You Should Always Click Your Own Links

May 3, 2007 · Filed Under Tips

Woah, woah, woah. Calm down there. I’m not talking about clicking your own AdSense links. I’m talking about the links you put in your posts. There are a couple or reasons to do this. This first reason is glaringly obvious, and that is to make sure that your links actually work. This step has helped me out several times and kept me from either posting a dead link, or getting an error from a faulty copy/paste of the address.

This could also be the result of how I compose entries for the site. I will usually write the entire post and then come back at the end and insert the links. I do it this way because when I’m writing I get in the flow and don’t want to interrupt my train of thought. Your style may vary.

The second reason is because of OCD. Yes, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. No, I don’t have OCD (Must. Wash. Hands.). Let me explain. I theorize that starting a website could be a trigger for OCD. Think about it. You’ve taken the time to come up with an idea for a site. You think of a cool name for it. You go open a WordPress.com or Blogger account and you make that first post. If you’re like most people you send a mass email out to all your friends to tell them about it. The very next thing you do is? Anybody? Check your stats. After that you decide to add a cool new picture to your site. And then you check your stats. And check your stats, and checkyourstats.

This is where clicking the links on your page comes in handy. Let’s say you link to the latest “making money online” article by John Chow. Nawh, that won’t work. He get’s waaay to much traffic to notice a couple of clicks. Besides, he’s not a statwhore. Is he?

What about Tyler Cruz. Would he notice? Granted, his blog isn’t quite as popular as John Chow’s but he is still close to the mid-to-upper echelon of blog money makers. I wonder if he would notice?

Admittedly, this option probably works best when you link to moderately popular blogs rather than to a superstar just because there is a much better chance they will be refreshing that StatCounter page instead of an AdSense window.

There’s only one way to find out. Click. And I’m not talking about some Adam Sandler movie.

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