Good friends come to town. You want to show them around. There are so many options, but they have limited time. You consider your choices before making them. Only the best sights for your friends.
That’s the approach you should take to linking your posts. Only the best for your readers. Before you add any link, stop to think about it:
- Does this link clarify what I’m saying here? If the answer is yes, link. If it’s not, don’t. (Drop it, or put it at the end of the post.)
- Have my readers seen this link 10 times already? If so then drop it or find another. You’ll gain credibility as a leader.
- Is this information they will care about? Would you want to go there, if you were the reader? If not, don’t link. Readers are counting on you to value their time.
- If the link does belong, label the link and credit the writer. Don’t just put a nebulous click here. Readers want to know where they’re going before they go there.
- Will this link take my readers away forever? You wrote a post filled with good information. Check the link to make sure that readers can get back. If it’s near a key point, maybe you shouldn’t interrupt things. The link might work better at the post’s end.
Keep in mind that too many links make us lose concentration. We literally stop reading completely.
Think before you link. Readers might not know you’re performing this service. But they’ll know they get more for their time when they read you.
–ME “Liz” Strauss
Related articles:
Checklist for Linking to Quality Blogs
Think Before You Intra-link
Intra-Linking as Promotion