If you do make this blogging mistake, there’s good news: It’s the absolutely easiest mistake to correct.
I’m not convinced that anyone actually understands how to please the Google gods, but from what I’ve read, I assume that Google approves of people who share – as in sharing our visitors.
Google wants us to include “outbound” links in our blog posts.
Meanwhile, you don’t want people to go away from your website. You want them to stay, read, get to know you, get to like you, and decide to do business with you. You don’t want to lose them.
So do this one simple thing: Configure those outbound links to open in a new browser window.
When they’ve finished with that other page and close the window, there they’ll be – right back at your site.
Google will approve of you and your web visitors will appreciate you. Even better, because you give them good information that it might take them hours to find, they’ll see you as a local expert.
If you’re a real estate agent, including links to other sites is a service to your visitors.
People just moving to your community – or thinking about moving to your community – want to know about the schools, the local attractions, and the demographics.You’ll also provide a service by including links to city, county, and state pages where they can learn about topics like city/county services, taxation, or zoning.
And, since your links are providing a service, why not also include links to your favorite lenders, stagers, home inspectors, and those who provide various home care services?
You can put all this on a resources page on your site, but also include a link or two in your blog post copy when it fits the post topic.
Since it takes perhaps 2 seconds to click the box that says “Open in a new window” there is absolutely no reason to make that blogging mistake.