Check for Dead Links

I found that adding links to my sidebar was quite easy. In my opinion this adds a bit of that extra for my readers. From time to time I check for dead links for two reasons. Readers understand that occasionally links either temporarily or permanently do not work. They understand that you cannot be checking links 24/7 so most of them will be quite tolerant. What I don't like as a reader and what I suspect most readers do not like is finding several dead links on a blog.

At the same time I realized the search engines don't like dead links either. In some cases the link will redirect to a search result or similar which means for every blogger who doesn't check their links this search result owner is getting free traffic. It helps them but does nothing for me. It adds no potential for traffic, readers or even a backlink to me. In short it just becomes a dead end leakage like a hole in a bucket constantly losing water with no way to shut it off. I try to go through and check the links in my side bar monthly so this minimizes any leakages. I think sealing off these leaks help to improve the overall ratings of my blogs but most importantly it keeps my readers happy.

Garden Gnome
©2009-2010