

• Check the link exists in Pretty Links
• Check the Active From date — the link may be scheduled for the future
• Check the Expires At date — the link may have expired
• Flush permalinks: WordPress Dashboard → Settings → Permalinks → Save Changes
• Check the link prefix has not changed (Settings → General → Link Structure Prefix)
• Clear all caches

Link redirects to wrong URL

• Edit the link and verify the Destination URL
• Check conditional routing rules — a rule may be redirecting to an alternate URL
• Check for conflicts with other redirect plugins
• Clear all caches including CDN

Password-protected link not working

• Verify Password Protection is set in the link editor
• Try in an incognito/private browser window
• Check that cookies are enabled — password auth uses a cookie

Tracking Issues

Clicks not recording

• Verify Click Tracking is enabled in Settings → Tracking
• Check if your IP is in the Blocked IP Addresses list
• Check if Bot Detection is filtering your user agent
• Wait a few minutes — clicks are logged after the redirect completes, so there is a slight delay
• Check the Click Data Retention setting — old data may have been purged

Click count seems too high

• Likely bot traffic — enable Bot Detection in Settings → Tracking
• Add suspicious user agent patterns to Custom Patterns under Bot Detection
• Add suspicious IPs to Blocked IP Addresses
• Review analytics for patterns (regular intervals, same country)

Internal clicks not tracking

• Verify Internal Link Click Tracking is enabled in Settings → Tracking
• Check the Content Selector setting matches your theme's content area
• Verify the page is not an admin, AJAX, or REST context
• Check the browser console for JavaScript errors
• The tracker requires same-origin: the source page must be on the same domain
• Rate limit: 30 requests per minute per IP

Auto-Linking Issues

Auto-links not appearing

• Verify Auto-Linking is enabled in Settings → Auto-Linking
• Check the specific link or affiliate has Enable Auto-Linking turned on
• Verify keywords are set and spelled correctly
• Check the post type is included in the Auto-Linking Post Types setting
• Check Max Per Page limit is not set too low
• Auto-linking skips admin, AJAX, cron, and REST contexts
• Cache may be stale — auto-link cache refreshes every 3600 seconds

Too many auto-links or wrong keywords matched

• Reduce Max Per Keyword and Max Per Page in settings
• Enable Case Sensitive Matching
• Use longer, more specific keyword phrases
• Adjust Auto-Link Priority (lower number = higher priority)
• Enable Exclude Headings to skip h1–h6 tags
• Maximum 200 keywords supported — excess keywords are dropped by priority

Health Monitoring Issues

False positives in health scan

• Some servers block automated HEAD requests (the scan uses a 3-second timeout)
• Geographic blocking may cause false results
• Temporary server issues resolve on the next scan
• Test the URL manually in your browser
• Mark the link as Ignored if it works correctly

Health scan not running

• Check cron is working — install the WP Crontrol plugin to verify
• Check Automated Link Health Scans in Settings → General is set to daily or weekly
• The scan processes 5 posts per cron run — large sites need multiple runs
• Check the server is not blocking wp-cron.php

Disclosure Issues

Disclosure notice not appearing

• Verify disclosure is enabled in Settings → Disclosure
• Check the post type is in the Disclosure Post Types list
• The notice only appears on pages that contain masked links or links with nofollow or sponsored REL attributes
• Check Disclosure Text is not empty
• Check the page source for the disclosure HTML — it may be hidden by theme CSS

Coverage Score Issues

Coverage score is low

• Check for orphaned posts (no inbound internal links) — these carry the heaviest penalty
• Check for broken links — each broken link has a high penalty weight
• Check for weak posts (few inbound or outbound links)
• Run a full link audit scan from Link Audit
• Add internal links to orphaned posts using the link suggestion feature

Campaign Issues

Campaign not showing in list

• Campaigns appear when links have utm_campaign values set
• Virtual campaigns auto-detect from link UTM data
• Managed campaigns appear in the list immediately after creation
• Check the spelling of the utm_campaign value matches across links

Conditional Rules Issues

Rule not triggering

• Check the rule's active toggle is enabled
• Check the Start / End date range includes the current date
• Check condition values: country codes must be 2-letter ISO codes, dates must be valid
• Check Match Mode: "All conditions" requires every condition to match, "Any condition" requires at least one
• Check Priority: lower number = evaluated first, first matching rule wins
• Check the rule's Target URL is valid

Import/Export Issues

Import fails

• Import expects JSON format (not CSV)
• Ensure the file was exported from Link Manager Pro's backup feature
• Check file encoding is UTF-8
• For large files, the import processes in batches — wait for completion
• Check PHP memory_limit and upload_max_filesize

Export has no data

• Verify you selected items to include in the export
• Check you have administrator access
• Check the plugin's backup directory is writable

Migration Issues

Migration from Pretty Links or BetterLinks fails

• Verify the source plugin is still installed (its database tables must exist)
• Check the conflict strategy: skip skips existing slugs, overwrite replaces them
• Migration processes in batches — wait for all batches to complete
• Check PHP memory_limit for large datasets

Common Error Messages

Error	Solution
Link already exists	Choose a different slug
Invalid destination URL	URL must start with http:// or https://
Permission denied	Log in as Administrator or a role with manage_link_manager_pro capability
Domain already in use	Each affiliate must have a unique domain
Rate limit exceeded	Internal click tracker allows max 30 requests/minute per IP

Database Reset

If the plugin is in a broken state and you need to start fresh, you can reset all plugin tables by visiting:

yoursite.com/lmp/migrate/fresh

Warning: This drops and recreates all plugin database tables. All links, clicks, affiliates, categories, rules, and settings are permanently deleted. This cannot be undone.

To use the database reset:

1. Log in to your WordPress site as an Administrator.
2. Navigate to yoursite.com/lmp/migrate/fresh in your browser.
3. Read the confirmation warning.
4. Click Run Fresh Migration to proceed.
5. Wait for the success page to appear.

During the reset, all plugin API calls return a temporary 503 error until the migration completes. Only one reset can run at a time. Non-administrators cannot access this page.

Use this only as a last resort when the plugin is not functioning correctly and other troubleshooting steps have not resolved the issue.

Still Need Help?

1. Check the FAQ
2. Visit https://linkmanagerpro.com/support
3. When contacting support, include:
   • WordPress version
   • Plugin version (currently 1.1.0)
   • PHP version
   • Error messages or screenshots
   • Steps to reproduce the issue