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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Promotion Tip:
Importance of Outbound Links
by
Larisa Thomason,
Senior Web Analyst,
NetMechanic, Inc.
You probably spend a lot of time collecting links from other
sites. If not, you should be! Those inbound links are important because they
affect your site's search engine rank and bring in new human visitors.
However, you shouldn't ignore the importance of your site's
outbound links. A number of quality outbound links from a Web page can also
increase search rank because they indicate that the site is an "authority" on a
particular topic.
Links To Internal Pages
Outbound links can link to pages within your site (think
navigation!) or to external Web sites.
Linking to different pages or sections within the same site
is often referred to as "cross linking" and we'll use that term here to
differentiate between outbound links to pages within the same site and outbound
links that go to different Web sites entirely.
It's a good idea to include the main navigation menu on every
page except very specific pages like shopping cart checkout pages. The
navigation menu helps keep the visitor oriented and maintains a consistent look
and feel throughout the site.
But a navigation menu is just one way to crosslink pages in
your site. Other methods include:
-
Alternate text links at the bottom of every page. These are
necessary if your navigation menu is image-based or designed using
JavaScript or Flash. They're also useful on pages that contain a lot of
content because visitors can select a different page without scrolling
back up to the main menu.
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Text links within page content.
These allow visitors to immediately get more information about the
particular subject. Make sure the links stand out from surrounding
content: use
CSS to highlight links if you decide to remove the underlining. Also
include a
TITLE attribute to further describe the link's destination.
- Obvious link to your site map. On very large or
complex sites, a
text-based site map is a great way for visitors to find what they're
looking for. Search engine spiders love site maps too because they make
site indexing easier.
Your goal with all these cross links is to give visitors a
sense of what's available on the site and help them access content quickly. It's
akin to placing large traffic signs at a busy intersection. People can see all
their options and easily select the best route to their destination.
When search engine spiders travel through your site, they
also like these intersection pages and tend to rank pages higher if they contain
a large number of both inbound and outbound links. Every page should always
contain links to your most important site sections and pages.
External Outbound Links
Some webmasters cluster all their external links on a single
page�and with good reason. You think: "I have a visitor happily cruising through
my site content. Why would I include a link that sends him away?"
You don't want to do that of course! But there are ways to
keep your site up in visitors' browsers even while they look at your external
links:
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Use the
TARGET attribute to open the link inside a new browser
window. The syntax is simple:
<a href="http://www.externalPage.html" target="_blank">External Link</a>
Get more information about the TARGET attribute in our February 2001
Webmaster Tip: "Hit
the Right TARGET With Your Links."
- Use JavaScript to open a new window. This isn't as
reliable as a basic HTML link because many people now use pop-up
blockers. JavaScript also causes problems with some assistive
technologies like screen readers, so your page could have accessibility
issues.
Get more information about how to use JavaScript to open and customize
browser windows in our April 2001 Webmaster Tip:
Put
Your Window Where You Want It.
It's important to remember that relevant external links don't
really send visitors away; instead the give visitors access to valuable
information. The best reason to include external links is because they contain
content that enhances your own site's content.
For instance, imagine you have a specific page whose text
content highlights the cat shows where your award-winning Maine Coon cats have
received recognition. You'd want to link to the Web sites of those cat shows and
also to any news articles about those shows. That does send visitors away from
your site, but they're getting more information about your business. That
external content validates your information, increases the perceived
trustworthiness of your business, and helps turns visitors into customers.
If you buried those links on a "Links" page, then
comparatively few visitors would find them and wouldn't view them in context if
they did. You'd lose the opportunity to highlight your cattery's prominent place
among professional breeders.
In addition, when you give an external site a prominent link,
the site is more likely to reciprocate�even if it's a larger, more popular site
than yours. It's a technique that helps your visitors, the sites you link to,
and your own link popularity and search engine rank.
Avoid Broken Internal Or External Links!
Broken links frustrate visitors and make your site look
unprofessional. Keeping track of external links can be pretty difficult because
most webmasters don't think to
check their
backlinks and notify linking sites when page addresses change.
Keep your links up to date the easy way�with the link check
tool contained in HTML Toolbox.
You'll know within minutes if your site contains broken links�whether to your
own internal pages or other sites. It's the easy and affordable way to check
page load time, validate HTML code, repair coding errors, and find broken links.
For More Information Contact:
V84u.com Web Adventure Works Inc.
McAllen, TEXAS
Tel: ask for it in a email, Thanks
FAX: 201-661-2851
Internet:
web@v84u.com
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