Links to practicing more and preaching less

Like most people, I need to practice more and preach less. For example, making sure I’ve done all I can with my internal, external and inbound links. It’s hard for me to find the time among posting here, my real job and visiting my rich aunt at the nursing home.

Google reminded me yesterday that I should pay more attention to my links. The Big G is running this week on its Official Goggle Webmaster Central Blog a four-part discussion  about linking best practices.

There’s not much to part one (Monday) other than their saying, “Hey, it’s links week.” Part 2 (Tuesday) covers internal links. Part three (Wednesday) covers external links, Part four (Thursday) will cover inbound links.

It’s pretty obvious that the judicious use of internal, external and inbound links builds traffic and feeds the GoogleBot when it comes crawling. If you already have a site, think of Google’s four-parter as a refresher course. If you’re new to the game, you’ll find it helpful–even the common sense parts.

Here’s a quick summary of Google Webmaster Central’s post yesterday about internal links…

1. Keep important pages within a few clicks from the homepage: Make sure your important pages are clickable from the homepage and easy for GoogleBot to find.
2. Use descriptive anchor text: Writing clear and meaningful anchor text helps search engines and users to better understand your content.
3. Verify GoogleBot finds your internal links: Use the Pages with internal links feature provided by Google at Webmaster Tools to verify GoogleBot finds most of your links.

…and here’s a quick summary of Google Webmaster Central’s post today about linking out:

1. Make sure outbound links are relevant: Provide readers with in-depth and relevant information and offer them a unique perspective about that information.
   
2. Use thoughtful outbound links to boost your credibility: Do your research, show off your expertise and build relationships with other experts.
3. Monitor your outbound links: User-generated links and undisclosed paid advertising links can harm your credibility if you’re not vigilant.