Anchors Aweigh
Jun
19
categories : Challenges
Ahoy matey!
Are you up for a challenge? Well, a mini-challenge that is!
What’s that you say? Yes? Well then adjust that eye patch and perch a parrot on your shoulder because the Bloggiesta Anchors Aweigh Mini Challenge is sidling up to the docks!
Just in case you haven’t heard the fabulously ingenious Natasha from Maw Books Blog has put together an amazing three day Blogstravaganza where we challengers are going to be all about gussying things up around our digital homes.
Anyway, as part of this momentous occasion Natasha is generously offering up a multitude of prizes and giveaways.
Pssstt….this is where I come in.
If you take part in the fun little mini-challenge below you’ll be entered to win one of the fabulous Bloggiesta gifts viewed at Maw Books. So put on your sea legs because I’ll be your cruise director through this mini-challenge about creating links using anchor text.
**puts on digital teacher hat**
What is anchor text you ask? Well it’s the actual text that you use for your link.
Example: Click here to visit Maw Books Blog
As you can see “click here” is our anchor text because it’s the link your mouse clicks on to take you somewhere else.
Why, you ask, is this important to know about? Well because some search engines actually index and rank blogs based on links. This means that in the above link the blog’s search engine ranking would be low because “click here” isn’t descriptive of the actual location to which a user is being sent.
A better way to create the same link so that a blog will rank higher in search engine results is:
Click here to visit Maw Books Blog
Creating a link this way places the emphasis on the name of the blog as compared to the less descriptive text.
Just in case you need a little extra help check out another tutorial on this subject from the Blogging Tips Group.
Alright, here is the challenge. Mini-style!
Reply to this post and include in the body of your message a link using the above referenced best practice. Doing so will enter you to win one of the amazing prizes listed at this Bloggiesta post.
Susan @ Reading Upside Down:
Hmm. Should I link to my interview with Cathy Cassidy, an inspiring UK author who writes great books for pre-teen girls?
Or maybe I should link to a more chatty post, like this one about whether it is worth reading modern sequels to classic novels.
It’s almost 11pm here and I’m too tired to decide. You choose.
June 19, 2009 at 5:51 am (Quote)
Rebecca @ The Book Lady's Blog:
I’m not participating in the full Bloggiesta, but this is something I definitely need to work on. I’m guilty of being crunched for time and just doing the “click here” thing….should make some time soon to go back and re-work those. Thanks for the post!
June 19, 2009 at 5:52 am (Quote)
Cindy:
I am pretty good in doing this in my blog post and I have, I hope it did do it right this time in my bloggiesta post.
Great mini challenge btw
Is that right?
June 19, 2009 at 6:38 am (Quote)
Natasha @ Maw Books:
Thanks for a fantastic challenge! Changing our linking habits only helps everybody out! I do really well know but my early posts have really bad linkage that I need to go back and change.
June 19, 2009 at 7:43 am (Quote)
Tam @Bailey's and Books:
Thank you so much for this great reminder when we are working on posts. This is especially helpful as we link to our blogging friends as you did in your example, and I did this morning on my Bloggiesta post:
“I have the best of intentions with this great challenge that Natasha at Maw Books Blog has put together.”
June 19, 2009 at 7:57 am (Quote)
Liyana:
That explains a lot, actually! Thanks! ;D
June 19, 2009 at 8:16 am (Quote)
Debbie:
Wow, it never occurred to me that it mattered which text was linked. I have my Bloggiesta kick off post at Debbie’s World of Books. Thanks to Maw Books Blog for this great challenge!
June 19, 2009 at 8:24 am (Quote)
The Biblio Brat:
Thank goodness I use Windows LiveWriter to write my posts, thus when I use a lot of anchor text, I’m not going nuts having to do it in HTML.
It comes in so handy. For instance, in my review of Unholy Domain I linked wikipedia and other sites so my readers could learn more about terms I was using such as Social Science Fiction.
This is a great challenge. Thanks for helping to make us better bloggers!
June 19, 2009 at 8:45 am (Quote)
rhapsodyinbooks:
Thanks for the lesson on anchor text – I didn’t know that!
June 19, 2009 at 9:33 am (Quote)
3m:
I’ve just recently learned about this and will be more conscious of it in the future. Thanks, GalleySmith for the great mini-challenge!
June 19, 2009 at 9:36 am (Quote)
Ella:
Hmmm… I guess I’ve been doing this all wrong all along. I always put the link -or anchor- on “click Here”. I’ll try to fix it this weekend, and come back and leave you the link!
Thanks!
Ella
June 19, 2009 at 12:22 pm (Quote)
heidenkind:
*sigh* I have to confess I hate embedding links into comments. It’s just a pain. But I will make the effort for the Bloggiesta at Maw Books.
June 19, 2009 at 12:33 pm (Quote)
Writefly:
Hmm…I had no idea it made a difference to the search engines. I just always thought it made things clearer. lol. Good to know I’ve been doing it (mostly) right even if I didn’t knonw why. Now I know.
http://writefly.wordpress.com/2009/06/10/author-interview-contest/
June 19, 2009 at 2:24 pm (Quote)
Jacqueline C.:
I usually try to pick descriptive words for my anchor text, but it doesn’t always happen. But, for the most part, I don’t use the “click here” method. I’m so excited about the mini-challenges associated with Maw Books Blog’s Bloggiesta!
June 19, 2009 at 2:37 pm (Quote)
Jacqueline C.:
Oh yeah, my email is jax1204@gmail(dot)com
June 19, 2009 at 2:51 pm (Quote)
Haiku Amy:
Actually, I’ve been doing better at this ever since Natasha mentioned it on the Book Blogs Ning Blogging Tips Group.
June 19, 2009 at 2:52 pm (Quote)
Ruth @ Bookish Ruth:
You know, this is something that I’ve never thought about but it makes absolutely perfect sense. Thanks for a great (and informative!) post. Another great tip learned from Maw Books’ Bloggiesta that will soon be implemented on Bookish Ruth.
June 19, 2009 at 7:08 pm (Quote)
Suzanne Levin:
I didn’t know the importance of this and have sometimes used the name of the link and sometimes just, HERE… thanks for the helpful information! Chick with Books will now do the links properly in her blog postings…such as to learn more click here to visit Chick with Books! but how do you anchor in a comment?
Thanks!
Suzanne, Chick with Books
quzy (at) mac (dot) com
June 19, 2009 at 7:56 pm (Quote)
Alyssa:
Wow, I never even thought of this before. I suppose I shall have to change my links around so they now read something like: “click here to read my review of City of Masks“.
June 19, 2009 at 9:04 pm (Quote)
Rebecca Reid:
I think I normally link to my blog using anchor text as you describe, but I didn’t even think of the “click here” versus the link being on the link itself. Thanks for the heads up about search engines!
June 20, 2009 at 6:19 am (Quote)
Liyana:
Oh, thank god I’ve been pretty consistent in doing that. Phew! Okay, been checking on that specially for #bloggiesta posts.
June 20, 2009 at 8:21 am (Quote)
Britt:
I’ve been really working hard on this since Natasha first posted about it on Blogging Tips.
Confessions of a Book Habitue
My review of Katka by Stephen Meier
June 20, 2009 at 8:36 am (Quote)
melissa @1lbr:
Ooh, I am such a doofus at this. I always do the go here, instead of visit one librarian’s book reviews for more info! Thanks for the heads up!
June 20, 2009 at 8:54 am (Quote)
Laura/BookingIt:
I’ve also been working on this since reading Natasha’s discussion on the Blogging Tips Book Blog Ning.
Thanks for the reminder and for hosting this challenge!
.-= Laura/BookingIt´s last blog ..Bloggiesta– end of day 1 =-.
June 20, 2009 at 10:17 am (Quote)
MotherReader:
Actually, I’m pretty good at doing this at MotherReader but I didn’t realize the logic behind it in terms of searches. Thanks for that.
June 20, 2009 at 12:18 pm (Quote)
Emily/Emily's Reading Room:
I started paying attention to this more when I read Natasha @mawbooksblog Post at BookBlogs about the searchability of links. I NEVER use “this” or “here” at Emily’s Reading Room anymore.
June 20, 2009 at 1:14 pm (Quote)
Nan:
Another new thing I learned! I am going to be much more aware of the way I create links over at Nan’s Corner of the Web!
June 20, 2009 at 3:35 pm (Quote)
Kristen:
Wow! I didn’t know that! Crazy stuff. So I would say something like: Come visit my blog: BookWorming in the 21st Century
June 20, 2009 at 3:46 pm (Quote)
Kristi:
I think I already do this – see my first bloggiesta post – but I can always use the reminder. And I had no idea it was called anchor text ;o)!
June 20, 2009 at 4:34 pm (Quote)
gaby317:
Thank you – this is very helpful. I always say click “here”.
though i still haven’t figured out how to insert a link in regular text like a comment box.
.-= gaby317´s last blog ..Groundswell at The New Group =-.
June 20, 2009 at 4:49 pm (Quote)
Joanne:
Thanks so much to GalleySmith and her Anchors Away Bloggiesta Challenge I now know that putting text into a link is better than just writing ‘click here’.
Great challenge, I’m going to use this method in my blog posts from now on
.-= Joanne´s last blog ..Bloggiesta Update #1 =-.
June 20, 2009 at 5:15 pm (Quote)
avisannschild:
Ever since Natasha mentioned this on the Book Blogs ning, I’ve been trying to do it on my blog (I used to use “click here” all the time) and today I went back through some of my old posts and fixed them up. I still have a tough time figuring out how to word my sentences to make the purpose of the links obvious.
My favourite posts to write are my “similar covers” series (although I need a catchier name for them!)
June 20, 2009 at 6:23 pm (Quote)
Sally Hanan:
Sally Hanan’s Blog is the best blog ever on writing and getting published. She even has a post up right now that talks about the Bloggiesta at Maw Books Blog. One of the challenges is by GalleySmith, in which she challenges everyone to link well.
June 20, 2009 at 7:00 pm (Quote)
Anastasia:
Oh! I don’t think I’ve been doing that consistently. I had no idea it was a big deal!
Thank goodness I found this post at GalleySmith via Maw Books Blog!
June 20, 2009 at 7:59 pm (Quote)
The Kool-Aid Mom:
I’ve always done this In the Shadow of Mt. TBR, but I didn’t know it was called an anchor text. I learned something new
.-= The Kool-Aid Mom´s last blog ..The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards =-.
June 20, 2009 at 8:26 pm (Quote)
Amber:
I think this makes perfect sense. Since learning more about anchor text on the Ning group I’ve been trying to do better with it.
If you like fantasy and horror short stories, visit Niteblade for a quick fix.
June 20, 2009 at 10:20 pm (Quote)
Wendy:
Thanks for that mini-tutorial…I learned something new!!
I’ve posted my latest bloggiesta update
Hope I did that right!
.-= Wendy´s last blog ..Bloggiesta: Update THREE =-.
June 21, 2009 at 7:57 am (Quote)
Sandra:
I glad to know what it’s called now anyway. I’d been referring to it as a “word link”. I’ve managed to make them where a gadget is provided to do so-Blogger gives me one when I write my posts and there’s one for my email. What I need to know is how to create an anchor text when there’s no gadget? I see people do it in comments all the time. So I can’t give you an example here because I don’t know how. Catch 22.
Thank you for the information.
June 21, 2009 at 8:45 am (Quote)
TexasRed:
Great information. I didn’t know the linked word mattered, either.
.-= TexasRed´s last blog ..Bloggiesta! Wrap-Up =-.
June 22, 2009 at 7:55 am (Quote)
Katie:
I actually read this once I started reading your blog and read the backlog of entries you had — so you had already taught me proper anchor links.
For the record though, one of my favorite blogs to read about teen services in libraries is the Young Adult Library Services Association’s blog. It’s pretty awesome, even for non-librarians.
January 8, 2010 at 11:30 pm (Quote)
Marg:
I do okay on this most of the time, although there are times at Historical Tapestry where I am doing lots of links in one post where I get a bit ‘click here’ happy!
Sandra, I think you are looking for the code on how you do this manually? If yes, then you need to type in the word . Hopefully you will be able to see that when I post. In effect it is the same code that is used in the background when Blogger does it for you.
January 9, 2010 at 2:28 am (Quote)
Marg:
Didn’t work. I’ll email you Sandra.
January 9, 2010 at 2:29 am (Quote)
Jacqueline:
So if I wanted to refer to the Anchor’s Away post on your blog GalleySmith would it be better to use the post title or blog title as the word anchor? Then again, I guess the best thing would be to do as I just did and use both, one to point to the post and one to point to your blog. Or would it be even better to use the descriptive anchor words that describe what the post is about?
January 9, 2010 at 10:49 am (Quote)
Jacqueline:
Opps! Failed on the coding for that last link.
January 9, 2010 at 10:51 am (Quote)
Trisha:
I did not know this. What a fun fact! I’ll have to make sure I update some of my links over at eclectic / eccentric.
January 9, 2010 at 1:37 pm (Quote)
Michelle:
Katie, thanks for coming back and commenting. It looks like you have the hang of anchor linking! I too keep up with YALSA (I subscribe and lurk to a list serve) even though I’m not a librarian there is great info about YA/MG titles.
January 10, 2010 at 8:33 am (Quote)
Michelle:
It ultimately depends on what you think searchers will use as keywords. More times than not if it’s a how to I’ll use the description of what is being taught as the link. So for example to refer to this post I’d link “anchor links”. I’d also likely create a link to the blog where I found the post so that the potential for that blog to increase search engine status based on number of links referring to it would be greater.
January 10, 2010 at 8:36 am (Quote)
Sheila DeChantal:
Great reminder about anchor text. I did this in the June Bloggiesta but had forgotten until now how important it is to use blog names, etc… for these anchors. I mostly do this, but will be even more so in the future.
January 10, 2010 at 2:07 pm (Quote)
the1stdaughter:
I think I’ve been doing pretty well on this over at There’s A Book, because over the last couple of months I’ve seen my site actually appear in search engines as opposed to not at all. Thanks for the tip!
January 10, 2010 at 2:56 pm (Quote)
Karla @ Ramblin' Roads:
What a good reminder! I need to remember to do this to invite people to visit Ramblin’ Roads when I leave a comment!
January 10, 2010 at 4:58 pm (Quote)
Callista:
I learned about anchor text a month or so ago and I’m glad I did. Using it properly has upped my Google Page Rank for SMS Book Reviews, my blog.
January 10, 2010 at 6:47 pm (Quote)