My New and Improved BlogRoll

As apart of the Monster redesign I implemented earlier this week, I spent some time revamping one of my favorite sections here on the blog – my BlogRoll.

My BlogRoll, similar to a lot of other BlogRolls, features my personal favorite industry related reads - those blogs that I follow on a daily basis and personally vouch for as being great resources within our community. I guess the reason I enjoy the BlogRoll section so much is because it provides me with an opportunity to pay homage to those individuals that have helped influence me along my now 5+ year career in search marketing. That and it serves as a great resource for those visiting my site.

While reviewing over my previous BlogRoll, I began to think about all the factors that make up a good BlogRoll - number of referrals, type of referrals, the way referrals are organized - and came up with a slightly new approach then what one might expect.

Quantity / Quality of my Referrals
I've always found that one of the hardest things to decipher when looking at a BlogRoll was the intention behind each referral. Does the referrer actually cite this link because he or she believes the source is credible, or is it simply a plug for their buddy’s shitty blog? Personally, I wanted to go above the traditional "I'll link to you, if you link to me" approach or even the "I'll link to you because we talked once at a conference" deal.

To do this, I figured the best approach is to simply mirror my BlogRoll after my own RSS reader. It makes sense, right? My RSS reader features those sites that I follow on a daily basis and that influence my search marketing efforts... hence, they are perfect for my BlogRoll because they in some way are relevant to my own needs. How can you get any more relevant than that?

Organization of my Referrals
I think it's safe to say that the industry norm as it pertains to organizing a BlogRoll is to simply place a list of links alphabetically down the side of one's blog template. While such a list does tell an audience that these are the blogs you personally recommend, it fails to explain your reasoning for recommending them. In an industry as diverse as search marketing - SEO, PPC, content development, keyword research, linkbuilding, PR marketing, affiliate marketing, local marketing, social marketing, viral marketing, branding, reputation management, etc. - it's especially important to explain why these links are relevant or better yet, why you’re recommending them.

To accomplish this, I realized that I would need more room than what "traditional" BlogRolls would allow and so I made the decision to dedicate an entire page to this project (linked from my right navigation section). Doing so allowed me the ability to share the name of the referral, a link, the specific areas they cover (my reasoning for following), and a brief description about each. These details will certainly help those interested in finding more relevant resources to actually do so.

To view my BlogRoll, please visit this page.

As for which sites made my BlogRoll, I'm sure there will be scrutiny in some way, but they are as follows:

10e20
All Web Email
Bill Slawski
Chris Hooley
Darren Rowse
DaveTech
Debra Mastaler
Dustin Woodard
Ian McAnerin
Kid Disco
Jeremy Schoemaker
Matt McGee
Michael Roebuck
Neil Patel
Rob Snell
Search Engine Land
Search Marketing Gurus
SEOmoz
SERoundtable
SoloSEO
Taylor Pratt
Todd Malicoat
Tamar Weinberg
TopRank

If you have any thoughts, be sure and pass them my way. I'd really appreciate hearing your feedback on my BlogRoll as well as on the process I used to create it.

Labels: karl-ribas-consulting