Don’t Attempt to Trap Your Blog Readers at Your Site

Although I’m still ticked at Joe Edmon for losing 6000 of my blog entries, I will forever be in his debt for teaching me the basics of blogging – all the way back in 2003. Part of that education was what not to do.

I remember noticing that some blogs would post their links in such a way that when you linked out to the other site, that you were not actually leaving, but reading the other site within a frame on the site you attempted to link out from. In my warped mind, I thought this was kinda’ neat. This was a method of keeping people from leaving your site. Why would you want them to leave anyway? And keeping them on your site has got to be good… NOT…

Another common practice amongst bloggers is to set up their site in such a way that your browser back arrow key will not take you back beyond the page on which you landed when you came to their site. Please realize that this will not stop the reader from leaving the site. It will just make him/her mad… I read once that the browser back arrow key can be “your friend.” Maybe the website owner should place their branding near the back arrow key – as this key gets used more than any other. In fact, as genealogists, we often use the back arrow key and don’t even realize we’re doing it.

Sure… We want folks to read what we have to say. It makes us feel good to see that some people seem to read our blog pages for some period of time. But as bloggers, we tend to send people away from our sites an awful lot! I very seldom post any kind of blog without including at least one link. I feel I’ve actually accomplished my primary goal as a blogger when I send my readers somewhere that they can learn more, do more genealogy, and maybe even have some of that “instant genealogical success” that we all crave.

I actually link to a few blogs that have gotten caught up in trying to keep their readers on their sites. I do so because what they have to offer is good. However, I’d sure like for my readers to be able to come back to GenealogyBlog when they’re done. I consider this a common courtesy that isn’t hard to respect- and one that encourages readership all the way around…

Thanks Again, Joe – for not allowing me to get trapped by my own thinking…

Following are a couple links that might be of interest:

WWW version of the book Netiquette by Virginia Shea

My Webs Design Pet Peeves: Frames!!

About Leland Meitzler

Leland K. Meitzler founded Heritage Quest in 1985, and has worked as Managing Editor of both Heritage Quest Magazine and The Genealogical Helper. He currently operates Family Roots Publishing Company (www.FamilyRootsPublishing.com), writes daily at GenealogyBlog.com, writes the weekly Genealogy Newsline, conducts the annual Salt Lake Christmas Tour to the Family History Library, and speaks nationally, having given over 2000 lectures since 1983.

One Reply to “Don’t Attempt to Trap Your Blog Readers at Your Site”

  1. Well said, Leland. In the past few days, I have gotten “stuck” on more than one site by following a link that I got to by following another link (instead of using my brain and opening the new link in a new window). The only solution was to close the window and then have to remember where I found the original link. Frustrating and maddening. As we provide readers with good links containing good information for their own purposes, they are more than likely to return to us for more of the same. The experience should not be frustrating. And we are, after all, in the information business!

    Best wishes,
    Schelly

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