Businesses Need Extra Value from Web Links
Internet psychologist Graham Jones reports that web links are proving of little value to businesses because they are based on technology, rather than the way people read online.
Reading, United Kingdom, October 16, 2007 --(PR.com)-- Business owners are wasting their time on getting links to their web sites because few people click on the kind of links they are generating. According to Internet Psychologist Graham Jones, people rarely use "links lists", instead preferring to click on links that are embedded within the main text of a page.
He said: "Currently business owners are trying to get their sites listed in directories and lists of links. However, these are of lower perceived value than links that appear within the main text of a web page. The result is that businesses and Internet marketers are wasting time, effort and money in trying to get their links onto other web sites."
The traditional view has been that web sites need links to help them generate traffic. There are also potential search engine benefits of having plenty of links for a web site. However, as psychologist Graham Jones explained, these opinions are based on technology, not people.
"It's all very well to be able to say you have plenty of links to your web site - but if no-one is clicking on those links and if the search engines are ignoring them as well, then you may as well not have them," he said.
Instead he advises people to think about links from the human, psychological perspective.
"When we search for information we are obviously interested to hear about other sites that may be useful to us. However, we only trust those links to other sites if they come from sites we already value," said Graham Jones.
"Hence business owners should concentrate on getting links to their web site into specific, targeted pages within trusted sites," he added.
Trusted sites tend to be those with lots of content, often added to daily, if not hourly, with articles, blogs and other useful information.
"If such sites also recommend other useful information, then such links tend to get clicked on," said Graham Jones. "However, this means the links need to be to specific, supportive information to that which is on the site the reader is looking at."
As a result, explained Mr Jones, online business owners need to get links placed strategically within high-content, trusted sites and not just on any links list.
The added benefit is that Google and other search engines place more value on links that are embedded within relevant content than they do for links on "links pages" which may be lumped together with a variety of non-connected sites.
"The message from my research is clear," said Graham Jones, "online business owners need to stop chasing links for links sake. Instead they should have a links strategy which allows them to get valuable links in place that will be clicked on by people. Having a link in a links page or directory is no longer good enough - indeed it probably never was," he added.
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He said: "Currently business owners are trying to get their sites listed in directories and lists of links. However, these are of lower perceived value than links that appear within the main text of a web page. The result is that businesses and Internet marketers are wasting time, effort and money in trying to get their links onto other web sites."
The traditional view has been that web sites need links to help them generate traffic. There are also potential search engine benefits of having plenty of links for a web site. However, as psychologist Graham Jones explained, these opinions are based on technology, not people.
"It's all very well to be able to say you have plenty of links to your web site - but if no-one is clicking on those links and if the search engines are ignoring them as well, then you may as well not have them," he said.
Instead he advises people to think about links from the human, psychological perspective.
"When we search for information we are obviously interested to hear about other sites that may be useful to us. However, we only trust those links to other sites if they come from sites we already value," said Graham Jones.
"Hence business owners should concentrate on getting links to their web site into specific, targeted pages within trusted sites," he added.
Trusted sites tend to be those with lots of content, often added to daily, if not hourly, with articles, blogs and other useful information.
"If such sites also recommend other useful information, then such links tend to get clicked on," said Graham Jones. "However, this means the links need to be to specific, supportive information to that which is on the site the reader is looking at."
As a result, explained Mr Jones, online business owners need to get links placed strategically within high-content, trusted sites and not just on any links list.
The added benefit is that Google and other search engines place more value on links that are embedded within relevant content than they do for links on "links pages" which may be lumped together with a variety of non-connected sites.
"The message from my research is clear," said Graham Jones, "online business owners need to stop chasing links for links sake. Instead they should have a links strategy which allows them to get valuable links in place that will be clicked on by people. Having a link in a links page or directory is no longer good enough - indeed it probably never was," he added.
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Contact
The Graham Jones Business Group
Graham Jones
0118-336-9710
http://www.grahamjones.co.uk
Graham Jones
0118-336-9710
http://www.grahamjones.co.uk
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