Monday, March 7, 2011

Do Links to Quality References Improve Google Ranking?

Many online writers hesitate to reference their sources for fear that it gives the impression they relied too heavily on the ideas of some one else--but they've got references all wrong. Providing quality references to your work builds your credibility as writer and gives the reader further information. However, that's not all it does. Linking your work to credible sources in the reference section or in the text of your article provides Google with a path to follow.

When Google follows the path to a reputable site and discovers that the information on the site is similar to yours, you get a the perk of being associated with the site. It's not quite as powerful as getting backlinks from the site itself, but many insist that it  boosts the value of your work. Vaughn's Summaries notes this practice in his chart of actions that effect the SEO of your site or article, but do keep in mind that the chart was developed before the new Google Algorithm was implemented.

Although there are some that will argue that the quality of your outgoing links has no positive effect on the ranking of your blog--while poor quality is likely to hurt you--the absence of those links appears to be a determining factor in the new algorithm.

Google repeatedly announced its intentions to penalize content farms, yet its new algorithm came as a blow to many writing communities.To the surprise of many, Demand Medias' eHow did not suffer the negative impact of Google's Farmer Update and them asking why. The answer may be more obvious than you think. Demand Media requires links to quality references with a preference for edu and gov sites.

As online writers, we would do well to follow suit providing quality links to our work whenever possible--not only do we provide the reader with further information we just may gain favor with Google, as well.

*Finding reputable references is quick and easy with SearchEdu.com.

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