I remember debates in the mid to late 90’s about if outlinks are a “good” idea. There were some fascinating attempts to make profitable traffic law for an Internet superhighway that was more like a frenetically fertile Wild West.

I subscribed to anyone who had a listserv or newsletter on how web sites work, for the sheer coolness of learning, of being able to “link” up with different worlds of information by simply using a mouse. I was hooked.

My attitude then and today is that when to link is a usability issue. I saw any SEO benefits of links as a desirable side effect.

Bad linking disorients readers by sending them off willy nilly to places where they may not expect to go. Serving up disorientation is disrespectful. Developers should respect the opportunity for trust offered up each and every time a user chooses to look for what they want on a site. Go ahead and use outlinks where appropriate: be a resource. At the same time, do not use outlinks to others’ resources as a substitute for building up one’s own material - in today’s arena the same goes for using widely syndicated articles in place of putting one’s own substance on the line, or the slowly dying practice of building link farms. Do not choose to link from insecurity. Insecurity does not build trust, community or positive branding.

Of course, my perspective was different than a marketer’s because I was not involved in the financial bubble of the dot com crash. I was doing volunteer work for a braille literacy nonprofit; one of the best experiences of my life was touring a fire station with a group of their kids. I was building for screen reader users, to help build community. Structural/strategic issues around links had to exist within showing respect for a user’s right not to be disoriented.

Then, as now, publishers owe audiences the respect of usability.

I keep waiting to feel differently, now that I seek payment for web-related marketing. Not happening, so far. Maybe when I have enough income to make or break a house payment I’ll get blood in my eye over if I’m right or wrong or out the window about any particular aspect of textbook SEO. I hope not. I do the web thing because I love learning about helping people and their business identities be empowered, connected and comfortable with exposure.