Are you still using Linkwithin for your related post widget?
I used to love Linkwithin. It's so easy to use, and you don't even have to register! And it makes good on its promise: it shows thumbnails of related posts.
But unfortunately Linkwithin turns out to be a linkjuice sucking vampire! Which is why you should stay away from it.
I'll explain why, and I'll offer you some great alternatives!
About Related Posts Widgets
They come highly recommended: related posts widgets. But for those of you who don't know what they are, here's a description:
A related post widget is a great way to show visitors your stuff. After they've finished reading your post, they see thumbnails or just blog titles of related posts. There's a good chance they'll click on one of them!
Related posts widgets are a great tool to draw visitors deeper into your blog, and making them stay longer.
Why Linkwithin is like a vampire
The problem with Linkwithin is that it's taking your visitors on a detour via their site: linkwithin.com. Visitors click on one of the thumbnails to read a related post, but what they don't know is that linkwithin is redirecting them via their own site.
Now, you may wonder what's so bad about that. But the thing is, that's kind of like stealing a link to their website. Linkwithin gets lots of nice backlinks from your blog.
It's sucking on your blog's linkjuice! And that sucks!
About linkjuice
Linkjuice means the value of a link. A link is like telling Google: 'This is a good blog! I recommend it.' Getting a link from a high authority blog is great for your own blog authority. So you shouldn't give your linkjuice to just anyone. But linkwithin is just táking it. Without even asking.
Linkwithin is still at it
There've been rumors that they've changed their wicked ways. But here are some of my stats:
As you can see they're still redirecting visitors through their site!
Now what?
So now that you understand that Linkwithin is not your friend, what are the alternatives? Because a related post widget is still great.
Here are some tools I can recommend:
What's your favorite kind of related post widget?
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Sneaky little buggers..... Glad you caught this and then informed us. I just checked and I use Jetpack so all good on this gals blog right now :) I promised this year that I would start to check my stats, and try and understand them a little more. Adding you to my bloglovin, to delve a little deeper into your blog. Have a great Saturday!
ReplyDeleteVery helpful post. I use to jave it then removed it (can't remember why) it seems I was lucky when I tried to install it again but it wouldn't work.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. Over from Sharefest
I used to use LinkWithin on my Blogger blog, but now that I've migrated to WP, I'm able to use YARP, which is awesome. I love that it also sends out the related posts in my feed Emails. #SITSSharefest
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that about YARP. That's great!
Deletehmmm sneaky. I don't use linkwithin happy I don;t after reading your post. Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things blog hop. xo
ReplyDeleteHi there, I'm cohost for Wake Up Wednesday. Wanted to swing by and say thanks for sharing this information. I stopped using Linkwithin sometime ago. I'm now using Jetpack. It works really well for me.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I'd love it if you swing by my blog and let me know you've dropped by.
ReplyDelete