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What are blogrolls for?

by C A Perez
15 replies
I built my first WP blog website and I'm adding and tweaking it as I learn more about what I need to do to generate more traffic to it. The purpose of the Blogroll in the sidebar elludes me.

It has all these WP sites in it that make it easy for me to get to them, but why would a visitor to my site want access to them? Do I put someone else's blog in the list and why would I want to do that?

Forgive my ignorance, it doesn't make sense to me.

A Newbie,
Carlos :confused:
#blogrolls
  • Profile picture of the author Zeus66
    The blogroll is merely a place for you to post links to any other blogs (even just plain old sites) that you personally enjoy and visit a lot, and/or that you think your visitors would find interesting and useful. It's a link list, in other words.

    It's really about adding value to your content. You want your visitors to want to return, right? To pay you visits all the time? That's called having a "sticky" website/blog. It's like glue. People stick because you give them good stuff. A blogroll can be part of that.

    Also, if you're really thinking mostly from a marketing standpoint, use the blogroll to link to other sites/blogs you run that sell your products (or affiliate products you earn a cut from).

    Hope that helps!

    John
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  • Profile picture of the author HomeBizNizz
    A blogroll can also make people leave your blog too.
    So don't fill it up too much with links to other competing sites.
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    • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
      Blog rolls are for social meaty-yum.
      Signature
      .
      Stop by Paul's Pub - my little hangout on Facebook.

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      • Profile picture of the author barbling
        Lots of cool things you can do with blogrolls.

        You can (of course) list your favorite blogs.

        You can exchange links with other blogs.

        You can include instead links to affiliate programs (some people who run affiliate programs will give their affiliates a link that takes people directly to their blog instead of to a product).

        You can break up your blog roll into specific categories (ie,

        Niche 1 blogs
        Niche 2 blogs
        etc.etc.etc.

        You can rotate your blog rolls to include those blogs of top commentators.

        Lots of things you can do with blog rolls.
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        • Profile picture of the author C A Perez
          Thanks everyone for the explanations.

          I was focused on HomeBizz's response, thinking that if I sent visitors to another competing blog I would lose them.

          Zeus66 - Yes, I understand now. But I need to create more sites to roll to.

          Barbling - how do you 'exchange links'? - Contact competing, similar blogs?, or unrelated blogs that I like? and say what?

          Thanks again,
          Carlos
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          • Profile picture of the author barbling
            Originally Posted by C A Perez View Post

            Thanks everyone for the explanations.

            I was focused on HomeBizz's response, thinking that if I sent visitors to another competing blog I would lose them.

            Zeus66 - Yes, I understand now. But I need to create more sites to roll to.

            Barbling - how do you 'exchange links'? - Contact competing, similar blogs?, or unrelated blogs that I like? and say what?

            Thanks again,
            Carlos
            I don't believe in competitors, so I consider all folks to be colleagues (as all folks, generally, offer affiliate commissions. ). Making money via MY product sales or via affiliate links or what have you....I like 'em all!

            With that said, I would simply contact my colleagues and say, hey! Want to exchange blog roll links?

            Very informal but can be very useful indeed.

            Hope that helps!
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  • Profile picture of the author C A Perez
    Thank you, Barbling. I'll do that.
    Carlos
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  • Profile picture of the author Nelson Clements
    A Blogroll list those blogs which are relevant to your blog and it is a good way of getting involved socially online with other bloggers but always keep it limited as you can also loose visitors if you have too much of them.
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    forex executor pro
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    • Profile picture of the author Avidpoet
      Ahhhhh the sweet smell of Blog Rolls in the morning. They taste so good with a nice cup of Hot Chocolate...
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  • Profile picture of the author Jimerson Farveez
    Yups, I do write on blogroll and do share my favourites as well as I always used to publish very latest news on my blogs and my readers to feel that I am FIRST AND FAST. Apart from this, I am getting a kind of adsense clicks via my blogroll too :p
    Signature
    Search Engine Optimization Services in Delray Beach, FL
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  • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
    Blogrolls provide authority through association. If you have good blogs in your blogroll, you're probably writing a good blog, too.
    Signature
    "The Golden Town is the Golden Town no longer. They have sold their pillars for brass and their temples for money, they have made coins out of their golden doors. It is become a dark town full of trouble, there is no ease in its streets, beauty has left it and the old songs are gone." - Lord Dunsany, The Messengers
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  • Profile picture of the author I.M.Retired
    I often use the blogroll on a site to promote affiliate links. I simply rename the blogroll to 'Affiliate Links' or 'Recommended
    Affiliate Products.' I sometimes use the blogroll to link to 'like minded' sites or sites that have similar content or information to my own site. Sometimes I simply do a shameless promotion for my own 'other' sites. It all depends on the tone of the blog and what I am trying to accomplish.

    I know that I appreciate blogroll links that are related to the blog I am currently visiting. I also appreciate product links, because often I am looking to purchase a specific product and I like to purchase through affiliate links, especially if the content on the site I have been visiting is good.

    Most people remove the blog links that come with Wordpress install and add their own. It is just one more way of personalizing, or making you blog relevant to the topic at hand.
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  • Profile picture of the author C A Perez
    Val.
    Some very good points. I will implement them on my new Health Care and Reform Blog.
    Thanks, Carlos
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  • Profile picture of the author HomeBizNizz
    Comment on other blogs and put your link in.
    It will over time give you more visitors too.
    And ask if you can contribute on other blogs
    as a guest blogger.
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    • Profile picture of the author genietoast
      I never saw the point of blog rolls either.

      I figured that if you wanted to link to authority sites related to your niche to raise your ranking, wouldn't anchor text do the same thing?
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