You can really get more blog traffic by giving links rather than being stingy and hoarding links. It pays to reach out to others and their sites.
I know that this sounds counter-intuitive to most people which is why they are afraid and don’t want to lose traffic to other blogs and websites.
They’d never consider giving a do follow link to anybody, putting links to other relevant sites in the so called blogroll in the sidebar or installing a Comment Luv or Keyword Luv plugins.
I’m here to tell you that if you are afraid of losing traffic to anybody you should consider first if you have any traffic to lose in the first place.
Get More Blog Traffic Linking Out, Not By Being Stingy
If you enhance the experience of your visitors by showing links to other sites they are likely to come back. And even if you do lose a portion of the visitors to your blog by them using the links you provided, do you think that they were going to come back to your blog if it weren’t for them clicking on those links?
By engaging with other blogs and the whole internet community you will gain traffic and visitors to your blog.
Engaging also includes commenting which I have covered in another post: Get Blog Traffic Increase With Blog Comments.
Linking out and giving links through various plugins mentioned above will go a long way in attracting traffic to your blog. I’ll relate a story supporting this further down so keep on reading.
Scared of Google Taking Your Rank Away?
One of my blogging friends Josh Rimer whom I met in September of last year has now decided to do just what I’m talking about. On his own accord without me ever mentioning it since our first conversation in September.
He has been told and believed like many bloggers that having do follow links on his blog would cause him to lose Google ranking.
There is a wide spread belief that Google supports link hoarding by calculating which links are going in and going out and if your blog links out it will lose.
Since Google wants to enhance the experience of people who use it to search the internet such belief is very irrational. It would be working against what Google wants.
There are enough bloggers with high Google rank like Kristi’s Kikolani that are not link hoarders for you to realize that you can do the same without being paranoid.
A True Story of One Blog That Got Scared of Sharing
I emailed this story to Josh in response to his decision to go do follow etc.
Let me tell you of one guy’s blog that I used to visit and comment on. It used to have a do follow and showed people’s comments in the side bar and even had top commentators. That blog used to have twice as much traffic as mine and ranked higher too. It also had plenty of blogroll links.
Then the guy became paranoid, probably being influenced by some non sharing freak.
He removed everything from the side bar: everything having to do with sharing, went no follow and guess what happened to him: Google stopped liking his blog.
His rank is now 0 and his traffic is 2 to 3 times less than mine. You’d think that he would restore things back to what they were before but no, he’s persisting in hoarding things for himself and keeps on losing more and more.
I stopped visiting his blog (except every 3 or 4 months just to see if he came to his senses) and so apparently did a lot of other people. He used to get more comments than me, now he usually gets none or 1 or two per post once in a while. If he gets 4 comments he probably has a celebration now.
I hope that you’ll at least consider linking out besides of course commenting and giving do follow links. If you’re still scared of doing this at least link out in person by attending live events, even small ones like the one shown below.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this post, the video and the nice banner.
Tell me and all the readers your view on giving links and getting traffic to your blog.
Leave your comments and do tweet and stumble and digg this post for others to see and share their views.
Authored by Vance Sova
Filed under: Get Blog Traffic, Increase Blog Traffic
Hey Vance,
Great post. And it’s true – someone out there is spreading the rumor that Google will penalize you for having do follows! That, or it actually was true back in the day at some point…. Either way, I’m hoping to soon see an increase in comments by making mine all do follow, which will in turn of course hopefully lead to more traffic!
I haven’t added KeywordLuv or CommentLuv, but those are coming next…
Thanks,
Josh
Josh Rimer@YouTube Marketing Tactics´s last blog post ..Learning from the past – what went viral last year
Vance Reply:
February 16th, 2011 at 1:45 am
Hey Josh,
I’m glad you like the post. I think that rumors abound about many things and especially about Google since nobody really knows. It’s like there are people who say that no follow links are worthless. They aren’t. All links are good. Do follow links are probably a bit better.
I think that what you are doing will help. Make sure you also comment on other people’s blogs like you are doing now on mine. I have made some good friends just by commenting on their blog and it’s a great thing. Those people can and do become loyal readers and in addition to commenting they also recommend my blog to their friends.
Thanks for commenting,
Vance
Hey Vance
Oh I love love love to share the link love, I am forever sharing links on my blog, and I really don’t care about Google if I am honest.
I had a pr3 and I changed my blog to do follow and it went down to a PR2 but I dont know if that was the reason, and I wasnt bothered, PR is not an issue for me.
I will keep my dofollow, google can keep their page rank.
Sally 🙂
Sally @ Blog Hop Queen´s last blog post ..Add Your Blog URL To My Blog Hop Ebook
Vance Reply:
February 16th, 2011 at 2:29 am
Hey Sally,
Yes, you do love to share and I should have probably put your link in my post too. The page rank is not as important as it once was but a lot of people still care about it and I do too. But how it is determined is a mystery to me. It seems to go up and down for no reason. I’ve seen it happen on my blog and on blogs of other people. On my blog even with individual posts going from no ranking to rank 1 and vice versa back and forth.
I proved it to myself that whether you give do follow links or not has no bearing on it and for that matter nothing that can be observed. It may have been the number and quality of links in the past but now a lot more things form the formula and nobody knows what they really are.
Seeing all that I think that you are right to do what you love which is to share without worrying about anything.
I’m so glad that you are again commenting on my blog, now for the second time since your big pause.
I look forward to reading many more of your valuable comments.
Cheers,
Vance
Hey Vance,
I don’t think these people believe they’re spreading rumors, to them it’s fact. If anything they probably believe we’re the ones spreading rumors 😉
It probably started with the gurus and who knows maybe there was even a lot of truth in it in those days. Whether or not it holds true today is another story. Either way I’m not at all worried as it’s more important to me to link out than it is to worry about the possibility that it may offend the Google lords.
BTW, thanks for the link luv mate.
Sire´s last blog post ..What Affiliates To Promote To Blog For Money
Vance Reply:
February 16th, 2011 at 10:50 am
Hey Sire,
Great to see you visit and comment again. I know how busy you are so I doubly appreciate it.
I agree that people most often do and say what they believe and I think that is what I said in my post. But what they believe is not based on anything they’ve proved to themselves.
What may have been partially true 5 years or more ago may be interesting to reflect on but it’s way more important what the situation is today.
Sharing information by linking out is the way to go now and I’m glad that there are people like you who are not scared to do it.
Cheers,
Vance
Sire Reply:
February 16th, 2011 at 2:29 pm
I wasn’t disagreeing with you Vance as my comment was probably influenced a little by Josh’s comment. I think a lot of people’s beliefs stem from their interpretation of something Matt Cutts must have said and somewhere down the line it all got blown out of proportion.
There probably are times when you may want to make a link nofollow, if for some reason you had to link to an objectionable site, but other than that I see no need for it.
Sire´s last blog post ..10 Essential WordPress Plugins For The Smart Blogger
Vance Reply:
February 16th, 2011 at 9:12 pm
I understand that you weren’t disagreeing and by the way it’s OK to disagree, especially agreeably.
I have no ideas of what Matt Cutts may have said. If fact although I’ve heard that name I know nothing about him. But almost everything anybody significant or better yet famous says tends to get blown out of proportion.
I agree that there are times when you don’t want to give a do follow link and that is only in cases similar to what you’re saying.
For example I remove comment “love” when someone who I think is a spammer gives a generic comment when I want to give them as benefit of a doubt or make an example of them.
Anything I consider legitimate gets all the benefits of do follow etc.
Thanks for coming back to clarify and amplify your points.
Sire Reply:
February 20th, 2011 at 4:26 pm
Matt’s one of the big boys in Google and so is supposed to know a lot about what is going on.
You’re very kind hearted Vance, if I think someone left a generic comment or has gone against my comment policy but I want to teach them a lesson I remove all links, including the one in the url.
Sire´s last blog post ..My Blog Was Hacked And What I Did About It
Vance Reply:
February 20th, 2011 at 5:19 pm
Thanks Sire for coming back to add this. Yesterday I met with some bloggers and one of them mentioned Matt in relation to Google. So now I have a pretty good idea of who he is.
I do remove links when a comment is blatantly a spam and I am getting more strict because those that are giving the benefit of a doubt are in a vast majority of cases found to be not deserving of it.
Hi Vance,
We are all humans here and should always give than receive. You feel better and the people who you give the link too really appreciate it, so it is a win win situation.
I have comment luv and keyword luv installed from a very early age on my blog. It not only encourages more comments but more visitor.
Another little technique is to register your blog as a do follow blog with followlist.com. You are sharing your do follow blog and this in return brings you more traffic.
Cheers
Craig
Craig Sowerby´s last blog post ..Premium Word Press Themes For 5
Vance Reply:
February 18th, 2011 at 10:50 pm
Hi Craig,
You are right, of course, giving does pay off for everybody involved. It’s great that you are doing your part.
Thanks for the comment including the tip at the end of it.
Cheers,
Vance
I smiled all the way through your post Vance. 🙂 I have a definite case of ‘ignorance is bliss’. I didn’t know about any of the perceived ‘problems’ with outward links.
I have 100 outward links on my blog. I did this for my own convenience, and didn’t give Google a second thought. I try and visit 75 blogs a week, so I am collecting links to blogs that I like visiting.
I am also putting them into Monday to Friday categories. That way I don’t have to think about which blogs to visit, I just click through my daily list of links.
I have a top commentators list as well, just because I think it looks good, and it rewards those who comment regularly.
I don’t worry about Google, because Google’s raison d’etre is providing a quality search experience. I just concentrate on providing quality on my blog, and this fits in with Google anyway.
John
Blogging in Leamington Spa, England.
John McNally@Blogging for Pleasure and Profit´s last blog post ..Google & Alexa TRAFFIC Update
Vance Reply:
February 19th, 2011 at 9:45 am
Hey John,
Ignorance is bliss in a lot of cases and in this case it was a bliss with added benefits. You are just doing what comes naturally to you which is to share. That is absolutely the best way to be. Having the abundance mentality instead of being paranoid that there won’t be enough left for you.
I believe that Google loves people who enhance the experience of others online and not those who hoard things to themselves.
I’m so glad that reading my post produced a smile on your face. Thanks for sharing that. And please do keep doing what you are doing.
Thanks for the nice comment.
Vance
It is another angle to consider. There is way too much speculation out there about Google’s methods.
Vance Reply:
February 25th, 2011 at 12:58 pm
Hi Rick,
I think that speculating about Google’s methods is a big waste of time. Thanks for the comment.
Vance
I totally agree with your post. In order to have a successful blog, you have to learn to give.
People won’t give you anything (link-love, comments, attention,…) if you are not able to give something…
It can be valuable information, solution to a problem, link-love,…
dukeo´s last blog post ..Internet Marketing Lifestyle- Location Freedom
Vance Reply:
February 25th, 2011 at 12:56 pm
Hi Dukeo,
Thanks for the comment and do it again soon. This is your first comment I think and it’s nice to see you here. Welcome.
Vance
Great article, very concise, no fluff! I am new to blogging, and every little bit of info and tips/reviews is very helpful.
Thanks,
Kevin Lindgren
KevinLindgren @ Affiliate Marketing Tips´s last blog post ..Facebook Select All Friends
Hi Vance,
That guy you talk about in your post who had more comments than you at one time should wake up.
A blog should be about you but not all about you, well all about you meaning- sharing different locations of where to find good stuff is a reflection of what you find interesting.
Give and you shall receive,
Terry Conti
Terry Conti´s last blog post ..Don’t Lose Precious Free Traffic!
Vance Reply:
February 27th, 2011 at 12:06 am
Hi Terry,
I hope that he will wake up but it’s been so long since he went that way that he may not.
You are absolutely right about giving first and receiving second. If a blog doesn’t share anything beyond itself it is assuming a position of a know it all which cannot be sustained or not even real in the first place.
Thanks for contributing to my blog by leaving valuable comments.
Cheers,
Vance
hy vance this is very first time visit of your blog. i got it from kristi’s blog. Anyway i am totally agree with you. we shouldn’t afraid of link to other related blog. this will help our read and it will notify other blogger too
Vance Reply:
March 1st, 2011 at 11:26 am
Hi Alamin,
Welcome to my blog and thank you for commenting. I’m glad you enjoyed the post and agree with what I wrote. Linking out benefits everyone I think and it’s giving those who do it an opportunity to share generously as opposed to being scared of losing.
I look forward to reading more of your comments.
Vance
I also enjoy internet lifestyle. But I am a total newbie. So i am following your blog and john chow
Vance Reply:
March 1st, 2011 at 11:19 am
Hi Nurun,
Thank you for reading my blog and for commenting. I hope that you keep doing it and I hope that you will say more in your next comment. Learning to write valuable comments will be very helpful in your online life.
Keep it up, good luck and see you soon here on my blog.
Cheers,
Vance
Hey Vance,
It’s not a case of agreeing, you’re so right it’s something I do myself with the two plugins…
However to make sure my network of links are optimised for success I build all my response and left comments to eBay related blog posts and Internet marketing blogs such as your own, that way as you mention in your post your networking links out…
But..
by targeting your blog posts in the *same niche* as yourself you are guaranteeing that this traffic will always comes back to you because this growing network of links are in the same niche, and as you touched upon, Google love that!
Great post Vance….Ed.
Vance Reply:
March 1st, 2011 at 11:14 am
Hey Ed,
I’m glad you are linking out. You are right that it always helps to be linking to sites on similar or at least somewhat related subject. That is what makes sense. If you are commenting it doesn’t have to be restricted that much perhaps, provided that your comment is relevant to what you comment on.
Thanks for the visit and comment.
Vance
Hi,
Linking out is a good thing but it is both – great and delicate, we must aim for the good websites with visitors and also trust-worthy sources. And yes indeed, outlinking brings a lot of traffic from the webmasters and owners of the respective websites. You help and you get helpe, it’s very simple, we – the ones who enjoy, love and live the internet lifestyle understand the best.
Thank you for sharing this!
Best wishes,
Cristian
Cristian@Jocuri online´s last blog post ..Jocuri 3d
Vance Reply:
March 3rd, 2011 at 10:31 am
Hi Christian,
Thanks for the comment. As you point out it’s important to check the sites you link to to make sure they are OK. I think that nobody would want to link to questionable sites.
Cheers,
Vance
Hey Vance,
I have to agree with what you said, “if you are afraid of losing traffic to anybody, you should first consider if you have traffic to lose in the first place.” I’m not really sure why other people are stingy about do follows. It won’t hurt them one bit as the algorithm that google use is surely smarter than that. Besides, its not like they are competing in the same niche as that of those they are giving do follows to.
Glenn´s last blog post ..iPad 2 will be Available this March 11- 2011
Vance Reply:
March 3rd, 2011 at 10:22 am
Hey Glenn,
Thanks for commenting. I’m glad you like what I wrote. People tend to be stingy if they are afraid of losing what they have. I’m not sure why so many are afraid of linking out but one of the reasons is misinformation and fear.
Being afraid of competition is not very creative. Besides, even in the same niche there is a lot of room for everybody. If your site has original articles and your personality there is really no competition.
Vance
Amazing post 🙂
Recirpocity is a huge thing. And to take it one step further, when people see that you link to valuable resources, they tend to link more to you even if you don’t link to them directly!
The power of subconsious mind…
Rock on 🙂
Angel´s last blog post ..Organize your life with Evernote
Great post! Now I understand the importance of having commentluv/keywordluv plugin not only as a means of getting site traffic but also the value of giving out links.
Aybi@log home furniture´s last blog post ..Thought about building a log home
Vance Reply:
April 12th, 2011 at 9:21 am
Hi Aybi,
That is a pretty good understanding. It promotes interaction which is mutually beneficial. It has to be a genuine interaction and that is what people sometimes don’t understand or are unwilling to do.
Thanks for the comment.
Vance
It is a very confusing when you are a beginner like me. I created a site with lots of links out, it made sense to me, after all that’s why its the world wide WEB isn’t it? Because everything links to everything else? However I joined a forum where we all review each others sites and they told me I was losing something called ‘link juice’ and that I had to stop. At that point I had reasonable traffic and a page rank of 3, which I assumed was pretty normal as I hadn’t done anything special. Six months later all that is gone and traffic is a trickle, so I am starting again, and this time I’m linking out as much as I want.
jane from unusual floral arrangements.com´s last blog post ..Masculine Floral Arrangements
Vance Reply:
April 25th, 2011 at 11:26 am
Hi Jane,
Good for you. You stopped listening to people who operate under the assumption that the less you share and give the more will be left for you even if you have nothing to start with.
This kind of attitude causes everybody to shout louder and louder because nobody is listening or in the case of blogs nobody is reading.
Unless there is some interaction and sharing, having a blog is kind of pointless isn’t it?
Google is not stupid. They want interaction and sharing and the more of it the better. Hoarding links which the “don’t give any link juice” fanatics do is a way to oblivion for most people. A few famous people can get away with it but they get traffic because they are famous and not because they interact with others.
Thanks for commenting and visit and comment anytime.
Cheers,
Vance
I have reviewed your blog carefully so beautiful. Thanks for creating a sweet able & popular blog.
There are two things I can say to those blog owners Vance, if they want to be alone in their blog, then be it 🙂 If they want more interaction, then be not selfish.
Linking and engaging with other bloggers is great advice, Vance. Too many people take that social interaction for granted and don’t take advantage of it, and they’re really missing out on a lot of opportunities for more traffic!
My blog is dofollow, who cares what google thinks. Do what YOU enjoy doing and don’t let anyone tell you different.
Nice article. I’ve tried to start a film blog myself but I never knew how much SEO was needed for readership. This was very helpful. Thank you very much.
Conley@Greatest Films´s last blog post ..BEST NINETIES FILMS (1)
Vance Reply:
April 2nd, 2012 at 10:50 am
HI Conley,
THanks for commenting. I’m glad you find it helpful.
Vance
A huge part of web marketing comes from what you bring to the table for your readers. If you are reluctant to have links to other relevant sites on your blog, chances are, you are building a closed ecosystem that no user will come back to ever again.