I know there are a lot of people just starting business-related blogs who come here. This blog is for you. Those of you who have been blogging for a while, can just click right past this. It's about a fundamental of why new bloggers particularly should make outbound links and often.
I've spent a good deal of time with people lately, helping them to understand the mechanic of blogging. And I talk about links and how they are really the wampum of blogging. They are what we receive for blogs well done and it's what we give to show our appreciation to other bloggers. It's how conversations spread from blog-to-blog-to-blog.
It's also how new bloggers get discovered by more veteran bloggers. Let me walk through this. You use blog search engines like Technorati and PubSub to find topics or people who interest you. You see something you like, or better, something you want to respond to. You already know how to leave a comment. But a better way to do it, would be to post your thoughts on your own blog, linking to the better known site. If you use a toolset that provides for it, you should also put the link (to the specific posting, not just to the blogsite) in the Trackback Box. If you use Typepad, that box appears below and a little to the right of where I'm typing right now.
Trackback sends the other blogger a "ping," a little note that says, you've joined his conversation. It is highly likely, that the other blogger will check you out, no matter how new or obscure your blog is. If she or he likes it, they may comment on your blog or link to it in the future. Your link to the more famous blogger will also show up when someone does a search to see who's talking about that person, driving still more traffic to your site.
One more point about these links. Every time you get one, just like every time you post a new blog, Search Engines like Google notice and elevates your standing, making you more discoverable even to people who don't blog.
This may sound complex, but actually it's quite simple.
