Peadig

rel=”external” is now the XHTML valid version that informs search engine spiders that the link is external. However, using this does not open the link in a new window. target=”_blank” and target=”_new” does this, but is not XHTML valid.
This very simple plugin adds a small JS file to your header to let this happen!
<ul>
<li><a href="http://pleer.co.uk/wordpress/plugins/rel-external/" rel="nofollow ugc">rel=”external”</a> plugin homepage.</li>
<li>More <a href="http://pleer.co.uk/wordpress/plugins/" rel="nofollow ugc">WordPress Plugins</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://pleer.co.uk/wordpress/plugins/facebook-comments/" rel="nofollow ugc">Facebook Comments</a> Plugin</li>
<li><a href="http://pleer.co.uk/wordpress/plugins/wp-twitter-feed/" rel="nofollow ugc">Twitter Feed</a> Plugin</li>
<li><a href="http://twitter.com/alexmossSEO" rel="nofollow ugc">Follow @alexmossSEO on Twitter</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://alex-moss.co.uk/" rel="nofollow ugc">Alex Moss</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://pleer.co.uk/" rel="nofollow ugc">Pleer SEO</a>.</li>
</ul>

rel=”external” in a New Window

Opens a new window with rel="external" instead of having to use target="_blank" or target="_new"

Erin McIntyre

This plugin searches links on your site for the domain that you specify in the settings, adds your affiliate ID, and makes those links open in a new tab when clicked.
The plugin produces XHTML Strict compliant code and is search engine optimized (SEO). 
This is done using JavaScript’s <code>window.open()</code>-function. It adds only a few lines of vanilla JavaScript to the page, and does not require any external libraries like jQuery.
Most other plugins perform a hack by altering the <code>target</code> parameter (i.e. <code><a href="http://somewhere.example" target="_blank"></code>). That method is not XHTML Strict compliant.
This plugin handles the links client-side, which lets search engines follow the links properly. Also, if a browser does not support JavaScript, the plugin is simply inactive, and does not result in any errors.
Credits 
Inspired by the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/open-external-links-in-a-new-window/" rel="ugc">External Links in New Window / New Tab</a> plugin.
Known bugs 
The plugin conflicts with other plugins that change the links’ `onClick´ attribute.

rel=”external” in a New Window vs Affiliatize Me