Outbound links to the competition
We did something yesterday that we have done before, although not on such a high profile story.
We linked to two "competing" Web sites -- The Business Journal's and WFMY's -- because they had a story we should have had, but didn't: the identity of the "mystery downtown developer." We have been covering the story closely over the past few months -- perhaps too closely given the opacity of the project's backing -- and needed to get a story about the developer's identity online.
Until we could get the story confirmed independently, the outward links in a short rewrite of the Biz Journal's story would have to do. After a few hours, we got the confirmation and put up our own story.
What makes this slightly unusual is that the Biz Journal published the story in print Friday. But they provide only a tease online and a subscription solicitation. Meanwhile, the entire Biz Journal story is posted on the WFMY site, with no mention that it came from the Biz Journal until a tagline at the end. The article's author, Justin Catanoso, is a regular on WFMY's Good Morning Show so this may be the off-shoot of some partnership agreement.
Some papers don't link out, particularly to competing sites. Why give the competition traffic and recognition, the argument goes. We're over that. If it helps visitors to know something on another site, our obligation is to send them there. The fact is, we should link out more than we do. It's still not our first instinct, which is to match the story.
Comments (3)
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Congrats on the re-thinking...
I've always felt that if a site links out, it shows that they understand they are not the only source of news. It's sort of like a friend saying, look what I found that you might be interested in as I was. No one can generate all content, linking out establishes you better as a portal as well as a content source.
Posted on August 25, 2007 2:52 PM
In my business I have found that the more that I help my customer...the more likely they are to come back for many years to come.
These are new times for many that require new ways of thinking.
Congrats!
Posted on August 25, 2007 6:48 PM
Here's another tip: Outbound links drive inbound traffic-- often far more inbound traffic than the traffic you send away. I know it's counterintuitive but over 6 years of blogging has taught me a lot of traffic generation tricks that are exactly 180 degrees from where I thought they would be.
Posted on August 28, 2007 9:50 PM