What’s a Blogroll–Can I Get a Side of Friends with It?

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By Nettie Hartsock - Mar 24 , 2008

One of the things I’m asked fairly often is, “What is a blogroll?” and then “Why do I need a blogroll? What will it do for me?”

The best way I can explain a blogroll is that it’s a list of your favorite websites, bloggers you admire, and even blogs that might be good resources for your readership. I think it’s good to have a blogroll because it helps visitors to your blog understand what “neighborhood” you live in. It also helps you meet fellow bloggers (neighbors/peers) that you might not otherwise meet because, as you add folks to your blogroll, you’ll find that you’re expanding your visibility among your peers at the same time.

Suggestions

Don’t add blogs you don’t read, just for the sake of adding them.
Don’t add blogs simply because you think that’s going to be your “in” for the added blogger to reciprocate with a blog roll link to you on their site.
Make sure the blogs you have on your roll are there for a purpose and are of the same standards as your blog. Don’t just throw a bunch of blog links up on your blog.
Take your time in building your blog roll.
Update your blog roll occasionally in terms of making sure all the blogs you list are still active blogs, still valuable to you and your readers, and still resonant with what you’re writing about on your blog, as well.

Some Important Do’s

Do revel in making new friends in the blogosphere by adding them to your blog roll.
Do reach out to bloggers you’ve added, just by simply sending them an email and noting that you like their “blogging style” and have added them to your blog roll. (Don’t be pushy and ask them for an automatic reciprocal link – just be patient – if they read your blog and like it they will probably at some point add your blog to their blogroll too.)
Do keep your blogroll down to 10 or 15 blogs at the most so your visitors don’t become overwhelmed with all the blogs you’ve got on the blogroll.
Occasionally highlight one of the blogs on your blogroll by citing their blog in a blog post and writing more about why you like their blog and the content.
Make a point of commenting on those blogs you have on your blogroll so that you can start that virtual conversation with “like-minded” fellow bloggers.

Enjoy the opportunity of making friends in the blogosphere. There’s a giant amount of camaraderie in terms of the blog community—don’t believe the naysayers who say there isn’t! And for more on blogrolls, here’s a great post on them from web guru Dave Taylor at the AskDaveTaylor.com site. Dave is brilliant on all things Web!