Nov
18
‘Responsible outbound linking is good for you’ says Google
Filed Under Linking, Online Marketing | 1 Comment
We have always been very strong advocates of linking to other sites in your blog posts and articles, and last month, Google confirmed on their official blog what we knew all along: it’s good to spread the link love, and it won’t damage your rankings as long as the links are good ones.
Outbound linking boosts your credibility
Google also agrees that good outbound links help to boost your credibility by establishing your blog as a valuable reference for your visitors. When people see that you have done your research and are happy to share your findings with them, they will come back to your site again and again. And if you contribute to the discussion by adding your own comments and your own perspective on the matter, your posts become even more valuable and relevant.
What’s more, linking helps you make contact with webmasters of other sites, who could be linking back to you in the future.
But won’t I lose visitors by linking?
Of course, the number one concern about outbound linking is that you would be losing visitors to the sites you link to, but read what Google had to say on that:
Visitors may initially leave your site to check out relevant information. But can you recall your behavior on sites that link to good articles outside their domain? Personally, I always come back to sites I feel provide commentary and additional resources. Sometimes I stay on the original site and just open up the interesting link in a different tab. It’s likely that with relevant outbound links you’ll gain repeat visitors, and you won’t lose them forever.
How to avoid the bad kind of links
To be sure, there is a kind of links that Google does not like and that will negatively affect your site. You guessed it: link spam. This includes both paid-for outbound links, and the self-promoting links that some of your blog readers will include (or more likely blatantly promote) in their comments.
There are different things you can do to avoid being penalised by such links. One is to have a solid anti-spam plugin that filters your comments, such as Askimet for WordPress. These plugins generally work by comparing your comments to a huge database of comment spam, and have a great success rate at weeding out the baddies. Still, they are not 100% foolproof. This means that you should also monitor and review your comments (ideally before they are published) to make sure that no spam gets through. Keeping spam out of your blog, of course also has the added benefit of making sure that all your readers see is juicy, relevant content.
Another thing you should consider doing in order to avoid link spam penalties is to set up your blog to include the nofollow attribute (rel=”nofollow”) in each and every user-generated link. When you do this, Google will completely ignore these links as though they never existed, meaning you don’t have to worry about them. Google also wants you to disclose paid-for outbound links with the nofollow attribute, even though this has created a great controversy among SEO specialists.
So, to summarise, link and link away as long as you do it responsibly and because the site you are linking to is interesting to your readers. A little common sense will go a long way when spreading the link love and sooner or later some of the karma will come back to you in the form of inbound links too.
Oct
18
Recommended Canary Media
Filed Under General Stuff, Linking | Leave a Comment
The following media companies and websites are those that Sorted Sites has found to offer the highest level of effectiveness and value in their respective fields. These are people to whom we regularly send clients and recommend without reservation. The individuals mentioned are people we have worked with personally or referred to successfully in the past. We would recommend everyone on this list to provide an honest and effective form of advertising for us or our clients.
None of the companies or individuals we have listed were charged, nor does Sorted Sites profit from any referrals. We list these companies because they provide a great value service to their customers and it’s our goal to see that everyone who we come into contact with, whether they hire us or not, obtain the best possible service. If by any chance you have had a bad experience with any of these companies please email me john@sortedsites.com
Media Companies, Web sites and individuals we recommend, in no particular order:
Etenerife
www.etenerife.com - Julie runs one of Tenerife’s top portals that cover the full spectrum of issues for both Tourists and Resident Expats. We have referred several clients in the past with guaranteed success. Julie is usually our first port of call once we have finished a new web site 
Email Julie at info@etenerife.com for more information or call 922 733 583
Freedom4Sale
www.freedom4sale.com - Lynne and Paul have been around for a long time, they have been responsible for over 35 issues of their property magazine FREEDOM4SALE being published, covering properties in the Canary Islands. I have found that their web site, freedom4sale.com, has been one of the best generators of sales leads in the Canary Islands. Call Lynne 928 845 944 or email lynne@freedom4sale.com
Power FM
www.powerfmradio.com - Phil is the new sales manager at Power FM Radio, Power FM offer two excellent advertising opportunities via their web site and Radio station, both of which cover the whole of the Canary Islands. Email Phil phil.thraves@powerfmradio.com
Fuerteventura.com
www.fuerteventura.com- Gary runs the extremely successful website in Fuerteventura, for some reason Google loves what Gary does and you will find fuertevetnura.com coming up on the first page for almost any search on Fuertevetura. Email Gary on advertising@fuerteventura.com
Property Base
www.propertybase.net - This is one of our web sites but I would recommend Real Estate Agents in the Canary Islands to advertise here as you only pay per lead and you get a free link listed on the web site. Contact Carol at info@propertybase.net
Living Tenerife
www.livingtenerife.com - Sean and Mailing have managed to rise to the top of an extremely competitive market. The Living Tenerife magazine is one of the most respected and classy publications covering the Lifestyle, Culture, Property and Restaurants in Tenerife and The Canary Islands. Email advertising@livingtenerife.com
Pay Per Click Manager
www.payperclickmanagement.eu
Luigi (half South African half Italian) runs our own website to manage Pay Per Click accounts. Luigi is a Google Adwords Professional and highly efficient in managing Pay Per Click accounts on Google, Yahoo and MSN.
Casa Post
http://www.casa-post.comÂ
John Summers has been successfully running his property magazine in Tenerife now for over 8 years. Through competitive pricing and good distribution Casa Post has retained loyal advertisers.
Tenerife Resorts
www.teneriferesorts.com and www.canaryislandsresorts.com. Graham and his web sites offer a reciprocal link that is well worth it.
Tenerife News
www.tenerifenews.com - David Gilroy-Jones, editor of Tenerife News is one of the most respected media men on the Island. Their presence off line and online make them the premier News Media in Tenerife.
Tenerife Distribution
www.tenerifedistribution.com - We are often sceptical about referring local off line media (magazines and newspapers) however if we know that Graham and his team at Tenerife Distribution are the distributors, then we feel more confident that our client will get value for money with an excellent service. Tenerife Distribution are presently responsible for distributing The Tenerife Property Guide, Freedom4 Sale, Casa Post, Orange Pages and more… Call Graham 650 827 280 or email info@tenerifedistribution.com
Write-On
www.write-on.net - Andrew has written for us on a number of occasions, his ability to grasp what our clients needs are and put them in writing whilst still respecting our need for search engine keywords to be used is a unique skill. email Andrew andrew@write-on.net
May
10
Another reason for outbound links
Filed Under General Stuff, Linking | Leave a Comment
Credibility online is extremely important for Web users, since it is unclear who is behind a site and whether a web page can be trusted. Increase Credibility by using high-quality images, good copy, and use of outbound links. Links to other quality web sites show that you are not afraid to let your visitor view other sites. In addition to this google has shown that although they want to see who links to you they also want to see who you link to!!
View John Beckley's profile