Outbound Links - Make More Sense Than You Think

By: Chris Bachman | December 14, 2016

The Internet is by nature a community beast. Websites linking to other websites, news blurbs mentioning this or that post, community forums with 1000’s of people sharing ideas. This is the underlying theme of the Internet and one it is good to remember from time to time.

All too often we get caught up in our “me-me-me” world and forget to share and be open and be receptive and to embrace the community. This gets reflected in websites which are islands unto themselves. Sure, they want lots of other websites to link to them but when it comes time to link out to other websites…? That is when the warm and fuzzy community feeling goes out the back door.

If I were to make one suggestion to website owners this holiday season, this season of giving, of sharing, of community…try linking out to other worthy websites. Write a little blurb recognizing something nice some organization has done and link to them. Mention someone as an example of how to do something right and link to them. Identify something someone offers which your clients might benefit from and drop it in a Helpful Resources section on your site, or include it in a newsletter, with a link. The search engines notice this and reward it, your visitors notice it and feel fondly towards you, and other sites notice it and reciprocate with links back to you. Wow. Sounds like a win-win situation, doesn’t it? That’s because it is. So do it. Now.  Santa’s watching…really.

Chris Bachman is a business consultant and Project Director at ProClassWebDesign.com as well as a self confessed serial entrepreneur. He is a regular writer on topics pertaining to marketing, SEO, and business websites as well as an instructor and independent consultant. Learn more about Chris Bachman on Google+ or LinkedIn.