CT Biz Blogs

In a nutshell, you should link to other blogs (and websites) because:
• it offers your readers more information or examples.
• it adds your voice to the conversation.
• it extends your network, which helps readers and search engines find you.

I touched on the first in the previous post on reasons for linking to other blogs.

Adding your voice to the conversation is important. It helps establish your expertise. When you write about other resources, examples, or even just fun stuff, you’re demonstrating your knowledge, personality, or both. This helps your customers and clients know who you are.

For example, I was very pleased by the feedback I got from the posts I wrote on examples of small business blogs. Several bloggers indicated, in comments or posts, that I understood their blogs, and what they were trying to do. It was validation that, when it comes to blogging, I know a thing or two.

When you network, the unstated understanding is mutual assistance. This is well-understood in the blogging world — part of the culture, but by no means a guarantee. In personal blogs, tech blogs, or political blogs this is more common; business blogs are newer to the “blogosphere” and the conventions for those will be a little different. But what is guaranteed is that if a blogger knows that you’ve linked to her, she’ll investigate your blog. If it’s appropriate, you might get a mention and a link. If you’re really on someone’s wavelength, or are considered a blog to be recommended, you’ll get added to the blogroll (as on my right sidebar).

So, linking out will help other bloggers find you, and they in turn might link to you. This brings traffic in two ways: some readers of blogs which link to you will check you out; and, you will be more interesting to the search engines, which use inbound links in their ranking calculations.

That may not seem like much, but again, the idea is to build relationships through trust, which comes from extended conversations over time. It doesn’t happen overnight.

But how do people know when you’ve linked to them? That’ll be coming on the next rock.