Comments on: Can You Handle On Page Links?

By: Randy

Randy — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 18:20:39 +0000

I’ve been seeing this pop up a lot lately and I suspectMarty is right that Wired started it. This is not an SEO/Link-building issue. It’s a deign issue. Make the links stand up as links but not so much that the eyes water when looking at it.

Where this could become an SEO issue is if you are trying to convince a site owner to pony up a link and they are scared that different colored text with an underline might ruin his users experience.

Really?

If you think your links are to blame, you have much larger issues to deal with.

By: Chet Payne

Chet Payne — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 03:11:54 +0000

Wow this is an interesting post, especially since I am experimenting with all these link plug-ins on my new blog. I am struggling to get this link set up correct.

By: Alan Bleiweiss

Alan Bleiweiss — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 12:00:30 +0000

Debra,

The only kind of links I want to see go away from the content are inline ads. They destroy the original intent concept of inline links, and downright pollute what might otherwise be valuable stories, articles and content in general.

To take genuine reference links out of the content is not anything I would ever support because it prevents me, the reader, from choosing whether I wish, as I’m reading something, to read that which is referenced before continuing on the originating site.

By forcing me to wait to the end of the content to then see those links just causes me to have to spend more time trying to recall the context of each link. It’s inefficient and annoying.

Claiming that having links in the content is a bad thing is hocus pocus nonsense. I’m glad Link Spiel is not going to remove links from inline. Good for you – good for your readers!

By: Yolanda @ Paid in Passive

Yolanda @ Paid in Passive — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 16:41:29 +0000

I always link out from the body of my text, but ensure that if it is an outbound link to a website that isn’t the one a reader is presently on, the link then opens in a new window so that you can follow maintain your focus until the end.

By: Weekly Search & Social News: 06/08/2010 | Search Engine Journal

Weekly Search & Social News: 06/08/2010 | Search Engine Journal — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 15:23:51 +0000

[...] Can You Handle On Page Links? [...]

By: Marc

Marc — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 20:53:59 +0000

Screw concentration! If an intelligent person needs data, then links placed in relevant locations should facilitate information gathering.

LINKS ARE THE FABRIC OF THE INTERNET!!!

And I could go on and on about this…

By: mtlMarty

mtlMarty — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 13:50:20 +0000

On-page links, if used properly (i.e. links to content that is relevant and pivotal to the text), often turns an otherwise well-written piece into a digital version of that quirky teacher we all had who not only “frequently digressed”, but was easy to trigger into digressing. In other words, valuable on-page links are just begging a reader to stray.

End of page “More information”, or “Related content” links, or even call-out boxes at the appropriate places within content, makes much more sense if you are truly writing to to be read, rather than writing to join a virtual circle-jerk.

By: Nevil Darukhanawala

Nevil Darukhanawala — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 06:26:50 +0000

With great power comes great responsibility. People just need to learn that just because you can give links out from a page (you have too). Unless there is something of such value that deserves the user not reading the rest of the article, and clicking to another page.

By: Marty Martin

Marty Martin — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 17:39:11 +0000

I think those web heads are all just trying to build off the story Wired did in their current issue on how links on the web break your concentration...sheep. Wired: The Web Shatters Focus, Rewires Brain

By: Dana Lookadoo

Dana Lookadoo — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 17:00:13 +0000

I also like links in text and appreciate quality supportive material as you’ve done here. Yet I do find that copy with too many links does cause my frontal cortex to fire. Anchor text appears to be the key to comprehension. If the linked text is explanatory, then I can continue reading without too much distraction, feeling comfortable enough to continue absorbing the content and review the links later.

Nice coverage of the topic, Debra.