You Might Also Like . . . LinkWithin
Wow, another fast week--2013 is off to the races. This week's post focuses more on blogging than writing, but for most of us indies, blogging is part of the package of being a self-published author. If you're very observant, you may have noticed a little addition to the bottom of my blog posts. I read an interesting article on maximizing your old blog content, but for the life of me, can't find it on my Google Reader lists. I intended to link to it, but, you know, the best laid plans . . .
Anyhow, the gist of the article was that some of your newer blog readers might be interested in your older posts, especially if they're similar to, or pertain to, your current post. This is where a free (and add free) little widget called LinkWithin comes in. If you look below, I've cut-and-pasted exactly what LinkWithin looks like when you add it to your blog.
The LinkWithin web page has a nice FAQ and describes the widget in detail, but a brief summary of its function is that the widget indexes all your blog posts and displays links (with pictures) to old posts that are the most similar to your current article. It does this by comparing the title, tags, and content of your latest posts to your archived posts.
It's easy to install, works with Blogger, WordPress, TypePad, and 'other.' It comes formatted for both light- and dark-background blogs. You can choose to display between three to five 'referral windows.' Because my blog is less than a year old, I chose to display only the 3 most relevant posts, for fear of repetition. I've been using it for a few weeks now, with no ill effects. I can't really give an indication of how much it's driven traffic to my older posts, but for the small amount of time I invested in installing it, it's basically a no-lose proposition.
So what's the catch--how does LinkWithin make money? Well, their FAQ states that they intend to roll out optional revenue-sharing options in the future, so time will tell. Worst case, if it stops working or being supported, just delete the code from your blog.
Speaking of best-laid plans, I intended to share a Pinterest link and a book excerpt; however, the Pinterest embed code completely messed up the LinkWithin picture formatting above, so I'm throwing in the towel. Happy Monday everyone!
Anyhow, the gist of the article was that some of your newer blog readers might be interested in your older posts, especially if they're similar to, or pertain to, your current post. This is where a free (and add free) little widget called LinkWithin comes in. If you look below, I've cut-and-pasted exactly what LinkWithin looks like when you add it to your blog.
You might also like:
The LinkWithin web page has a nice FAQ and describes the widget in detail, but a brief summary of its function is that the widget indexes all your blog posts and displays links (with pictures) to old posts that are the most similar to your current article. It does this by comparing the title, tags, and content of your latest posts to your archived posts.
It's easy to install, works with Blogger, WordPress, TypePad, and 'other.' It comes formatted for both light- and dark-background blogs. You can choose to display between three to five 'referral windows.' Because my blog is less than a year old, I chose to display only the 3 most relevant posts, for fear of repetition. I've been using it for a few weeks now, with no ill effects. I can't really give an indication of how much it's driven traffic to my older posts, but for the small amount of time I invested in installing it, it's basically a no-lose proposition.
So what's the catch--how does LinkWithin make money? Well, their FAQ states that they intend to roll out optional revenue-sharing options in the future, so time will tell. Worst case, if it stops working or being supported, just delete the code from your blog.
Speaking of best-laid plans, I intended to share a Pinterest link and a book excerpt; however, the Pinterest embed code completely messed up the LinkWithin picture formatting above, so I'm throwing in the towel. Happy Monday everyone!
I like the tale of your writing journey. We are all right there with you. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Cindy! Hopefully there's a valuable nugget on here every once in a while. Thanks for posting!
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