Blog Links: Both Clickable And Readable

"Links are the lifeline of blogging," says homeschoolblogger.com.  Inbound links to your blog are tracked by "web crawlers" and help your blog move higher on search engine pages, SEO mavens explain.

Today, though, let’s talk about different kinds of outbound links, and the different ways those can in fact serve as lifelines to your blog.

Internal links:
a) From your blog post to one of your own website "landing pages".
(You’re using the link to guide the reader along a smooth navigation path, hoping to convert that "looker" into a buyer.)

b) From the present blog post to one you posted at some point in the past.
(If the reader wants more information and you’ve already provided further details on the subject in an earlier post, the link makes it easy for the reader to find.)

External links:
a) From your blog post to a news source or magazine article.
(In your post, you’re showing how some current happenings relate to your product or service, or you’re expressing your company’s point of view about a news development relating to your industry. Linking to news sources lend credibility to your blog and positions you as the "go to" place to find out what’s happening.)

b) To someone else’s blog post on your subject.
(This type of link shows you’re staying in touch with others in your industry and that you’re confident you have special value to offer within a competitive environment. In fact, visiting others’ blogs can help you improve not only your blog posts, but your products and services!)

c) To a website or blog you’ve quoted to illustrate a point.
(Linking to others is a form of networking.  I like to shoot an email to business owners whom I’ve quoted or mentioned.  They’re usually flattered and quite often begin to follow my blog and post a comment or two on my site.)

When homeschoolblogger.com mentions that blog links should be readable as well as clickable, they’re talking about hyperlinking the text.  In other words, rather than writing something like "click here" (which interrupts the flow of thought), you write in conversational tone and simply create a link that the reader can choose to ignore or follow by clicking.

There’s a reason we call the internet a World Wide Web. It’s all about connections and links!