Authority And The Importance Of Linking
August 7, 2008
Linking out to useful resources is important if you have a website or blog. For starters, your readers will appreciate it if you share things you’ve read that may be of interest to them.
But linking out is also useful if you want to attract advertisers to your blog, or website. Sure, getting lots of visitors to your site and having heaps of page views will help you to attract advertisers. But that alone isn’t enough.
Advertisers want to know that readers view you as an authority figure. When you recommend a resource, do readers take your advice? Can you send your readers to their site?
If you practise linking out generously to useful resources, you’ll be able to monitor your stats to see whether readers take your recommendations. And you’ll also be able to see the type of things they prefer looking at.
This is powerful information to have when you want to attract advertisers.
Do you link out generously? If not - what puts you off? If you were considering advertising on a blog, or website, what other factors would you take into account?
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21 Responses to “Authority And The Importance Of Linking”
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Ah, is that why I keep getting hounded by advertisers to be featured on my blog?
Now I know.
But kidding aside, I believe in linking too, especially done correctly. Why link to a persons name if we can link with the correct keywords instead. It gets my blog boiling when I see people link to me with Monika. Sorry, but that does jack s*it for link love.
I realize that we can’t look into the mouth of a horse so I just shaddap right here. ….
Linking is great too if you link to the right content. For it to carry weight with SE you need to link to relevant information that directly relates to your article.
Monika Mundell’s last blog post..Going Offline - Breaking Into Magazines
Oh, I didn’t know about the advertiser’s view. I just like sending out links, and actually just wrote a post last week about the 5 signs of a small blog that is poised to grow big — one of the 5 is outgoing links. (And I added link to your yesterday’s post ^_^)
Inter-personal . . . I mean, inter-blog relationship is important .
Akemi - Yes to Me’s last blog post..What’s The Best Thing That Can Happen?
I do link out, especially to other blogs. Readers do click on these links. But I link out not so much with advertisers in mind, but rather because I see it as part of the conversation. Also because I like to give link love to my friends.
Vered’s last blog post..Cooking? That’s What Wives Are For! (Wordless Wednesday)
Right now, I’m not doing a lot of linking out. I have a lot of links squirreled on del.ico.us and other places for doing that.
Right now, it’s time that constrains me from doing it, because linking out effectively and efficiently takes time that I don’t have a lot of. Also, it has to be a good fit for what I’m writing about.
Mike Goad’s last blog post..Moving out of my comfort zone
I link out when it adds to the conversation. For my blog, up until this point, it’s rare.
Bamboo Forest’s last blog post..What’s The True Value of Blog Comments?
I link out to share other blogs with readers, but haven’t considered it for advertising purposes. When or if I consider advertising on my blog I don’t see me including too many ads that would clutter the space and become distracting.
Davina’s last blog post..Look Ma, I Can Fly!
Hi Catherine,
I believe in linking out. It’s a great way to share finds with our readers, hand out link love and also builds community.
I haven’t thought of it for advertising purposes, but I’m guessing it’s a great tool.
Barbara Swafford’s last blog post..Interview With Lorelle VanFossen - Part 9- A Recap Plus A Bonus
Without giving link love, I often feel like a self-contained blogging hermit, stuck in my own little world.
By linking out I’m extending my relationship to other areas. Making new friends. Interacting with new people. Blogging generally opens up from a small, tight circle to a large, open circle when you start to link out. It’s so much fun.
Jamie Harrop’s last blog post..I’m Speaking at the First WordPress UK North Meetup
I guess like most regular bloggers I get asked regularly to link out. I probably accept 1 in 20 if that.
I have a box that is listed as resources on the blog and to my mind, it is just that. I don’t want to push a product that I don’t believe in or have never used, it would undermine my credibility.
That’s why I dumped Adsense. I have no issue at all with other people that use it, but I want to position myself as an expert and as such, think I have to offer the best products and services. Even if that means I take a short-term financial hit and I never see the $38 Adsense owe me :’-(
In terms of linking to other blogs, I only link to blogs I read regularly and always dump a link if a blogger starts posting less than once every 2 or 3 weeks consistently. The exception to that is if I read a great article as a one off that I want to share with others and I have no issue with doing that.
I think you’ve made an important point Cath. OTOH, if you offer me $500 per month to sell sequined jock straps I’ll be more than happy to throw my principles out of the window along with my out dated boxer shorts.
Tim Brownson’s last blog post..The Cure To An Average Life
If you wanna get you gotta give! It’s gotten to the point where I feel odd if I don’t link out at least once in a post!
As for advertising, I like adsense because I don’t have to think about it. and I don’t think readers see Adsense ads as a personal recommendation. On the other hand, when I see a 125X125 ad on a site, I’d like to think that there has been SOME screening by the author. At least, that’s how it would be in my ideal world… where the sky is a multi-colored rainbow and the sun is a giant gumdrop in the sky!
Kathy’s last blog post..A Day in the Life of a Designer
I probably don’t link out as much as I should, but I do try. It’s mostly the challenge of remembering where I read something interesting if I don’t keep the page open or only get around to it days later.
Stephanie’s last blog post..What Financial Traps Await the Unwary Stay at Home Mother?
Hmmm…interesting. I link out to other blogs when they spark a thought in my blog. As I become a more active member of the blogging community, this is happening more and more. To ‘commercial’ sites? Some wikipedia links. Does that count? Sigh, so much to learn!
Urban Panther’s last blog post..The undisciplined Panther
[...] You Link Out? By Stephanie There’s a good article on Cath Lawson’s site on the importance of linking out. This is something I know I don’t do as much as I could, and need to work [...]
On occasion I link out, but probably not as often as I should. I do have a very large collection of links that I’ve saved for that purpose, but for some reason, I never get around to it. I’ll try to do it soon…, if I have time.
Mike Goad’s last blog post..Can you guess who I’m voting for?
I don’t track my outgoing links. I should. So thanks for the reminder.
I also suffer from amnesia. I read so many blogs everyday that sometimes I can’t remember which blog said what. I prefer to link through my post because it creates more relevancy and I believe that readers are more likely to click. Ok…guess I have to track to back up my belief!
Evelyn Lim’s last blog post..Walk On Water With 7 Magic Stones
@ Kathy: Exactly. This makes sense too. As blog owners we have a responsibility to showcase products we personally endorse and use.
I couldn’t blog about or link to a product, if I never even heard of it in the first place just to gain monetary advances.
It would feel wrong. And it is, especially if we have a connection with our readers. Connections foster trust, so why abuse it.
Monika Mundell’s last blog post..8 Attributes Of An Olympic Mind Set
I’ve started to maintain a spreadsheet of favorite blogs to link to, just to ensure I spread the love (what little love my site generates) around. One third of the links are used to clarify a keyword, one third of them are used for humor, and the other third are for links to titillating photos of women in bikinis (my little contribution to salacious blogging). Such linking does have its price - having to fix 10+ dead links per week as sites go and come.
Brad Brown’s last blog post..An Old Man’s Guide to Modern Music
I link out a lot in my posts. Some links are to other blogs that further develop my post, give another view or opinion on the topic at hand, as well as authority links to news sites that have relevant articles for my readers.
In order to be an authority blogger or writer, as opposed to a social blogger, readers need to feel and believe they can trust what you say to be real, true and honest. Providing relevant, keyword targeted links, has greatly improved my readership and inbound links to my blog and posts. You have to give to get.
Lin Burress’s last blog post..12 Rules for Raising Delinquent Children
I need to really work on this…and what you’ve written has really provided some wonderful insight into the power of links.
Lance’s last blog post..5K Race Report - Hills Edition
[...] comment I read by Monika Mundell on this post: Authority and The Importance Of Linking, also made me think. Monika writes some brilliant and thought provoking articles, including this [...]
[...] establish yourself as a resource for your niche, you should consider linking out in your posts. By including links to outside sources, you show your readers you really are giving them a well rounded perspective on a given subject. It [...]