How To Make Hyperlinks, Image Links, Graphic Links, Banner Links
Last week, I explained how to make your website / blog images more search engine friendly. This week, I am going to explain how to turn those images into hyperlinks / clickable text that lead to more than just your picture. It is easy to make links when you are using Microsoft Word, Blogger or Wordpress because there is a text editor / blog editor where you can click on the little Link icon that makes text a hyperlink, but what if you want to add a text link or banner on a website (mom network) where you are promoting your blog? How about when you want to add someone's blog button to your site, but they did not provide the code? Would you know how to turn that graphic into a link? In these cases, you need to know how to make a link without using a text editor / blog editor. Additionally, if you read the "ONE MORE THING" paragraph in my last Monday Marketing Tip, it explains how annoying it is - to your website visitors - to click a picture that links to nothing or the same image. It is more beneficial to YOU and THEM if a clickable image leads to a different blog post, page, service and / or product you are marketing. This is when the fun begins :)
How To Make A Hyperlink / Clickable Text Link
How To Make An Image Link / Graphic Link / Banner Link
VERY IMPORTANT - How To Make ANY Link Open In A New Window / New Browser Tab - Works for Text Links & Image Links
Now that you know how to make a link, there is one more important detail; how to make links open in a new window or new browser tab by using TARGET="_BLANK". The target="_blank" attribute is added to any link code (text link, image link, graphic link, banner link) as follows:
TEXT LINK EXAMPLE
<a href="http://motherbabychild.blogspot.com" target="_blank" title="Text Link">Link Opens In New Window</a>
Test how this link opens in a new tab or window
GRAPHIC LINK EXAMPLE
<a href="http://motherbabychild.blogspot.com/2012/01/monday-marketing-tip-image-seo.html" target="_blank"><img alt="Image Optimization - Monday Marketing Tip" height="64" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinL8U8kIwE3aLUn4k4xS95t9j3uhN5BBQGgF7eRTcy7-YfnKQw8t_K7ZE5e7MFxOT0hRl7MlpOKo4RXGPwVEJTThUDf9VZ8cRUd1QIs2V6ugDB5c5yhbSZoAOTrTjDDBr7pC3hMGR7YFc/s1600/check-this-out.jpg" style="border: none;" title="Learn how to optimize your Blogger images to get better website traffic and search engine rankings." width="500" /></a>
As you can see, by adding one simple target="_blank" to your link code, you can make links open in a new window or browser tab. The key is knowing when to use target="_blank" in your links and when NOT to use target="_blank" in your link code.
When To Use TARGET="_BLANK" / When NOT to Use TARGET="_BLANK" In Link Code
You can use target="_blank" when you do not want website visitors to leave your blog or website, but you should NOT use target="_blank" on every single link on your website!!! If all of your page and post links use target="_blank", then your website visitors will have a ton of pages open at one time and this becomes VERY ANNOYING to your website / blog visitors. They may not come back to your blog / website again, so you should only use target="_blank" if you are asking the website visitor to reference a certain page or blog post, but they will need to come back to your original blg post or page to read the rest of the information.
For Example, the link at the top of this page is an example of how it is OK to use target="_blank" to lead viewers to a blog post or page on your website / blog. I am telling the reader to go to the previous post to see what I am talking about, but come back to this post to read the new information. I have put a link to this target="_blank" blog post at the very end of the last blog post just in case the user did not remember that they opened in a new window or browser tab. I know this can be confusing, so just CLICK THIS LINK TO SEE THAT PAGE (opens in a new window by using target="_blank") and scroll to the bottom of that post to the ONE MORE THING paragraph (does not use target="_blank") that leads back to this page. I open the link in a new window from this blog post just in case they close that one; they will still have the original page open to read. I lead them directly back with the link at the end of that blog post (it does not open in a new window), so that they do not have too many of my blog pages open. I DO NOT ALWAYS DO THIS - only on posts and page where the user needs to reference another page (catch up) before reading new information.
You should use target="_blank" when you have someone else's banner or link on your site. For example, when you have written a blog post that references their website or blog; when someone has paid to advertise on your sidebar; when you have placed blog hop or linky banners on your blog / website ... it is appropriate to add target="_blank" to their banners / links because you want your website viewers to visit their sites, but you don't want them to forget to come back to read more of your blog or website.
Doesn't that make sense?
Do not use target="_blank" on your menu links unless it is leading to a different blog or website. For example, if your COMMUNITY menu link leads to your BlogFrog, Google + or Facebook page, then it is ok to use target="_blank". On the other hand, if your COMMUNITY menu link leads to a page that hosts your BlogFrog or Forum on your site, then do not use target="_blank" because it will just annoy your website / blog visitors.
I hope this was clear and helpful to you. If not, please do not hesitate to ASK FOR HELP with website design, blog design, content development or Internet marketing!
In Motherly Love,
Mother Baby Child
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