Prevent those surfers from leaving your website!
GRML Web Browsers for bar graphs
Web Browsers (GRML)
Web Browsers (GRML)
Web Browsers (GRML)
GRML Web Browsers for bar graphs
Web Browsers (GRML)
Web Browsers (GRML)
Web Browsers (GRML)
GRML Web Browsers for bar graphs
Web Browsers (GRML)
Web Browsers (GRML)
Web Browsers (GRML)
I believe that if you have an ecommerce site you shouldn't link out, at all. I'll stress the ecommerce angle here - any other site and I'll be the first to admit that I don't have a clue.
1. People will leave your site through external links
If the thought process is that linking to a good resource will benefit users then why not do something similar yourself? Don't copy it - just work from the same premises and build your own resource, make it better - this way you won't need to link to it. If it's too big, like a search engine etc, then just don't link to it. Opening the link in a blank window may also seem like a good idea but whats the first thing you do when a link opens in a blank window: "I've found what I'm looking for, I'll just close this other window down..."
Don't give people a reason to leave your site. They don't need an excuse. Your average Joe surfer is the most fickle animal ever - they don't even need an excuse to leave your site - so don't go so far as giving them one.
2. Pagerank will bleed through external links
I don't even need to go into this.
3. It looks unprofessional
On a site where you're trying to sell something you need to be harsh. Why are you linking to something else to help your visitors? Does that mean that you couldn't do it yourself? What if the site you're linking to has banners for one of your competitors? They could even buy an ad there because you link to it - it is bound to be "on topic". Also - link pages - they just aren't cool on an ecommerce site.
4. Concentration
That's a strange title, but I think it works. I believe that surfers are very single minded when they want to buy something. They're at your site and you've won the battle of getting them there - this means nothing unless they buy something from your site. When you see something in the corner of your eye which says "more widget information" it grabs your attention and you're gone.
5. Make yourself an authority
I know this sounds like a tall order from the Teoma book of optimisation but it is possible with a lot of hard work. If you're an authority on a subject then you won't have to link to people or have reciprocal links - they'll link to you because you're an authority. I realise that this can be hard when you're starting out but I would rather buy a link than reciprocate it - even on a new site. Well made and regularly updated sites have a way of growing organically as well.
6. Reciprocal linking problems with not linking out
Lots of webmasters get started by garnering reciprocal links. A lot of people probably have standard emails which they send out to other sites; trying to get them to link and offering to link back. There is a simple solution to this problem. Don't offer to link back. Just take that line out. Just try it. Not everyone comes to webmasterworld and not everyone (read: hardly anyone) has a clue about pagerank. It's easy to get jaded about this stuff.
7. Case Study
One of my sites has a PR 7 link from a page which only links to three other sites. Who is the link from? Our biggest competitor. Doh!