How do I add links to an article?

Adding links to an article is a simple process. It doesn’t require an entirely new skill set. But adding links to your article requires some forethought and planning.

Most article directories only allow 1-4 links in the article. Knowing that you’re restricted to a certain number of links will help you to decide what links you will use and where to place links.

Self Serving Links

There are two kinds of links you can place in an article: self-serving links or non-self serving links. Self serving links are links to a web site that you have an interest in. These can be sites you own, manage, or have a stake in.

Non-self serving links point to a web site that you don’t have an interest in and adds value to the article. These links usually point to well known, high authority sites like CNN, Yahoo, Google, etc.

You should only place self-serving links in the author resource box. Self-serving links in the body of the article will usually be rejected.

Active Links

Active links are those links that are hyperlinked. Some links just contain the text and not the links i.e. http://www.your-web-site.com

Active links can contain anchor text which should include your targeted keywords i.e

<a href="http://www.your-web-site.com">Your anchor text</a>

Link Placement

Links can appear either in the body of the article or in the author resource box. Links in the body of the article shouldn’t be within the first three paragraphs of the article.

Linking Do’s and Don’ts

• Links shouldn’t use style attributes
• Links shouldn’t point to downloadable files
• Confine self-serving links to the author resource box
• Use valid HTML to create links
• Don’t link to link farms or sites banned by search engines
• Don’t use the same link or URL more than once
• Don’t link to sites that are under construction
• Don’t link to adult or hate oriented sites
• Don’t add your email address to the article
• Don’t use deceptive linking that sends visitors to sites they didn’t expect

Inserting Hyperlinks

Inserting links into articles requires the use of anchor HTML tags. This tag allows you to hyperlink text in your article so that they will automatically jump to the designated web site.

The following is the standard HTML syntax for hyperlinks:

<a href="http://www.your-web-site.com">your anchor text</a>

All you have to do is insert your websites link (URL) in place of http://www.your-web-site.com Also, replace ‘your anchor text’ with the text (keywords) that you want displayed. Now place the link you created exactly where you want it to show up in your article.