(NOTE: this is part of the “Blogging tips” series)
Please read the introduction first. Thanks.
Not all of the following tips necessarily apply to every situation. But you can almost surely use a combination of some of them in your blog.
- Avoid, as much as you can, blog entries of the “see this cool link!” kind. They are basically a way of sending people away. Unless your visitor is already a regular reader, it’s quite likely that, if he (she, etc.) is interested in the link, he’ll follow it… and, in seconds, he’ll have forgotten all about your blog, and never come back to it.
- When you do link to other blog posts or sites, write some original content as well. Don’t just write a single line “go there” post. Write your own thoughts about the link in question. Say where you agree and where you don’t. Add to it. Invite your readers to give their own opinions. If done properly, they’ll go read the other post, but then return to yours to read (and possibly discuss) what you’ve written about it.
- Although this is not always possible, try to move the external links to the end of your posts, instead of the beginning. But don’t do it in too obvious a way – it should flow naturally.
- Use internal links. For instance, instead of just writing “so and so has said (external link)”, say something in the vein of “so and so has said (external link), which you may recall I’ve already discussed in (internal link)”, or “following (internal link), so and so has written a new article (external link) on…” Again, do it nicely – don’t try to “hide” the external link, or link to your own articles even though they’re not really related at all.
- If you’re using WordPress, use the Related Entries plugin. If you use some other software, try to find an equivalent plugin or feature. Even doing it by hand shouldn’t be totally out of the question. It really helps.
Related posts:
- Blogging tips #21: keeping first-time visitors on your blog: Introduction
- Blogging tips #4: Making your blog search engine-friendly
- Blogging tips #13: Making money from your blog – Adsense: the basics
- Blogging tips #5: Adding your blog to search engines and directories
- Blogging tips #14: Making money from your blog – AdSense: getting relevant ads

[...] Te has esforzado mucho para que tu blog aparezca en las primeras posiciones en los resultados de los motores de búsqueda. Pero seguro que has notado que los visitantes que llegan a través de ellos forman parte de la estadística de tu contador que te dice que permanecieron en tu blog entre cero segundos y un minuto. Todos hemos sentido la rabia que eso produce, ¿qué pasa?, ¿qué no le ha gustado nada de mi blog? Muchas veces el problema no está en el contenido sino en como lo mostramos, como enlazamos o que opciones ofrecemos. En Tlog dan algunos consejos que utilizaré como base: No les digas adiós con tus enlaces Es decir: [...]