Where to Find New Blogs to Link To and Why Outbound Links Are So Important
If you’ve read even one how to document on blogging, you no doubt understand the value of outbound linking.
Most new website owners and bloggers that I talk to are hesitant to link out. They are afraid that they will lose readers by sending them off to other websites that have greater value to them.
There are plenty SEO benefits of outbound linking, though some warn that too much outbound linking can hinder your ranking.
But in my opinion, the value of outbound linking runs much deeper than the technical.
4 Non-Technical Reasons Why Outbound Links are So Important
Linking Out Implies Confidenc
Outbound linking requires confidence, and confidence is attractive. It’s kind of like a relationship. You can’t keep someone there by trapping them in the house, blindfolding them to the opportunities out there. Instead, you’ve got to consistently work hard at providing value in the relationship to earn the readership.
We Humans Love to Take Action
Humans love to take action, to push buttons, try things. We don’t get online to sit and read. We get online to explore, to find new things, to take action. A page with outbound links just looks and feels more exciting than a page of straight text.
Links Help Define the Purpose of the Post for Easy Reading
When we read online, we automatically look for links to help us decipher the main idea of the page. Think about it- you do it too! A post or a page of content without outbound links is just kind of boring.
A Great Way to Meet New Friends
If you link to an active blogger in your post, they will certainly notice the incoming link and come back to visit your page. What a great way to meet new people and introduce them to your blog.
Where to Find Interesting, Relevant Blogs and Posts
So how do you find new blogs to link to? You’ll want to link out to lots of different blogs, not just those that you read or are familiar with. Here are some ideas.
Google Blog Search
Google allows you to search for terms only within blogs. This is useful for find specific conversations about the topic you are writing about.
My Blog Log
My Blog Log allows you to search for blogs based on topic. This is useful for meeting new blogs in various industries to spark ideas for blog posts and of course, link to.
What is Your Experience?
How has outbound linking helped you? Have any of your blogging friendships begin with an outbound link? How do you find new blogs to link to?
August 02 2007 10:35 am | Blogging
Erik Karey on 02 Aug 2007 at 11:18 am #
I’ve met a lot of people who have linked to me and because of that I’ve found their blog. I try to link to other blogs whenever possible as long as they are quality blogs. It’s definitely a good way to meet other bloggers. I don’t care an awful lot about ruining my ranking. Blogging is a social world and pagerank is only a small part of it.
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Jim on 02 Aug 2007 at 7:47 pm #
Another place to submit your blog is http://www.rawcool.com/blogsbyzip. It will let people find your blog by your area and you can find other blogs in your area or close to you.
John Hunter on 02 Aug 2007 at 10:19 pm #
Many web sites are hesitent to provide outbound links (blogs are most often much better at doing so). I believe it is a good practice for a good site. There is tons of great content on the web. If you can provide your own useful content and also link to other useful content online I think you can build up a faithful following. Yes many will follow a link and never come back. Ok (it would maybe be nice if they just stayed on your site all day but that isn’t very likely). If you don’t link out I think more will leave and never come back because you don’t provide the usefulness (even if that is just having fun) they want.
Christine on 03 Aug 2007 at 2:40 am #
So true Erik! In fact, I believe that we met through linking.
I agree, I don’t think much about ranking when blogging and think it has minimal, if any, negative impact when linking is done naturally.
Christine on 03 Aug 2007 at 2:41 am #
Thanks for the nice mention Linkbuilder!
Christine on 03 Aug 2007 at 2:43 am #
I completely agree John. I don’t think the goal is to keep people on your site all day, but instead to keep them coming back because you provide useful information, which includes quality links to other sites. Thanks for the comment!
zaki on 03 Aug 2007 at 9:21 am #
There is a lot more on blogging rather than pagerank, ranking and income. I just realized I never asking for link exchange before for my blog neither give a link to my favorite blogs (except getting request). I should do now and this blog would be one of them
Christine on 06 Aug 2007 at 2:03 am #
Thanks for the heads up Jim – that blogs by zip feature is a cool idea!
Christine on 06 Aug 2007 at 2:05 am #
I agree Zaki – page rank is pretty important for standard websites, but blogging is all about the community and the buzz. Thanks for sharing!
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Matt Jones on 07 Aug 2007 at 5:35 am #
Those points are all true, but it’s important to get the balence right. Linking out carelessly can mean throwing away a higher PageRank (which I’m currently writing a 5 part series on).