I am an avid reader and fan of Alexander Van Elsa’s blog on new media. He wrote a post yesterday about the failing “linking economy” on the web. The post entitled: The Linking Economy Fails because Social Currency Became Financial Currency is a great look into the concept of internal linking. There have been quite a few blog posts pertaining to the over-the-top linking strategy of some major blogs. In his post Alexander makes reference to some major blogs by saying:
It is also a system that breaks down easily, especially if you in some way or another monetize your site. That is why all of the big blogs seldomly link to external sites. TechChrunch, CNET, they all love to link to themselves. The motive is pure financial, and has nothing to do with content, trust, or any other factor.
I will be completely honest when I say, it is hard for me to care that much about TechCrunch and CNet. They have already positioned themselves as quasi-industry content leaders. Does it really matter that they are internally linking?
I think this is a lesson for all the smaller blog contingencies out there. When you are posting content about a specific topic try to link to sources that you find valuable. It is extremely apparent to everyone when the only links in a blog post are internal links. Get over yourself.
I am not going to sit her and say I have NEVER internally linked to a post that a reader may find valuable. There is a fine line to draw when internally linking and outwardly linking. If you have five links in your blog post and they ALL travel back to you…you are an internal link addict.
Go to an ILAA (internally linking addict anonymous) because you are ruining your credibility on the the open market. And if the only thing you care about is a greater google page or search ranking….pack up your crap skippy.
Take the train home because I firmly believe genuine content will always win.
Hmmm, can’t say that I agree at all. If you have valid supporting content within your blog, you SHOULD link internal. Why should I force my reader outside my blog or website if I have further details internal?
One example where I can’t stand this is where all RSS Feed links are pointed to the post, requiring someone to click through to the post and then click through to the site. That’s just whoring for clicks.
Kyle I’m disappointed in this post. One SHOULD post inbound links in their blog. Those inbound links are valuable for SEO purposes. Ever since launching our blog and using keywords as iinbound links to pages on our website we have seen our website’s rank on Google increase dramatically. I do hope you will seriously reconsider your position.
Doug and Mark,
Thanks for your comments. I don’t disagree with internal linking. I do disagree with too much of that type if linking strategy. What I tried to get across in the post was that I wasn’t against internal linking just to much of it. Too much of it can take away from thetrust factor. I encourage you to read Alexander’s post.
Kyle thanks for your kind words about my blog, really appreciate it.
Mark J. What you describe is exactly why you need to be very careful with internal linking. SEO, PageRank, these are all internal and often revenue) motivators. Take the position of your reader and ask yourself what his or her value is. There is nothing against internal linking. It can add value if the link provides the user value.
But linking to yourself because it improves SEO and PageRank is a thin line that gets you to serve your own goals instead of those that read your blog.
I don’t really see a problem with internal linking – especially if it makes you look smart
. For example, if I predicted that Google would someday acquire Last.FM in an older post, I would definitely link to that post if it actually occurred.