Or just how many links does your BLOG have?
WE often read about popularity in social networks like Facebook , LinkedIn , Twitter and others. But how often do you ask yourself how popular your blog is?
According to Technorati the most popular places in the blogosphere are those with the most links!
And you thought it was the ones with the most readers! Well, actually, they are the same thing. Because in order to get the “blog referrals” (aka link love), someone’s gotta first read your blog and then tell others about it.
Just why would you want “blog referrals?”
Well, if you offer products or services for sale or have affiliate links that generate income, then the more eyeballs that view your blog, the more traffic you generate; the more traffic you generate, the greater your chances of selling something… and so on.
Here are some common blog linking tactics and what they mean:
Trackbacks – one of three types of Linkbacks , methods for Web authors to request notification when somebody links to one of their documents. This enables authors to keep track of who is linking to, or referring to their articles. Some weblog software, such as Movable Type , Serendipity , WordPress and Telligent Community , support automatic pingbacks where all the links in a published article can be pinged when the article is published. The term is used colloquially for any kind of Linkback (source: Wikipedia )
Comments – are replies or feedback that a reader can leave in response to an entry on your blog.
Social book marks – is tagging websites to save for later viewing to send to a friend. It is like taking the bookmarks in your web browser and sending them out to the web. Social book marks are also a great way to look at what other people have found interesting enough to tag. Delicious is just one of hundreds of Social Bookmarking sites. http://www.delicious.com/
Tagging – is organizing content organically and without a pre-determined structure.
Blogrolls – a listing of websites that often appear as links on weblogs. This list of links is used to relate the site owner’s interest in or affiliation with other bloggers.
Guest Blogging – “When you guest blog, your blog post is a resume you are putting out to the world that publicly states who you are, what you can do, what you know, why you are good at what you do, and why should people come to visit you for more. ” (Source: BlogHerald.com ).
With so much information online and so little time to actually capture it, bloggers are looking for ways to expand their reach by inviting guest bloggers to write for them. I recommend you see which blogs your own clients read or write and find out if they would like you to contribute an article (or several). I regularly write for MyStyles2Go Online Furniture Store, Bank Atlantic Blog and others from time to time.
You can also surf the net looking for bloggers who have a similar audience to yours and ask if they would like you to write for them. I have done this successfully on several occasions and my blog posts are all over the net. And yours could be too. Guest blogging is a great way to get links back to your own site without having to ask someone for them.
Refer others. This is different from blogrolls. It is often referred to as Linklove. Linklove is when you write a post and mention other bloggers (in a positive way) to your readers. Another way to refer other bloggers is through your social media sites by mentioning their posts with a link to read the entire article. The more interesting or enticing the headline, the greater the chances of others in your network clicking on the link, subscribing to their RSS and “telling their friends” about the blog too. And you may even get a mention. On Twitter they call it “retweeting” so when you mention a blogsite, and others retweet, your name also appears in the “tweet.”
Blog, RSS directories – is an index directory of weblogs as submitted by their authors. Check out the list of 100 Blog Directories to Submit Your Blog published by WE Magazine Although the list is more than 2 years old many of the directories are still relevant.
TopRated also has a Big List of Blog Directories which you will find relevant: http://www.toprankblog.com/rss-blog-directories/
For more great ideas on increasing your “blog referrals” read the article 101 Link Building Tips to Market Your Website .
To see who made the list of the most popular places on the blogosphere check out the Blogger Choice Awards. http://bloggerschoiceawards.com/ WE Magazine for Women AND Quirky Marketing Calendar have been nominated (by me of course:). And Sheila Finkelstein who writes Picture to Ponder (she’s a Platinum Member) has also been nominated. You too can nominate your favorite blog including yours!
BTW, WE Magazine for Women is compiling their next list of 101 Women Bloggers to Watch for 2011. If you are a woman blogger and have been blogging for at least 1 year let WE know about it. See WE Magazine’s Previous Lists of Women Bloggers to Watch .
