SEO for Writers—Basic Hyperlink Tips

SEO or Search Engine Optimization and Hyperlink are important terms for writers to know, whether you’re a freelancer writing blogs or websites for customers; or a novelist trying to build a platform.

If you’re not familiar with SEO here’s a post I did on Search Engine Optimization a while back that should help you come up to speed.

Today I want to concentrate on hyperlinks and teach you how to use them effectively.

A Hyperlink is a clickable link found within a post. The paragraph above contains a hyperlink—Search Engine Optimization. If you position your cursor above any of those three words and left click you’ll be taken to another page on the website. Other common terms for a hyperlink are a Hotlink or just a Link.

Hyperlinks are a good thing to have within a post for a couple of reasons.

• Including them will raise your search engine ranking.
• It’s a way to utilize previous posts and get more traffic on your own blog.
• They can give your readers more value by linking to valuable site that your readers may not have visited.
• It’s a way to build credibility by linking to other sites you’ve written for.

BUT, there are some tricks to formatting hyperlinks correctly to give you the best results. 

• Tie your hyperlink to valuable words. The words hyperlinked in your post are also searchable by search engines and you don’t want to waste them, so pick words that are specific to the topic you’re linking. For example, in the first paragraph, I could have made the word POST the link. It would have made sense, after all I was referring to a previous post. But how often do people do a Google search for the word post? Not very often. So I linked to a much more interesting set of words, SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION.
• Be sure the site you link to opens in a new window. This is important because your website stays open and it’s easy for your reader to check out the info you’re referencing and return to your post. Otherwise you might lose them. In most standard blogs and websites you have an option to decide this.
• Always check your links. Let me say that again—ALWAYS CHECK YOUR LINKS! Very few things will irritate people more than to be curious about something and then be directed to a dead-end when they try to learn more. I don’t care how familiar I am with a link, I always test it before I publish a blog post.
• Inform others. If you’re linking to someone else’s site or article it’s polite—and smart—to drop them a quick email and let them know. We all like to know that others have found our information valuable. Frequently the honoree will tell others about your article and this can also help you get the word out about your blog or topic.

Now it’s your turn. Post any questions or comments you have about hyperlinks in the comment section of this blog and let’s learn from each other.

Don’t forget to join the Conversation!

Blessings,

Edie