All Entries Tagged With: "outbound links"
Should You Include Outbound Links In Blog Posts?
It might seem prudent, if you have a business blog, to make all of your links point inward – that is, to your internal web pages. Indeed, I think you should for the most part, but there are times when you might want to do a little outbound linking.
The most important thing to understand about links is they are the currency of the web. On the one hand, “paying” another website owner with a link is an act of good will. But even more importantly, providing valuable information for your readers builds your own credibility and authority. If that means linking out then by all means do what is best for your readership.
But you do want your readers to stay on your blog, right? Of course you do. So should you chain them in and never let them leave? Let’s not be harsh. Here are three ways you can link to other websites outside of your property and benefit yourself and your readers:
- Source Links – I usually just add the word (Source) – exactly like that, parentheses and all – in front of blockquotes that I use from other websites and link the phrase to the source to show attribution for what I borrow. This technique is best used sparingly, but it’s a useful technique. It gives attribution without encouraging the click through.
- Trackbacks – Trackbacks are links out that also link back. You see a blog post on another blog that you want to comment on. Instead of commenting directly on the blog, you write a blog post about it and link to it. Your blog post will appear in the comments of that other blog with a link back to your post. This is a useful technique for sparking dialogue among peers and readers.
- Outbound Anchor Text – The least desirable of the three methods is the outbound anchor text. You are actually benefiting the website that you link to with the anchor text, which is relevant, but the link also benefits you through relevant outbound linking. One thing to keep in mind is those outbound links keep you “tied” to relevant information elsewhere and if you do that often enough then the search engines, Google particularly, sees you as willing to provide valuable information for your visitors and rewards you with higher PageRank authority. That in turn benefits you with more readers and commenters.
The Internet is one big web where all the pages are interconnected. It’s OK to link out as long as you realize that you may lose some readers temporarily. But if your blog provides useful and valuable information, those readers will come back time and time and time again.
Should You Put Outbound Links In Your Blogroll?
Your blogroll is a list of favorite links that you highlight and showcase in the sidebar of your blog. Should you put outbound links in that blogroll or only links to your site?
Keep this in mind: Every outbound link is a traffic hole. You are essentially inviting your site visitors to leave your blog and go somewhere else. That’s why you should only promote your most important pages of your website in your blogroll. I’d offer just one exception: When you have a link exchange agreement with a complimentary, non-competitive business.
In other words, if your link partner is linking back to you then that’s OK. You might get some traffic from there site so if you send them a little it’s equal and fair exchange. But I’d make sure that your link partner is not a competitor and that his business compliments yours. You also want to go back and check periodically to ensure that your link is still there. Some webmasters will entice you into a link exchange and then delete your link when you’re not looking. So be careful out there and protect your blogroll.
Should You Link Out On Your Business Blog?
When it comes to outbound links, there are two ways of thinking: Do it and don’t do it. Most people are in the do it category. A few people are in the don’t do it category. I’m in the “do it if it makes sense to” category.
So what does that mean exactly?
Well, first, let’s cover the other two categories and see what the arguments are there:
Linking Out Adds User Benefit
This is Google’s official position. Read:
When linking out, am I sending visitors away forever?!
Hmmm… visitors may initially leave your site to check out relevant information. But can you recall your behavior on sites that link to good articles outside their domain? Personally, I always come back to sites I feel provide commentary and additional resources. Sometimes I stay on the original site and just open up the interesting link in a different tab. It’s likely that with relevant outbound links you’ll gain repeat visitors, and you won’t lose them forever.
This is the most common response to the outbound link question. But one thing to keep in mind is that different users respond differently. Not everyone knows you can right click on a link and open it up in a new tab. New Internet users have a learning curve.
Also, you do stand a chance of some users leaving your site and forgetting where they’ve been. Again, new users who have not learned to bookmark sites they like or haven’t learned all the ins and outs of how to write a search query effectively or type the URL in the browser window may leave your site and never go back. How many users that will be exactly depends on the nature and target audience of your website. The more local, and more rural, your site focus, the more likely you’ll have readers who are new. That isn’t a statement of prejudice. It’s a demographic fact. And if your target audience is older than 50 they likely are not as web-savvy either. You must consider these things.
All of that aside, however, the stated principle is a worthy one. Outbound links can, and often do, provide value for your visitors. That’s the most important thing to consider when thinking about outbound links.
Outbound Links Cause Visitor Leaks
On the other end of the spectrum is the idea that outbound links are exit holes and invitations to leave your site. If your content isn’t high quality, well-written content that provides value then, yes, your outbound links will serve as invitations to say “bye bye” and never return. However, if you consistently provide high quality content then your visitors will have a reason to return. And they will.
Intelligent Linking
I’m a proponent of what I call intelligent linking, not gratuitous linking. Gratuitous linking is linking out to everyone and anyone just because you read somewhere that outbound links are good. Do you really want to send your visitors to your competitors? For many niches, probably most, you don’t want to link to your competition. This is especially true if your competition is considered the front runner in your industry or they have a higher perceived value among your niche market. This is essentially the equivalent to Mom & Pop Burgers sending its customers across the street to McDonald’s because they have better fries. Not a good practice and it’s a sure way to go out of business.
Intelligent linking is the practice of linking out to sites that do provide value to your visitors but that don’t encourage them to do business with the competition. In other words, you don’t want to link directly to the competition itself, but you also don’t want to link to sites that are affiliates or partners with your competition. You run a much safer bet when you link out to third-party sites that aren’t affiliated with anyone in particular. That way, you can provide your site visitors with good quality information and resources without helping the competition and hindering your own business.
