Two posts on the importance of blog linking & when to blog and when not

Just before Brendan Cooper announced his impending move to Fleishman Hillard from Porter Novelli, he managed another of those small gems of a link post, pointing to post/study of aggregate statistics by Louis Gray of incoming traffic to his blog during the last six months.

Really interesting findings … something I’m sure all of us have seen, though I’ve not seen anyone else who’s taken the time or had the determination to track on their own blog. But, Louis has found that incoming traffic to his site is increasingly being driven by social media tools, aggregation sites and Google search. These days, linking to the most prominent A-List bloggers appears to be an ever decreasing source of incoming traffic to a blog.

Says Louis:

Now, I’m not saying that this data proves linking is dead. I know links power Google juice, and they enhance Technorati rankings, and if done well, people can find new sources of data, but the ability for even a so-called A-List blogger to deliver a windfall of visits is much less than I had ever expected.

What does Louis extrapolate from the statistical evidence from his visitor logs?

Louis thinks that:

1. People are relying on aggregators to find them new sources of information, including Techmeme, Hacker News, Reddit, Mixx, FriendFeed and others.
2. People, especially those who read this site, are relying more on RSS readers, and many have subscribed to so many feeds that they are reading through stories in an effort to clear out their unread items, not clicking the embedded links.
3. People who actually read blogs on the site (outside of RSS) are clicking through to respond to the author with comments, rather than viewing links.

Lesson, he says, is that it is “now more important to be part of the social media sites that drive strong traffic – the Twitters and Techmemes and FriendFeeds and Stumbleupons and Reddits, if traffic is your goal. Those sites, combined with RSS activity in Google Reader and other programs are what will drive traffic.”

As a followup, today Louis has hosted a guest post by Jesse Stay titled To Blog, or Not to Blog – That is the Question that raises some interesting points and suggests some solutions to the current blogging drought in the midst of social networking plenty.

Says Jesse: “With the advent of Social Networking sites and tools providing outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, and FriendFeed, I think many bloggers are getting overwhelmed with all that is out there, and frankly, they have found other outlets to get what they were previously getting from their blog.”

Nice thing is he’s shared some tips, some guidlines about when to blog in order to keep it relevant and of interest and turn on readers, rather than drive them elsewhere. Here are a few — to read his explication of each tip guideline, which again I would recommend, click through to his post at Louis Gray’s blog:

• Post only when it is something that educates, or brings original news to your readers
• Avoid posting just to state an opinion about another person’s post
• You don’t have to post multiple times a day, or even every day
• Don’t blog if it’s only for individual gain
• Have something quick to say? There are other options
• Blogs are still good for SEO, and building brand, just not as much any more
• Lastly, settle for “good enough”!