contentious.com

I don’t expect that anyone reads every single article I post to this weblog – let alone plows through my voluminous archives.

I also realize that I, more than anyone else, grasp the wealth, history, and diversity of CONTENTIOUS. I understand how what I’m writing today builds upon what I’ve written before, here and elsewhere.

This is why I believe in weblog backlinks to relevant earlier articles…

I mention this issue only because so many of my favorite weblogs rarely offer backlinks. I’d like to encourage more bloggers to link back to previous relevant articles. It’s not merely a courtesy to your audience – it also maintains the value and visibility of, and traffic to, your archives. It also provides a sense of continuity often lacking in this medium-of-the-moment. Backlinks give you more mileage from all that hard work you put into your blog.

HOW TO BACKLINK:

It’s simple. While you’re writing a blog entry, take a moment to browse your archives for previous articles on related themes. Where you find them, consider how they relate to your current posting. Once you’ve identified that connection, figure out how to work that into your current narrative – and create a link that fits naturally into your posting.

For instance, I’m writing about this topic right now because yesterday my friend and fellow blogger Koan Bremner thought she recalled that I’d written specifically about backlinks before. I thought so too… But much to my surprise I couldn’t find any such article in my archives. However, I did find a couple of articles which touched on similar themes:

• In The Series: Basic Blog Posts, Part 7 I mentioned, “Good navigation is crucial for a successful blog series. In my opinion, it’s not enough to simply have previous/next links at the end of each article, or to simply title successive articles Part 1, Part 2, etc. Planning and implementing this kind of work takes skill and attention to detail. It can be annoying. Still, it’s important.”
• In Where do you find good content?, I discussed the concept of blog reruns: occasionally reposting older articles to give old content a new audience. This can be especially handly if current events give your older postings new relevance.

Honestly, I don’t know why it seems like most bloggers ignore backlinking opportunities. When I find a posting that intrigues me, I welcome the chance to explore how that blogger has touched on that topic in the past. Maybe it’s just the journalist in me, but I love following breadcrumb trails.

It may be that some bloggers post in too much of a rush. In this case, they might balk at investing the time and thought needed to identify relevant older postings and connect them to the present. Or maybe they’ve simply forgotten what they’ve written before. I know I’ve been guilty of both, so I’m not chastising anyone here.

Still, backlinks offer amazing potential to engage your audience more fully. If you don’t offer them routinely, try creating them at least every once in a while. You’ll be surprised how it helps you view the “big picture” of your overall body of work.