# Related Post Link in the Middle of Articles

> Places a "Related" link to another post from the same category halfway through each blog post, a well-placed internal link that keeps readers on the site.

- Type: PHP
- Runs: Content half
- Category: [SEO](https://wpide.com/library/category/seo/)
- Tags: internal-links, related, engagement
- Author: WPIDE Team
- Installs: 0
- Updated: 2026-10-28
- Page: https://wpide.com/library/seo-mid-article-related-link/

## Code

```php
$wpide_mid_post_id = get_the_ID();

if ( ! $wpide_mid_post_id || 'post' !== get_post_type( $wpide_mid_post_id ) ) {
    return;
}

$wpide_mid_related = get_transient( 'wpide_mid_related_' . $wpide_mid_post_id );

if ( false === $wpide_mid_related ) {
    $wpide_mid_ids = get_posts( array(
        'category__in'        => wp_get_post_categories( $wpide_mid_post_id ),
        'post__not_in'        => array( $wpide_mid_post_id ),
        'posts_per_page'      => 1,
        'ignore_sticky_posts' => true,
        'fields'              => 'ids',
        'no_found_rows'       => true,
    ) );
    $wpide_mid_related = $wpide_mid_ids ? (int) $wpide_mid_ids[0] : 0;
    set_transient( 'wpide_mid_related_' . $wpide_mid_post_id, $wpide_mid_related, WEEK_IN_SECONDS );
}

if ( $wpide_mid_related && 'publish' === get_post_status( $wpide_mid_related ) ) {
    printf(
        '<aside class="mid-article-related" style="margin:1.5em 0;padding:.75em 1em;border-left:4px solid currentColor"><strong>Related:</strong> <a href="%1$s">%2$s</a></aside>',
        esc_url( get_permalink( $wpide_mid_related ) ),
        esc_html( get_the_title( $wpide_mid_related ) )
    );
}
```

## Notes

Inserted at the middle of the content by the snippet location. The related post is chosen once per post and cached for a week.

## How to use it

Install the free WPIDE plugin (https://wordpress.org/plugins/wpide/), find "Related Post Link in the Middle of Articles" in its snippet library and add it in one click; or create a new PHP snippet in WPIDE (or any code snippets plugin) and paste the code above. More snippets: https://wpide.com/library/