The Importance of Website Links

Ross Johnson's picture
Instructor
3/5/2018
Internet Marketing

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Website links are so ubiquitous that it's easy to overlook their importance. Most websites have dozens if not hundreds of links -- sometimes within a single page.

Links are the primary method which we navigate the web. Even if you're performing a web search it's a link that you click on to visit a site and then a series of links as you explore the site.

Links are the reason the web exists in the first place. The founder of the web Sir Tim Berners-Lee wanted a method for sharing and interlinking research documents, so he invented HTML -- the code used to assemble web pages.

Now links are not just used for navigation but they are also a strong signal for search engines like Google and Bing. These search engines use links to determine how popular and trustworthy a given site is. Sites with lots of links are generally higher quality and should rank higher.

Quantity is not the only signal search engines review. The words used to link to other pages also inform as to the topic. Meaning you could link to a site only using a web address, e.g. https://www.insulgard.com/ or you could link to it using words that describe what the site is about, e.g. bullet proof glass.

The latter approach is important not only for search engine optimization but also creating compelling online content. Website users tend to scan content rather than read every word. Links stand out and receive more focus than unlinked text. If you link just says "Read More" the user doesn't know where that link takes them. Compare that to "Learn about bank security products". In this example, the user doesn't need to read anything other than the link itself to know where the link would take them.

Comments & Feedback

Student

Links are what makes going onto the internet that much easier. It keeps you from clicking through and through multiple items to get where you want. This also brings me back to the accessibility factor of websites, search engines, etc. It is efficient and stress free to click on a link that will take you directly to the desired area. This gives you the option to personalize the links as well if you want someone to see your twitter or facebook page with just one click.

Student

Links are important in our daily lives. They are a source of combining information into one link. This saves on space in majority of the websites. As earlier mentioned, links help in navigation of website pages. It saves the user time to move through pages by use of links like 'Back to top', 'Go to bottom' etc. In this class I have learned the extensive use of links in linking different websites that correlate with my work. In my opinion, it helps in shading more insight on a topic of discussion. Links indeed stand out as they have a blue colour on it and they are temting to click on.

Student

I agree with the point that website links are essential when you are finding something particular. After taking this class, I have realized the importance of links. The website is an ideal cognitive tool that really convenient and highly effective by just a quick web search.

Student

Obviously, links show the cardinal effectiveness among networks. Especially, as people are not willing to pay patient for the entire search result, the more relative the website link is, the more engagement this website will gain. Search Engine Optimization as a process of getting traffic to the website, if a brand wants to make their website rank on the top of the search result, it depends on how relative the content and the link are. 

Personally, when I surf the internet, I only glance the entire page to find out what I need, so how attractive the website link are decided whether I choose to click it.

Student

To reiterate from my previous reflection, I have never really thought about links before reading this blog post. To be honest, before this blog post I did not know that Sir Tim Berners-Lee was the founder of the web. Links make it extremely beneficial for a reader to maximize time spent on research. They allow readers to diverge into topics they are interested in and find specific details. Links that tell the user where the link will take them are more beneficial since it gives the reader an idea of what will be found on that landing page. Additionally, links have to be used wisely. If an article has too many links then a user will become frustrated and will not read through the entire article. 

Student

Before taking this class, I did not focus links on the website, I just look around the website and click on links. As Ross said, the words used to link to other pages also inform as to the topic. I try to think about the importance of links, and click links on website that have any words and descriptions. Also, useful links bring more availability to people, and when i took this class, I feel that links are very important for every assignment. By doing homework for this class, I learned how to use html format, and I will keep the skill to do other works.

Student

Before I take this class, I only know that links are just used for navigation. After I learn things in this course, I am so surprised that the link name will be this much detail. It really matters that if the link name is clear so that customers will know where the link would take them. When I look at a website and wanna know more about some specific things, I really need the marketer to make the link name clearly to understand. It will effect whether I will click in or not for sure.

Student

Links are very important. It helps us to quickly find out about something. At the same time, links allow us to quickly find useful information. When we write assignments, we always use links to define things we do not understand. I like to use links, I think it gives us a new way of definition, let us better complete the task.

Student

Links are very important in our daily life, because it can make our life become more simple, quick, convenient, save time, more accurate to want to go to the website content. When we share video like to my friends, friends can open the link to watch the video directly without the need to spend a lot of time to find it, so I think the link is very important in our life

Student

Links are significant, a link can easily lead us to a website. And they also give people the basic information about the website. Through Google, links help us find information we want, even we don't know or forget what exactly they called. Also, we always use links in our assignments, projects and social networks, people can see our works and we can share informations with links.

Student

As I agree the fact that website links is important, I am wondering how the search engine optimzation differientiate the website that just randomly has a lot of external links which are not related to the website. Let's say I create a website and intentionally put a lot of links such as MSU websites, designer brand websites, etc. Will Google or Bing accidentially rank my website higher or will they have a system to figure out if the links are related to the site or not?

Student

Links are essential in so many different aspects of life in today’s day and age. Whether it be finding study materials online for a test or linking your business websites into a successful networking web. Both need links for a smooth transition into new material that you or others are looking to access. Everyone in Advertising 420 should be able to agree that after delving into our assigned companies it is apparent how important it is to successfully link everything together into a smooth running machine. Whether it be something as big as linking other websites or links to organize different types of products within a company. They are all important, make our lives easier and play a role in helping us access information online.

Student

I feel that having a good html is very important. Speaking from a personal standpoint, seeing examples such as "read more" or "learn about bank security deposits" does not make me want to click. I prefer a link, which is why I find it important to have a cohesive domain name. The link to your website should tell me what your website is about or what the website sells. With this being said, I do not believe that domain names should be too long and overblown, but there is a definite middle ground. A good site should have multiple links to access the page as well. There should be a separate link for all aspects of the website.

Student

Website link is very significant resource for user. It make your site to be a valuable  and extensible resource. Making full use of the power of Internet connections can make your site experience better and bring more rewards to users.

Student

Links are absolutely critical to a website's performance. As someone with a small business and an adjoining website, not having any links to or from my site was a killer on its effectiveness. A decent hack to this issue might be having multiple social media presences that all link to your site, and/or to each other to increase your chances of organic growth, as well as acessibility. 

Student

Obviously, you must have a link to access the site. Links can help us get to the interface we need. The link gives us a lot of help providing more convenience. And sharing links can help increase the number of pages viewed. The more links a website has, the more powerful the website is.

Student

To a website, the link is the most important thing, Not only because it's the key factor to view a website, but also the first thing people see before viewing the website. If the link is easy to remember then there will be lots of viewers and which is the goal of a website. 

Student

Links are very important to have on websites. Having a link gets you to the site of your choice. If we didn't have links, we wouldn't be able to access websites quicker, and would have to type them in ourselves. Links are the reason we have Google and Bing, to have access to look for what we're typing in case we don't remember exactly what the website is called. Links are also beneficial because not only can we have the link as a website, but also just words itself! 

Student

There is no doubt that link is important to Internet. Links are important for some reasons. It can increase the website visualbility and attract right traffic to pages.

Student

Links are important for website. If we don't have link,we won't have website. Nowadays, links are not only important for website but also take an important role for companies. A simple or immpressive link would improve its pageviews and the content which show in the link would be well known. This is a new and efficient way for companies to introduce and advertise themselves.  

Student

Website links carry their own power in the fact that they can be customized by indifferent ways.  Not only can they be customized in normal documents in blog posts, but they can alos be shorterned/customized on services like bit.do and tinyURL.  This can allow someone to make the link straightforward to allow users for easier navigation.  Because there are so many different websites and website links they can be cluttered, but using different services will allow for a more convenient time.

Student

Withouth doubt, the links are really important to a website, an easy-memory link may help improve page view, and would be an essential step for website explore their viewers.

Student

In my opinion, it is very importnant for me for the website links. I think it is another way for brand to sell their products. when I interseted in some products on youtube, I will open the imforation box. a lot of youtuber will post the link of product. the operation is simple and clear. It is very easy for consumer. they just click the links and then they will get all information.

 

Student

I believe web link is really important. Because nowadays there are more and more websites online. And when there appears to be so much information it will become hard to find the right information we are looking for. So the link is really important to lead us to look for what we are actually looking for. The web link will provide convenience for people to browse the right information from different variety of information.

Student

Website links are important to both the visual and usable aspects of a site. Links make certain content stand out, making them easier for viewers to find. It’s important when creating a link, that you make it description. For example, avoid terms like “click here,” and instead use descriptive words regarding the content behind the link. This is important for many reasons. One of them being e-readers. People who cannot see often depend on e-readers to use the internet, and a descriptive link makes it easier for them. It’s important to accommodate for e-reader users as there are laws to follow, and website creators want as many people using the site as possible.

 

Student

I think the use of links to boost your visibility on search engine results is interesting. I have seen a lot of this first-hand while studying and researching my brand (Pure Michigan). The website not only links within itself to different content pages but it also links to other related websites. One thing I learned about how links are successfully used is that by using reliable ones also changes how search engines see your website. If you link out to spam sites or have broken links, your website will not be as successful. In the case of Pure Michigan, the brand is able to promote travel in different cities around the state by linking out to different city travel sites. These pages, because they are associated with the larger brand, will see more traffic and can return the favor by including links back to Pure Michigan on their sites. This is a great way for companies and brands to collaborate with one other so they can mutually benefit!

Student

I believe that the link is very important to a website because it can easily direct me to a website to find out what I want with a simple click. I like the link can provide the name of the page what I am looking for which can provide more convience to me. When there is a link contain a topic and a link contain numbers and letters I will definatly to go with a link with a tipic because I may believe the other one may be a fake website.

Student

I agree that links are very important. Nowadays there are massive links on the internet. I would prefer links that address the destination because I would like to know what is about to show up. Some people use links to create opportunities for criminal activities. These links make people become careful before they click the link. An attractive link topic that addresses destination become very important today. 

Student

Links are very very important in any websites. I built up my own website with Adobe Dreamweaver before, and I realize unless you do it yourself or you will never understand how links are actually attached and how they work. Today's website is designed to be humanized. You could randomly click on a picture or anything and it will respond because there are links attached behind it. And here comes my idea about links, they enhanced a plain website. If a website doesn't have enough links behind it, it looks tedious and not functional. And I really think putting links behind pictures is better than giving links titles. Anyway, title your links in a right way is also very important. Because when you go looking on a website, you wouldn't click a link with complicated title or very long content. Ultimately, links are important. Without links, a website is no longer a website, it's just a PDF.

Student

Links are very important when it comes to convenience. As we progress in society, our main concern is always convenience and when you want to direct someone to a certain webpage, a link is crucial to making sure that it's only one-click away. I also find it interesting how QR codes have been introduced recently as a new form of a link. Eventually, we will be able to just simply think about visiting a website and it will automatically pop up.  

Student

I feel as though I and most other people definitely take for granted and just do not realize how important links actually are. I know for myself, most times when I am online whether that be a clothing website or Facebook, links pretty much control the flow of my surfing of the internet. I am pretty much just skimming through all the words and content and clicking on the links I either am looking for or become interested in. I did not know that the more links on a website actually ranks them higher on Google which now that you say it makes complete sense to me. I also value the importance of renaming to the link name to not just be the actual url but instead be a concise yet descriptive description of where the link is actually going to take you. 

Student

Of course, links are essential to a website, but not the number of links, I think it should be the quality of links. Because right now, many web pages realized how important links are and started to put lots of it on their web, which some of it could be less professional or trust-worthy, and that will leave users a bad impression. Personally, I take web design as a very important consideration in how I felt about the company, a good, clean and professional design is way better than a webpage full of non-related ad links. 

Student

I didn't understand how important links were until I started working with a website everyday. It is interesting to me how much links have been added to the aesthtic of the site. People don't like long, ugly links and it seems to damage the credibility of the site because it looks fake. So not only are the links important for SEO and the site, but it is also important for the overlook and feel of the site. 

Student

i do agree that the link is really important in the evaluation of a website. Usually, the more link the website have, the high quality the website is. But i don't know the link is a strong signal for search engines. i always thought the page views are the criteria for judgment. This statement is really helpful for me. If i want to create a website for my company in the future, i will notice the number of links. 

Student

I have never realized or thought to think about how important website thinks are. Now that I have learned and know more about it, it makes a lot of sense. Without the link the website wouldnt exist. It is one of the most important things to the website. I also did not know that search engines use thinks to determine how popular and trustworthy they are. I will now look at the different links that each website has.

Student

I started creating websites for the first time in 7th grade. Links are essential to any website, without a link you cant ever leabe the page that you are on. Every little bit of information would have to be jam packed into 1 page and it would be extremly cluttered. I will now look more carefully to see how websites utilize links on their on pages.

Student

I started creating websites for the first time in 7th grade. Links are essential to any website, without a link you cant ever leabe the page that you are on. Every little bit of information would have to be jam packed into 1 page and it would be extremly cluttered. I will now look more carefully to see how websites utilize links on their on pages.

Student

I started creating websites for the first time in 7th grade. Links are essential to any website, without a link you cant ever leabe the page that you are on. Every little bit of information would have to be jam packed into 1 page and it would be extremly cluttered. I will now look more carefully to see how websites utilize links on their on pages.

Student

I agree with the statement that it is easy to overlook links, as I do very often. However, I am more likely to click on a link that uses the latter approach. If the link tells you directly to what it is going to take you too, I am more likely to click on it rather than if it just has a web address. If the link uses words to describe the link, I think it is a better approach to search engine optimization. 

Student

I do believed that the link is very significant to the web, a short and memorable is useful for the people to remember the web. When I using Internet I cannot stop coming up some links from my mind.And a good link will be helpful in doing some ads arrangement online.

Student

Links are very important for webistes. Today, providing detailed information links regarding a product or a service are just basic tools for marketers to better target their desired audiences. Furthermore, I think marketers need to provide efficient links that contains information that customers want, for example like the links to product review. Being part of the engagement and providing efficient information by using links are becoming more critical and marketers really need to organize and desig the links carefully.

Student

I had taken some website creative class before, it is important for the link if it is clean and organizes. It will be easy for you to find which page is you want. Also, it will help audience have a better understanding of your website. 

Student

 The web provides access to an abundant amount of information, and as a college student I use these resources as an aid for my academic success. Throughout my college career I struggled to find the direct source of many articles because they did not include links. This would be a hindrance to my assignment completion because I would spend a lot of time navigating the web, and less time constructing my paper. I use the Internet on a daily basis, so it is essential that links are present to minimize the amount of time spent searching and maximize the amount of direct resources I have access to.

In addition, it is important that links directly state what the information would pertain to. Links that state, "read more" are not appealing because that is too vague. When I am using the web I like to spend as little time as possible searching. Links that are more specific and personal are more likely to be used and are more useful than any other. 

Student

It is no question that links within a website are important for the consumer to navigate the web. The level of importance is measured by how long the user is on a particular stream of links. With shorter attention spans for individuals on these sites it is important to transition them between each link to convey an overall message or goal. 

Student

I think links are critical to webpages. Not only do they help the user navigate through the site, but they always help the user get to a specific point. Personally, when i use a website, I normally use the links just to get back to a homepage or to a specific item if i know exactly what i am looking for. I never really doubted how important they were to a website.

Student

When I browse the website, some of the links will give me a better understanding of their products or services. These links appear to be just right for the user's usage habits. In my opinion, the website links are very necessary, especially for users who browse the webpage, a series of links can help them to gain more detailed information. Those links are able to allow users to deepen understanding of site's message or products. For marketers, how to appropriate to add or create link name also requires repeated research. A good link will bring high commercial value. 

Student

I have never questioned whether or not website links are important. They are, in fact, website links are critical. Website links offer additional information that the user can either choose to click on or read over it. Regardless of their choice, however, website links create reliability and credibility for the brand itself. These links are even more important when they draw users in via search engines like Google and Bing, as you mentioned above. I did not know that sites with more links are usually higher quality and rank higher than those without as many. But it makes sense and comes off as being more reliable than other sites.

Student

Whether you're brand new to link building or have been doing it for a while, we're sure you'll find something useful in this guide. The landscape of SEO and link building is always changing, and today, the importance of building high-quality links has never been higher. The need to understand and implement high-quality campaigns is essential if you're going to compete and thrive online, and that isn't going to change any time soon. This guide is designed to get you going quickly and in the right direction. There is a lot to take in, but we've broken everything up into easy-to-digest chapters and have included lots of examples along the way. We hope you enjoy The Beginner's Guide to Link Building!

Student

I have never stopped to consider the relationship links have to credibility and website content value. I’ve always been more focused on website design and whether or not it looks professional, that is how I’ve always viewed and assessed whether or not content is credible. I guess in some sense I’ve paid attention because I don’t click on links that do not seem credible (for example, links that are not secure (not “https”)). I’m beginning to understand the importance of SEO and how it can value or devalue a website and it’s content. 

Student

I never considered the relationship between the amount of links and the credibility of a website. I suppose that more links leads to more time spent on the site, and also, the page designer can lead the viewer into what they want the user to click. I often find myself down the 'rabbit hole' of various pages by way of links that continue to lead to more sites and information. Also, I never realized that I really don't read full pages, but scan, automatically believing the important info is near the links. The correlation between links and credibility could lead to damaging tactics, automatically believing links leads to credibile information is a risky thought that we must always be aware of. 

Ross Johnson's picture
Instructor
3/5/2018
Internet Marketing