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Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Blogging Basics: Hyperlink Signature


Last week, we discussed the basics of blog hops and memes, and how to make connections with them.  This week, we'll discuss how to make a hyperlink signature to put on the comments you make on others' blogs, which will allow them to find your more easily.

The five pointers last week were: 1. Be Interested, 2. Participate, 3. Follow the Rules, 4. Visit Other Participants, and 5. Advertise the Hop/Meme.

When you comment on other people's blogs, you want them to be able to track you down to return the favor.  This can be tricky or time consuming sometimes, so the easier you make it for them to find you, the more likely you are to get a return visit.

Some people have multiple blogs, which makes it hard to know which one you need to visit.  Clicking on each blog to find half of them empty or not having been updated can be frustrating.  The same goes for trying to track down someone's blog when you get bounced all over the place.  When their profile connects with Google+, for instance, you often have to go to the "About" page to track down their blog, though if they update their daily posts there you can click through there instead.

In order to make it easier for people to track you down, follow this method of hyperlinking:

1. Choose your link.  Do you want them to go to your main page, a specific page or a specific post?

2. Choose your signature.  What do you want it to say?  Only a portion of it will be visible.  I'll give an example below.

3. Make your hyperlink.  This is what it looks like:






Notes: You will insert your own URL between the quotes ("http://yourwebsitehere") and your blog or destination in place of "The Warrior Muse" (>Your Website<)

4. Add your signature.  Note that the only things that will be visible after you post are where it says "Shannon at" and "The Warrior Muse."  Anything within the carrots (<,>) is invisible once you hit post.

Note: Make it say whatever you want.  My signature isn't gospel, just an example.  I will often change it for something specific, like a blogfest, so that it says something about the blogfest and directs them to the related post, rather than my overall blog.  (Ex. Shannon, visiting from the A-to-Z Challenge)

5. Post it following your comment!  That simple.

I've become accustomed to typing it out as I go along, but when I first started I used someone's example, made my own, then emailed it to myself so I could always copy it from my email and post it wherever I was commenting.  Figure out what works best for you, and go from there.  People will appreciate you providing them a hyperlink, and you'll appreciate them visiting you.

May you find your Muse.

Shannon
The Warrior Muse

92 comments:

  1. "make your hyperlink" -- and that's what I don't get - are you saying to take the text that you used as an example starting with
    graciewilde

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    Replies
    1. yeah, I had the same problem.

      http://balloonslife.blogspot.com/

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  2. Hmmm - I guess not since it didn't work.... what do you think I might have done wrong? Thanks!

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  3. This is a great tip, Shannon. Thank you!

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  4. PC technology and I don't get along so I think I will stick to what I'm used to.
    Yvonne.

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  5. Shannon,

    Thanks for raising awareness. I love when people comment on my posts, but hate when they don't sign off with a link so I can visit back!

    To simplify for anyone who is still scared by the code:

    <a href="Your Website">What you want to be visible</a>

    So, I would write (make sure you include the http:// !):
    <a href="http://empire500.blogspot.com/">wizzardSS</a>

    and it would come out:

    wizzardSS

    Simple!

    wizzardSS

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  6. Since I'm participating with two blog should I sign with both on every signature?

    If you add target="_blank" to the first set of <> then it will open your link in a new window, in case you wanted to do that.

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  7. Maybe one of these days I'll add one...

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  8. Thanks! It's an HTML code that has served me well. When the hop arrives, I'll have my code already typed and stored so that I can just copy and paste it.

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  9. Thanks for this tip and the mini-lesson that simplifies the process. One day, I'll stop being lazy and just do it.

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  10. I would just like to add that I had problems with this last year I'm in the UK and use Blogger and the web address when I copy and paste it ends in .co.uk . This was rejected as bad script or some such thing.

    Your link meeds to end in .com so

    http://robztobor.blogspot.com/
    I have a feeling if it does not end in .com it will not work although I may be wrong

    so

    <a href="http://robztobor.blogspot.com/> Rob Z Tobor </a>

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  11. I think this is great advice and I am glad of the chance to try it out here. :)

    Melissa at My Creatively Random Life

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  12. Gracie, unfortunately, I can't see what you typed out, or I could tell you. It takes me to blogger.com, rather than an actual URL, so I'm wondering if part of your URL isn't in the right place. Can you type it out here in the comments, using () in place of <> so I can see it and help?

    CD, perfect, it did!!

    Azara, no problem!

    Yvonne, understandable!

    Wizard, thanks for the backup!

    KC, great tip! Also, that's up to you, but I tend to like seeing one blog, so maybe put the name of the blog you've got the most recent post on, or split between comments? In other words, one at a time might be best, but it's completely up to you.

    Alex, pretty sure everyone can find you anyway!

    Jolie, that's exactly what I did. Saved and copy/pasted. It really simplified things.

    J.L., no problem! Yeah, it took me forever to be willing to bother.

    Rob, I had no idea that was so, but the signature you posted successfully took me to your site.

    Melissa, it worked! The only thing I noticed was that it seemed to try to take me to an extension, like a specific page or post. I just had to click "home," though, to get to the newest blog post, so no problem.

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  13. Hi, I'm Jan. Nice to meet you. Thanks for this instructive post. Let's see if I've done this right.
    Beyond Acadia
    Jan atBeyond Acadia

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  14. Thanks Shannon, I have been wanting to do this for a while! Just in time for the A-Z!!

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  15. I copied it to wordpad and saved on my desktop for easy access when blogging.

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  16. Success! Thanks, Shannon! Now, I have emailed it to myself , per your early days, and let's see if I can produce it again....
    graciewilde

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  17. Thanks for this. It is one thing I always forget how to do and end up just typing the URL, which is so not cool.

    Corinne from A-Z Challenge
    Visit my blog

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  18. Hi Jan, lovely to meet you; it worked!

    Chuck, yay! Hope it helps make things easier.

    Gracie, you did it!

    Corinne, perfect!

    Jo, it almost worked. This is where it took me: http://henderson.jo.blogspot.com/ Looks like it was just a slip with a "." instead of the "-".

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  19. Great post! Thanks Shannon. Finally figured it out. Who knew every character counted? Even the little " mark.

    Jennifer at Jenn's Scribbles

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  20. Jenn, no problem! I know, touchy, isn't it?

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  21. Thanks. I need this because I won't be using my main blog.

    Test...

    Annalisa, The Gym Instructor

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  22. Thanks Shannon!! Love how clear and thorough you have made this for us beginners out here:) Looking forward to April!!!!

    Erick @ A Brief Sinfonia

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  23. This is great info! Thanks for sharing.

    Elliot

    We Are Adventure

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  24. One of the most basics of having a blog and being 'social' on other networks. Most bloggers tend to forget why they started their blog, and that is for them to be able to share their interests and added information with others.

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  25. Hi Shannon,
    good to be here again,
    I have been using this
    since few years,learned
    it from one of my blog
    friend, but this tuto
    is really excellent and
    with your permission i
    am re-blogging it in my
    page with due credit.
    Is that ok/ LOL
    Keep inform
    Best Regards
    PS:
    And Ha, I Just posted a note in relation to this year's A to Z blog challenge.
    you can read that here. A to Z April Blog Challenge
    Best
    Phil

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  26. I wrote it down, will give it a whirl and see if it works! I will do a test! Thanks for your help!
    I will try here....

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  27. Just sandy at showed up! Ha Ha...I will go over and practice on my own blog!! Thanks Shannon!!

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  28. I always select name and url so the code isn't necessary in order to get them to the right blog and or right post; but.....so many people won't give you that ability I end up doing a cut and paste of the url in the comment section; which they then have to cut and paste. I knew there was a better method, used to do it and forgot how, couldn't find my notes. Thanks for posting this. It's a real pet peeve of mine when people make visiting them so difficult. That and people responding via email instead of visiting your blog. Looking forward to the a-z challenge. I've often put visiting from wipw etc in my comments but didn't know that too could be put in the hyperlink. Anxious to give it a try. Also looking forward to reading your info on Iraq. Wonderful theme you've chosen.

    And now I see your blog is a perfect example of only having the generic signature option. Why not change it so people have the choices, it's less techy and less challenging then going to the trouble to do a hyperlink?

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  29. I'm going to give this a try...wish me luck...

    M. J.
    A - Z Participant

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  30. Dang, type a rather long comment and it's not here. I agree we need to make it easier for people to reach back, I hate generic google signatures; but that's the only option you have on your blog. Typically I then do a cut and paste of the url right in the comment section. Knowing how to do a hyperlink is nice, but takes more time and requires people to figure it out...why not just leave options for signatures. I much prefer the name and url option and use it whenever possible. I also hate captcha's that require sometimes 2 or 3 tries because you can't read them and makes me not want to visit, the google + thing is beyond annoying and I really wish people would stop using it. Will make a note on how to do the hyper link, it may come in handy

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  31. This is a practice...dah, now I see you also have comment moderation in force...2nd cup of coffee helped me see that.

    So...fingers crossed
    are both links working, this the hyperlink and the generic google?

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  32. Um, okay, I tried this on your Warrior Muse blog, Shannon. Your comments are set not to allow http. Maybe I did something wrong. I'll try the signature here too. Let's see what happens.
    Jagoda

    nope, didn't work. The message says,"Your HTML cannot be accepted: Reference "http:" is not allowed. What am I doing wrong?

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  33. Thanks for the tip...I'm new to the A to Z challeneg and look forward to visiting as many blogs as possible starting today!

    *testing to see if I understand the hyperlink thing!

    DebbieDayLee Health Nuggets

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  34. Thank you for this post. I am completely html inept! Let me see if I got this.

    Shirletta @ ShirleyIsNotMyName

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  35. Trying it out! Thanks!

    Kate

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  36. Thanks for this helpful tip! Trying it out now. ;)

    Your fellow A-Z challenger, Dee at Deecoded

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  37. Thank you! I didn't have any idea how to do that. Now I think I sorta do :)

    Simply Sarah

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  38. I've always wanted to know how to do this. Thank you for explaining it. Here's my attempt. I hope it works:)

    Robin at Robin Hall Writes

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  39. Learn something new everyday *drinks more coffee before attempting hyperlink* Thanks Shannon!
    Cheers!
    writerlysam

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  40. Yeah, got to agree about the captcha. They are so annoying, but I don't think all bloggers have a choice about including them.

    Story Treasury

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  41. It works! I'm being redundant here because I tried it out on E on your blog, which I liked very much.
    Thanks!!
    Mary at Mary A to Z

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  42. I'm trying out your tip,thank you, Shannon. Here's hoping! Nancy at Welcome to she said, he said

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  43. test
    http://paulasplace-paula.blogspot.com/

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  44. Thanks for this. But I seem to still have trouble with it working correctly on some blog sites.

    Denise at Organization and Inspiration for Fellow Writers, participant of A to Z Blogging Challenge

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  45. Ok, I am too computer illiterate to pull this off. Thanks for the advice but, I'll just have to make due without it.

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  46. I don't know. Doesn't seem to be working, but if I can disable captcha, I think I can work this...
    Diana at About myself, by myself…

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  47. More people need to see this one! It'll make following up on blogs much easier.

    from John at The Bathroom Monologues

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  48. Thank you so much :) Took me a couple of attempts, I am not html literate!
    Suzanne @Suzannes Tribe

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  49. I'm a tad daft when it comes to HTML so hopefully this works?
    Heather the Evil Twin, visiting with love from the A-to-Z Challenge at <a href=”http://thewinetwins.blogspot.com/”

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  50. I've been struggling. . . maybe got it right? Test time!

    Rebecca at The Ninja Librarian

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  51. Thanks!! I've changed mine to a hyperlink now.

    Pauleen at Tropical Territory

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  52. I wish there was an easy way to set your signature in blogger so that it posted automatically. Oh well.

    ~Tizzy @Creative Therapy

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  53. That was one really helpful advice! Thanks!

    Kriti

    Regards

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  54. Thanks for this post! It is really helpful and I'm a newbie to blogging, so all information is gratefully accepted. P.S. I'm testing this now. Jennifer at Urban Gypsy Girl

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  55. Here's hoping it works...

    Erin at Short and Sassy Teacher

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  56. Thank you for the great tutorial!

    Ana Paula

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  57. Hey Shannon,

    Great Blog post. But I'm wondering, is using this hyperlinking considered spam?

    -Keith
    Simple Skin Care

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  58. Hyperlink signature is an acceptation idea. I also use hyper-linked signature to make comment in various blog. Here is my hyperlink signature.

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  59. I'm trying to see if the above worked for me:
    Marie@normaleverydaylife.com

    How do I get this to work in spot for name on comments?

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  60. Hi

    A friend of mine was talking to me about using live links within comments and we started to discuss the way this could be done in ways that would be interesting and maybe even inspiring.
    Many people have a difficulty creating HTML and what I do ( because I also suck at it lol) is I will use my own blog editor to create different signatures, save the html and save everything to a file titled appropriate "Sig file"

    A lot of people think in terms of sharing their own blog posts, which is good, but other things you can do is

    - link to a G+ post that you did

    -Twitter or Facebook conversation

    - a comment you made on a different blog about the same topic.

    Thinking outside the box  can be a fun, creative and useful thing to do when you want to extend your reach or deepen the conversation.

    Great post and very informative

     Thanks

    Diane


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  61. Hopefully, one of these days, Blogger updates its comment system to give us pings when replies are made, or at least nests comments... but at least now I can easily point people over to my Wordpress blog!

    Alex Hurst, participating in A-Z April Blogging Challenge.

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  62. Thanks for raising awareness. I love when people comment on my posts, but hate when they don't sign off with a link so I can visit back!
    foto payudara

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  63. just starting to attempt an online journal (some may call it a blog…) still brand new to it all so definitely appreciate all your helpful tips!
    Ash at a fae life

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  64. Is there a way to have the signature appear a few lines below where you start typing? When I went to write a new blog post, I start typing beside the signature. How do you edit html to make the signature start three or so lines below where you start typing

    electronic signature in word

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  65. Thank you so much Shannon for making it so easy. I am a new blogger and was looking for an easy way to create the signature and was able to do with your help!

    Live and Love Yourself

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  66. Thanks for the guidance but I find that it isn't taking me to my blog. I'll try it here

    <a href="http://ichirouganaim.blogspot.com/”>Gayle from Red Woman Lying on Her Side</a>

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