< Managing links to other blogs : Linking to other sites in your blog entries >
This is something I learned by getting it wrong. I'm writing this to try and help some people get it right.Technically, a link exchange refers to two sites that each provide a link to the other. This can help both sites to increase their ranking on search engines such as Google.
However, not all sites that link out to other sites have the same links back to them. In fact it's often quite different. So how do you go about getting people to link to you?
First, how not to do it.
- Don't ask people to link to you. This goes for both asking in public (by leaving a comment) and in private (sending an email).
- Don't assume that because you've linked to someone that they should link back.
- It goes both ways - don't assume that you have to link to everyone who links to you.
- Link to sites that you want to link to. Sites you read, sites you subscribe to, sites you comment on. The criteria is totally up to you.
- Leave comments on the sites you like. You should try to do this anyway.
- Be patient. If people want to link to your site, they'll do it in their own time.
- Review your links regularly. If a site you like isn't being updated anymore or it's changed a lot since you chose to link to it, ask yourself whether you still want to link to it.
- Try to keep your links to a respectable amount. Even if you like a lot of sites, do you really have time to read them all and leave comments as often as you'd like, as well as keeping up with your own site? If you like a lot of sites, perhaps include the best ones in your list of links.
- Regardless of whether you link to a site or not, link to other blogs in your blog entries. You can't possibly link to every site in your sidebar, but you can link to more sites over the course of several blog entries.
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Tags: link exchange, links, blogroll, link love
Posted by Ben on January 07, 2008 18:59 / Edited: January 07, 2008 19:52
Comments
Hi Karen, thanks for the comment. :) I agree with you. It just makes the other person feel uncomfortable - maybe they don't want to link, but they don't want to say no... so they don't say anything. Which is not good for anyone.
I don't have trackbacks in the system I use for benbarden.com (it's a system I wrote myself). I'm reluctant to add them at the moment. I'm not a huge fan of them - but that's a subject for another blog entry. I may be stating my opinions regarding trackbacks later this month.
In my opinion, linking to other blogs in your posts without "no follow" is a bad idea, because people nowadays treat domains like a piece of gum. After a while, you will be linked to a "ad farm" domain which could de-value your own.
I recently had to dig through all of the comments and my posts to get rid of those using a plug-in that utilizes regular expressions.
Hi Michael, thanks for the comment. I disagree with you, but instead of explaining why, I'm curious to know why you have this on your site:
I've turned "nofollow" off site-wide, including comments; hence, this is a "Do Follow" blog.
I'm totally confused by this. You state that "linking to other blogs in your posts without no follow is a bad idea"... but you've turned off "nofollow" across your site?
I've expanded on this topic in my latest blog entry: Linking to other sites in your blog entries
Michael has an interesting point that I had not considered. I don't see myself using nofollow, but I do tend to link to blogs that I would miss if they ever went "off the air". I must make a note to take action whenever that does happen.
I know I feel better about a post when it contains a link or two to other blogs. I often get information or inspiration from other people's work and feel that it is useful to offer my own thoughts and let them provide the back story.
I have not had the ambition to add a blogroll to date, but when I do get around to it I will keep your tips in mind.
Thanks for the comment, anti. I think there's a balance - some blogs use far too many links, others use too few. Also, I prefer not to break up a blog entry by asking people to go off to another site to understand what I'm trying to say. It really depends on the subject though.
Great ideas. In the past when I used to send out emails asking for link exchanges, generally I was lucky to get one response back for every 25 requests I sent out...
Thanks for the comment JT, and for linking this post from your latest blog entry. :)
Thanks for that info. It makes sense to link up with a site that you like to read.
Glad it helped you, Carol. :)
I've actually only asked for a link once or twice, although I have been asked to exchange a number of them. For the blogs I like, I'll exchange. Usually, when I find a blog I like I just blogroll it and don't mention it to the blog owner.
When I write a post that links to someone, I'll send them a trackback, which seems like it's only polite. Somehow, asking outright for a link seems kind of, well, rude somehow. Like asking a pretty girl for her phone number, and she gives you a bogus one!