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Troubleshooting

Work from the symptom you see. Each section ends with what to check next.

The sidebar does not appear

Check, in order:

  1. The plugin is active on this site (not only network-installed).
  2. You are in the block editor, not the classic editor.
  3. The post type is in scope. On Free that is posts and pages only — custom post types will not show the sidebar.

Next: Editor sidebar, Installation.

No suggestions on a post

Common causes:

  • The first index has not finished (or has never run).
  • The post is excluded in the context bank.
  • There are no eligible candidates for this content.
  • Useful candidates were all dismissed (dismissals persist).
Link Pulse sidebar empty state with no suggestions listed
Empty sidebar — index status, exclusions, or dismissals, not a silent crash.

Next: Confirm index status on the dashboard, then review exclusions and dismissals.

Suggestions look irrelevant

Check:

  • Structural tags dominating taxonomy — exclude tags that group unrelated content (see Context bank).
  • Stale index after large content edits — run a reindex.
  • Thin taxonomy on the site — taxonomy is the heaviest signal; sites with almost no shared terms lean on weaker signals (see How ranking works).

Next: Adjust exclusions and taxonomy, then reindex.

Indexing seems stuck

Open the Link Pulse admin and check job status. Restart the job if the UI offers it.

Link Pulse reindex confirmation or job progress in the admin
Job progress — confirm the run is active or restart it from the dashboard.

Next: Installation for what a healthy first run looks like.

Indexing is slow

Duration depends on how much published content is in scope and how busy the site is. Indexing runs in the background — it should not block front-end page loads. Let the job finish; use the dashboard status rather than reloading the editor repeatedly.

Next: If status never advances, treat it as stuck (above).

A page shows as orphaned but has links

Possible explanations:

  • The inbound links come from excluded content. Links from an excluded source are not counted toward the target’s report status.
  • Links were added since the last index — reindex, then reopen reports.

Next: Reports, Context bank.

Reindexing after bulk content changes

After imports, migrations, or large editorial sweeps:

  1. Run a manual reindex from the Link Pulse admin.
  2. Use scheduled reindex if you change content regularly and want the index kept current without remembering to click.

Next: Confirm freshness on the dashboard, then spot-check the sidebar on a known post.

Still stuck after these checks? Go to Support.