Readers--How to Keep Them
81Our Readers
Readers are what writing is all about. Where would writers be without readers? We'd be lonely, without purpose, and very few. For most of us, writing is fueled by having avid readers who like and appreciate our work.
Receiving supportive comments, votes "up", increasing numbers of followers and subscribers, lots of likes, tweets and "shares"--well, it's invigorating. And, of course, regular readers also build our income so that those of us who need revenue can justify the time that it takes to do this well. Thank God for readers!
So, how do you find them?
You write good content and share it. Share it with your followers, facebook and twitter friends. Encourage others to follow you or subscribe.
Steps to writing good content:
First: select a niche that agrees with you and develop it. Whatever you are interested in will interest many others. Write about what you love.
Next: write material that is really good.Put some time and research into it. Search for popular keywords that relate to your content and will draw the attention of search engines. Doing that should attract readers that are interested in your subject! Use keywords sensibly--don't overdo it.
Now: check your grammar and spelling, add great photos that you have the right to use, include links to products where appropriate.
Insert links to other quality resources that will enrich the post for your readers. Make it valuable to them.
Add: tags, a good summary and, for HubPages, select a group in which to categorize your hub.
Ready to publish? NO WAY! There is one important step you must take before you go live. Set your post up to KEEP your readers on your page!
I cannot tell you how painful it is for me to go to great hubs...some written by the best, even the HubPages elite...and click on a link only to be sent off into cyber-land! If I don't have the presence of mind to click the "back" button, I am off their page -- perhaps forever.
With some writers, I know who they are and I can find the hub again. With others, I love their stuff but don't know their pen name well enough and may not find the hub at all--especially if I get an interruption. Hours later, who knows where I was!
Guard against "page drop off" and learn this little html tip that will keep your readers with you much longer.
Keeping Your Readers
So, even if you find more and more new readers, how do you keep them? Certainly, supplying superb content on a regular basis is a key. But it is just as important to keep them on the page as it is to attract them in the first place.
What do I mean? OK. You've written a great hub or blog post and in the midst, planted a link. They click on it. There happens to be another link on that webpage that takes them someplace else. How will they ever find you again? Unless you are one of their favorite writers and they are determined to go back and re-establish contact, you've lost them.
Open In a New Window
Keep your writers on your page as long as possible by setting up your links to open in a new window. Even if you don't "speak html" (which I don't), this is easy to do and you can become a master at it.
Here is how it is done:
- Write your hub and then, using your mouse hold the left button down and highlight the keywords that are to be linked.
- Now click on the link sign in the toolbar at the top of the Hub capsule or blog page.
- In the top field, where it says "URL" put the web address of the page that you're linking to.
- Click "insert".
Now, here's the fun part. Click on the toolbar where it says "HTML". Look like gibberish? You'll become more comfortable with it when you know what to look for.
What to look for: You are looking for the code to that link. It will begin with href: and end with a " (quotation mark).
What to add: Directly after the end quotation mark you need to enter one blank space and then this very important code: target="_blank" After you add it, click on "save". Sometimes it will say that the code needs to be cleaned up and sometimes it will not.In any case, still save. Now, test your link. It should open up in a new window!
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Try this little test...
I am going to embed a link in this post as an example of what I mean. Don't go there yet. Just follow along. The hub I'm using as an object lesson is: "How to Blog".
After I put the link in this post, I clicked on the "HTML" button on my toolbar and this is what I saw:
<p>Here is a link that I've embedded to my post "<a href="http://sinea-pies.hubpages.com/hub/blog-how-to">How to Blog</a>".</p>
Now, in order to make sure it opens in a new window, I am going to click my cursor directly after the words blog-how-to" Now, after the quotation mark,I will add a space and then type in target="_blank"
Here is what it looks like, now set to open in a new window (bold type added to make it easier for you to find the added code):
<p>Here is a link that I've embedded to my post "<a href="http://sinea-pies.hubpages.com/hub/blog-how-to" target="_blank>How to Blog</a>".</p>
Now click on the How to Blog link and see that it opens in a new window. The blog "Readers--How to Keep Them" and "How to Blog" are both open on your desktop! If you choose to click on any links in the "How to Blog" hub, they also will open up in a new window because I set it up that way.
Now that you know how to do it, you may want to revisit your old hubs and blog posts, over a period of time, and add the code so that links open up in a new window (I did). Above all, get in the habit of doing it with your new posts. It is well worth it. You've worked hard for those readers....keep them!
For more great advice for online writers, check out:
How to Tweak a Hub by Prairieprincess
Here's a Tip
One of our fellow hubbers, Barbergirl28, made a comment that inspired me to add this time-saving tip!
How to Find Your Links in All that HTML:
If you have a lot of html to look through, use the "FIND" function. What you do is open up the html and then press "Ctrl" + "F" on the keyboard. In the upper right hand corner of the screen a "find window" will appear. Type in a couple of keywords from the title of the link and it will highlight them in color in the body of the html. Now you can find the right spot to add your target="_blank" to it. Makes it so much easier to locate!
About the author
Sinea Pies is a freelance writer for a popular parenting magazine and professional blogger for Ducks 'n a Row. Click for more: Sinea's profile
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So glad to help fellow writers, Writeronline. I was thrilled when a fellow hubber shared this with me....but of course, I lost track of her or I'd be thanking her by name in this hub! LOL. Hope she knows she's appreciated.
Sinea, you gave some simple, practical advice that I can put to use right away! Great Hub! Voted up and Useful!
Sinea, I just noticed - prompted by the comment above, that the ratings I gave you (Up, Useful and Interesting) aren't showing. None are, in fact.
I guess they'll turn up?
Thanks again.
Since I have a problem with posting links properly within the body of a hub without sending you away fromme, what I do is say in brackets: (see link below). Then I have the links capsule at the end of my hub so that they have to have read my hub before they get to the link.
Thanks Superhero Sales and FloraBreenRobinson. Writeronline, that may have been my fault. I was multi-tasking using two computers last night and forgot to close out of the hub on the first one. Probably messed up the works. Thanks so much for the up, useful & interesting votes, though. Maybe they'll show up today!
This is a great tip and I will definetely keep this in mind and bookmarked. Thanks for the help.
Thank you for this information. I had no idea you could do this so easily. Although I have to admit, I suspect it will still take me a while to get to grips with this as everything that requires me to even look at HTML has me quivering. Still, I have recently managed to install a 'sign-up to HP’ button on my profile, so I am sure I will manage this too. Your explanation certainly makes it seem very simple and gives me hope! Voted up and useful from me.
Gemsong and Melovy, thanks for the kind comments. I was quivering at the thought of dabbling in html and crashing my site or something. The deep need to get the links to open in a new window got me past my fear. You'll catch on Melovy. Eventually, you may even enjoy it. I want to learn more!
Enjoy it, now that’s an interesting thought. But yes, you’re right, I’ll catch on eventually. I plan to print this out, to make it easier to go through it as I find flicking between windows doesn’t help! Thanks for sharing the information.
Anytime!
This is really great information..Thank you.
Thanks for the tips, Sinea Pies. You are a true professional and an asset to the hubpages community. Love your writing style.
Voted up, useful, and awesome.
Sinea, first of all, thanks for the link! I am thrilled to be a part of this excellent article. Second of all, thanks for sharing such important information. I am definitely bookmarking this so I can study it when I am going to go and change my hubs over, even if it's a few at a time. Great info! I'm going to share this one, too. Take care!
This one is bookmarked and voted up - It is just BRILLIANT! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and insight - you have a new fan!
Fantastic hub! Now that you mention it, this is a serious problem. Thanks for the great tips!! Voted up, awesome, and interesting. :)
excellent post! enjoyed reading it.
great tip and very useful, thanks for sharing this, voted up
sinea, wow, wow and wow for an excellent hub. So much useful info and the best part I liked was the one about opening links in another window. I didn't have an idea it could be done but I know now there is a way.
Thank you for a wonderful article. Voted up, useful and awesome. And bookmarked ofcourse for reference later- I'll need to refer to it for making changes to my hubs.
I'm glad to be following you.
Powerful tools to build an audience and keep them. Everyone should bookmark this page and refer back to it on a regular basis.
Always Exploring, thank you so much.
Husky 1970, wow! Your comment makes my day! Thank you.
Voted UP and Useful. And now I am a follower. Looking forward to going through your other stuff.
This is really a great hub! It is very informative and I am bookmarking this hub for future use. I had no idea how to do someting like this and thank you for teaching us all about it. Sounds like you have a flurishing writing career on line and you are so knowledgeable. Thank you!
Thanks PrairiePrincess. Your hub is so good, I had to include it! I've read it more than once.
Your write up was excellent. Many great tips! Voted up. :)
Missolive and Faceless 39, thank you both so much. I have learned so much from other hubbers and, after I learned this one, it was really eating at me. I had to share it.
It is so easy, with a few extra moments invested, to get those links to open in a new window and keep our readers on our pages longe!
Thanks so much, Julz09 and icciev. Enjoyed writing it, too!
Raajan Jolly and Keith Tax, thanks so much. You are doing what I did quite a while ago. I learned this from another hubber (whose name now eludes me or she'd have been referenced in my hub. When I remember who it was, I'll be editing to add that.)and I printed out her hub and taped it to the wall of my office. Until I knew how to do it by heart...I had the instructions on my wall! :)
Don Bobbitt, thank you ever so much. Following you back and looking forward to making some Cajun Fried Oysters...thanks for the recipe.
Thanks so much for your kind words, Suzettenaples. I'm getting there. It helps to really love what you do...and I love writing for HubPages!
Thanks rorshak sobchak! I appreciate your kind remarks.
This is really a good hub. Great advice and instructions. Thanks much.
Thank you ytsenoh.
You raise some valid points in an interesting manner - well done!
Great tips for writers like myself, I always make sure that my links open in a new window as well. Cheers and best wishes.
Good article. There is still a lot that I have to learn but thanks for the great tips.
Of course, Angelladywriter. Happy to help. My next challenge is to figure out HOW to do it with links in our profiles. I think I may have come up with something. I'll share when I do....:)
Good for you bangingbeauty! It takes a little extra time but it's worth it!
Really appreciate this hub of yours Sinea Pies. It's really useful and great for us to know how to keep our readers…I have always used to right click and select open link in new tab to ensure I stay on the page that I am interested in. If I am blogging in my blog, I will tick the box where it says open a new window so that I can make sure my readers are still with me…now, I have learned this very new and excited way of keeping my readers by side…you deserve to be voted up, once again, thanks for the generous sharing...
This is a great tip! Thanks for sharing.
I printed out your instructions and followed them when creating links to others’ hubs on my latest hub. It worked! And it wasn’t even difficult. I really didn’t believe it would work so easily, certainly not first time, but it did. Thank you.
Injured lamb, thanks for your thoughtful comment. Unfortunately, many readers don't know to or think to right click to open in a new window. I guess I was thinking about them...I want them all to find our pages again after they've clicked the links.
Anytime, DeborahNeyens. Thanks for the read!
Sinea Pies - After I write a hub, and then I go back and edit the HTML to add the( target="_blank") but sometimes when I click on the links they work and sometimes they make a clicking sound and by the finger pointer on the screen is a yellow burst with a red exclamation point in it. Can you tell me what is causing this?
Melovy, I am so happy for you! It's fun, isn't it!
Homestead bound, that's a new one on me. What I'd check is that you have it in the right place. Be sure that it follows the quotation mark and that you have a space before the word target. If that doesn't work...well, I don't know. I might try erasing the link and adding it back in?
Any great html-ers out there have some ideas?
Hi. Just had to stop back again to let you know how helpful this was to me. I published a new hub yesterday on traveling to Las Vegas with a lot of external links. Using your awesome tip, I made sure they all open in a new window. Thanks again!
I am so glad! That is just wonderful.
BTW, I just found a hub by Missolive that is so helpful for finding good, free photos for our hubs. You might want to check it out: http://missolive.hubpages.com/hub/Free-Photo-Websi
This is great advice! I was thinking I needed to do something like that, but got lazy since I would have to figure out how. Thanks for the information! I am going to edit all my hubs now.
Thanks! I bookmarked that one, too.
Thanks MillionaireTips. I am not 100% sure that I have all of mine converted yet. Every once in a while I find a link that I did not catch!
Sinea Pies - What's interesting about "...I click on the links they work and sometimes they make a clicking sound and by the finger pointer on the screen is a yellow burst with a red exclamation point in it." that I mentioned earlier is sometimes the work and sometimes they don't. I've also had the happen on the links in emails that hubpages sends me with links.
I have found the answer I think but do not understand why it makes a difference. When my browser is Internet Explorer this happens, but if I change to firefox it doesn't. On firefox they work everytime.
Homesteadbound, I should have thought to suggest that. Something about Internet Explorer can be like that. In fact, I totally switched to Google Chrome and Firefox because IE was too finicky! Glad you figured it out.
Me too!
Very great hub and advice by the way. We all want to keep our readers on the page and have them come back often. And,I agree with you when you say provide them with interesting content on a regular basis. But,correct me if I'm mistaken,isn't it against hubpages rules to embed other links within hubs unless its a link to another hub?
I think I was warned about that before or maybe I'm in error here. Keep up the good work!
Hi Givingfairy...no, hub pages encourages links that enhance the content from quality sources. You have to be careful not to make it overly promotional. It should be great links that make sense..that will help the reader. You also cannot do too many from the same site. Check out the hub trainings and FAQ's for more info. And thanks for the great comment.
The target blank thingy is sure a blast! Thank you for sharing that HTML technique, never knew it can help people who reads our hubs.
You sound like me, wanzulfikri.."target blank thingy". I love it! Glad I could be of help.
Very glad to include a link to this hub in my latest hub - Grab That Traffic!
Thank you Sinea for teaching me how to open hubs in a separate window! You are awesome! :)
I am so glad that I found this... I am definatly going to give this a try... I only wish I would have found it earlier!
Okay - so I know I just commented but I had to let you know I tried.... I got it... and this is awesome... except now I have a lot of hubs to go back through and fix to this! Thanks for the tip! As an extra note... if anybody else does this, they should make sure they look for all of the links. At first I couldn't figure out why it wasn't working for one, and then I realized I only did it for one! Thanks again!
Grab that Traffic! I love the title, Missolive! Going right over there to admire your work and learn something new. Thanks so much for including my link. I appreciate it!
Barbergirl28, thanks! Hey, here's a tip. If you have a lot of html to look through, use the "FIND" function. What you do is open up the html and then press "Ctrl" + "F" on the keyboard. in the upper right hand corner of the screen a "find window" will appear. Type in a couple of keywords from the title of the link and it will highlight them in the body of the html. Makes it so much easier to locate them!
Barbergirl28 inspired me to add a time saving tip to the bottom of this hub! Thanks Barbergirl28!
Your very welcome - glad you are able to let others know about this because this truly is awesome. I am just curious to see how much this will effect my earnings. Ironically, the day after I start using it, the ad program hasn't been calculated! I guess I will have to be patient and see!
And thanks for the link... I appreciate it!
Your earnings may be up tomorrow. We're all used to having it say "pending" for up to a day but it will show.
this is really some thing not all of writers look at it to keep the visitors by opening links in new window thanks for it and keep that great tips on
Thanks GirgisAgeeg. I will.
Incredibly useful hub. Thanks so much!
Thank you Moon Lightened. I appreciate your nice comment!
Hi Sinea,
After looking over for the link sign all over the hub I wanted to link, I eventually realised that this linking had to be done in the edit mode of the text capsule for the concerned text and has nothing to do with the suggest links button. How dumb of me!!
I just wanted to put this down for any one who has difficulty linking it the way you outlined.
The rest of it was a breeze.
Thanks for this wonderful tip. I need to do it for all my hubs.It will take time but would be worth the effort I guess.
Rajan Jolly, you are so right. And, the last time I used the link capsule it didn't allow for editing the html so I always use a text box.
What I am looking for is the day we can edit the html on our profile pages! That will be wonderful...but not yet.
Sinea, this wonderful hub needs to be shared, so I'm sharing it with my followers.
Wonderful tip! I've got this one bookmarked and will start putting this to good use and sharing it!
the art. is not only interesting, but this hub gave lot of very useful tips.
excellent and useful...
Rajan, thank you so much for sharing this hub with your followers. They'll thank you for it! It is a tip that I believe is so valuable to all of us who don't want our readers to accidentally get lost clicking off our page!
Thanks Kris Heeter. It will become second nature, after a while, to add code for links to open in a new window and your readers will have a seamless experience when reading your hubs.
this is very helpful for me. I love this hub. Thank you.
Thanks Zanaworld. So you noticed the eyeglass-dividers! I made them. Missolive does a lot with making her own graphics and dividers and she inspired me!
very nice hub
Thank you IMKD for your kind words.
Thank you kaliskavadavis!
You have given me so much extremely useful information and tips I have to stop and start to put them to use. Not only are your tips good but the way you lay out your hub is awesome. Voted up and across the board.
Thanks you Sinea, you are one of the most helpful hubbers on HubPages!
Maralexa, thank you soooo much for such a supreme compliment. I truly appreciate it.
I'll try this and see if it works. So far, no one else's directions have worked when I tried to get a link to open in a new window. Appreciate the tip.
Writeronline: MACs do not have a mouse that clicks right or left. I have a lap top with a tracker pad, so there isn't even a mouse. MACs are actually a lot less complicated and once you've had one you'll throw rocks at your old PC. MACs are actually a lot more versatile. I learned on a PC and still go back and forth between PCs and MACs because libraries/employers, etc., usually have PCs.
Voting you UP and useful!
Thanks Aufait. Let me know if you have trouble with it. I'll see if I can help troubleshoot.
My brother is an acoustical designer and uses MACS exclusively. He also believes in rocks for PC's LOL
Sinea - This is a very valuable hub! I have worried about the problem of losing readers when they click to a link for a long time. You have come to my rescue...my heroine!!! Can't wait to try the html (altho' it scares me to death.) You have also inspired me to switch to google chrome in place of I.E. I also have a mac and like you use both computers quite often.
You are my HP Angel! Stay near by. :-) Rated Up and more.
vocalcoach~
Vocalcoach, you are too kind. I love helping others just as many hubbers have helped me!
I have found if I get the code for opening in a new window in the wrong place in the html, nothing bad happens. Try using your "find" function to locate the words that describe the link. If you have a large hub or many links, it makes it easier.
I have used the instructions here in this hub 4 times in order to have my links open in new windows instead of taking readers away from my hub. It has worked great!!! I love it! I hope everyone will read this hub and learn how to do it. If you have any problems you can contact me or Sinea Pies, and I know either of us will be happy to help.
Thank you Sinea!!
Thanks, Aufait. Of course, I will be glad to walk anyone through the process if they are having difficulties. :)
This is a really great hub- and you made it so easy to understand- way to go!!
Thanks wonderingwoolley! Glad you enjoyed it.
HI again Sinea,
Although I thought I’d got this right, that turned out not to be the case. It worked when I tested the link, but not when I’d finished editing. I got "page not found."
Now reading through the comments I began to wonder if it was to do with using Safari on my Mac as the quotation marks came up distorted, and each time the HTML got "cleaned up” but what was left did not look very clean to me - a list of percentages! I switched to Firefox, and it has worked - though it opened a new tab, rather than a window!
So it looks like I may have to join the rest of my family and start using Firefox. Boohoo, i like Safari. :(
PS I’ve just tested the link back in dear old Safari, and it opened another window!
Hmmm, Melovy, this is beyond my understanding though I'm glad it finally worked. My knowledge of html won't even fill a thimble! LOL I usually use Google Chrome but sometimes I do use Firefox. It's worked with both for me. :)
MeLovy: I have a MAC and I use Safari. Works fine for me. Do you have the most recent version of Safari on your computer? (5.1.2) I just updated mine less than a week ago. Doesn't take long for browsers to become obsolete and then things don't work very well with them. You will find links on webpages that don't work, etc. and it gets worse as your browser gets more out of date.
When it didn't come out right, did you try again beginning from scratch? All web browsers mess up sometimes.
Very useful. I'm finding it really difficult to get to grips with all the ins and outs of composing a really good hub, despite the fact I know my writing is fine; the technology is daunting. Advice from people like you is vital - the learning centre does not seem to cover it all and even there you need to know which terms to look for! Thanks for putting it in layman's terms. Happy New Year!
@ Au fait, I did have an older version, but got a brand new computer for Christmas, so it’s the latest. I have had the same problem with both the old and new versions, but as it has worked for you I will try again. All my bookmarks are in Safari, so I prefer it! Thanks for the information.
You're welcome, annart. Happy New Year to you too!
Great tips. Thanks
You're welcome, kelleyward! Thanks for stopping by.
Nice hub! Wow! I found this through Sharyn's Slant...awesome! I'm not very computer literate but I think I can even do this and I'm going to try for sure! Thanks a bunch! Beautiful!
Nice Hub. We can all use these tips, especially the HTML stuff, so complicated! But you made things considerably easier, thanks for sharing!
Although I have used this tip on my website, etc., it's a fabulous tip! Great thought and sharing!
Voted up and useful!
Blessings,
~LIsa
Excellent suggestions here! Voting up and book marking!
YIPPY! What a great Hub. Thanks for the tips.
Thanks Realhousewife and thanks to Sharon's Slant, as well!
You're welcome, Fenn. Believe me, I am NOT an html person so, if I can do it, anyone can! LOL
Rusticliving, when you first learned how to do it, wasn't it an exciting find? I was thrilled! No more losing readers before they want to leave your page! Yipee!
Thanks so much for the Vote up, Tammyswallow. :)
Thanks Kristine Manley! I appreciate it.
You are another Cardisa...well almost...such a help, thank you so much!
Polly
Pollyannalana, to be called "almost" a Cardisa is a supreme compliment"! Thank you!
Very helpful and useful tips about how to keep your readers. Thank you for sharing. I have voted this hub useful and up.
Thank you so much, Jean2011! I appreciate the votes.
your tips are down to earth and easy follow and gives a good insight. well written
Thanks for sharing the tip about how to add the link internally within your hubs. This is an excellent idea, which I plan to follow. I especially liked your easy to understand instructions.
Voted up and useful!
--courtlneygdtm
Thanks lintertrans.
Thanks courtineygdtm for the votes! I appreciate it.
Thank you Sinea, for you comment on "Bad Hair Day".
I hope to write many HUBS. But it will be slow going for a while.
Welcome, Shyron, to HubPages! You're gonna love it.
Good tips. It's the little things that often make a difference -- even in writing online. Voted up and useful -- and bookmarked!
Thanks for the big votes, Don. You're right, keeping your readers by giving links in a new window is also a form of "customer service". You're helping them to have a smooth reading experience and not get accidentally lost!
Hi, Wow! how clever is that? lol! I never knew you could do that, and I have been on here two years! thanks! thats fantastic!
Thanks so much Nell Rose. I was so glad to make the discover. The extra few minutes it takes to make sure your links open in a new window are well worth it. Most of our readers don't want to lose track of our page, but they could.
Thanks for all the useful tips. There is so much more than 'just'writing engaging Hubs.
Thanks for SHARING!
I've had the same problem in the past. I find it hard to decipher html codes. I hope you don't mind if I bookmark your very useful hub Ms. Sinea.
Thank your for sharing!
Thanks so much for the comment, gifalcone.
Bookmark away, thesingingnurse. I'm so glad that you found this hub so helpful.
A great a bit of advice. It never crossed my mind that I may be loosing readers, too busy being chuffed at having some!!....I've bookmarked this hub for future reference and will be sharing....
Thank you for sharing...
Thanks for the wonderful advice, voted up, useful and bookmarked :-)
Bell
Thanks bell du jour and debbie roberts for the nice comments and Vote Up!
Hey this is great stuff here, I been on hubpages for some time now and this is the first time I got some really good information that helps add value. Thank you Sinea Pies Yes I voted^
Thanks for the vote UP, bri36. So glad that I could be of help to a fellow Hubber!
Excellent Sinea.
I think it is so important to open up in another window and keep your page open.
Voted Up :)
Thanks Adams-ebooks, for the vote up!
Hi Sinea Pies, I just wanted to say a really big thank you!! I've just managed to embed links that open in new windows, into the hub I am working on now. I want other Hubbers to know that it really isn't difficult, if you follow Sinea Pies instructions......
If I can manage it then anyone who can. I'm a self professed thickie, when it comes to doing things on the computer.
I feel like I've achieved something today!!...THANK YOU!!
Debbie Roberts, thank you. I really appreciate the good report. You are so very welcome. Glad I can help.
This is a great tip Sinea! Thank you.
You're very welcome, Curiad.
I tried as instructed and it works! But how to 'amend' the link in the Link Capsules? All the Links in my link capsule will open in the same window. To do the changes as recommended, I could not find the html..is there another way or did I missed something?
Hi greatstuff. I stopped using link capsules for the very reason that this doesn't work in them. Instead, I use a text capsule and make it look like a link capsule. I type in and link each title one by one. It is really worth the extra effort to assure that your links open in a new window. After a while, it will become part of your routine.
Thanks Sinea for the clarification. Now on to more work!!
You're welcome, greatstuff. Glad to help.
Hi Sinea! I've just come back to this after far too long, to check the procedure so that I can go through all my hubs and link them all. One question though - do I have to do that to every single link in the same hub? From reading the comments, it seems that I do but just want to check.
Yes...tedious as it is, you do. When I have several links in a hub, I got back and add the target="_blank" to each of them one by one. I copy that line and paste it in each time rather than having to type it out every time. Saves a few moments, anyway.
Ok, that's great. I'll take the time to do them all. Then, like you say, the routine should be there for future hubs. Thanks Sinea!
You are so very welcome, annart.
I'm revising my hubs to include that open in a new window code in every link.
Great, B.Leekley. It's worth taking the time to do it. Glad I could help.
This is priceless information, Sinea Pies. I found this article referenced in one by MissOlive and am I glad! I'm going back through all my articles and make this simple but important addition. Thanks so much!
You're so welcome, ithabise.
Thanks Sinea Pies. I simply printed out the information (Readers-How to Keep Them). Now I can easily follow your information step by step.
Sinea...
I am glad that Just Ask Susan became Susan Just Tells...and told me about this article!
I have absolutely no idea about things computer...although I believe I can do this. I have bookmarked for an additional read, note taking, and action!
Thanks,
Thomas
You're welcome, annaplank. Soon it will be second-nature and you won't need the notes. :)
Really a great hub. I like this type of hub.
Thanks for sharing this Article.
Thanks Thoughtsandwiches...and thanks Just Ask Susan, as well. It's so nice to know that this was helpful.
Kaliskadavis, so glad you like it. I enjoy this kind of hub, too. Thanks for stopping by.
Awesome, I never knew how to do this before and it has saved me from searching for the code. Great hub, very helpful!
Thanks Mrshoki. Glad to be of help!
Okay! Thanks to your clear instructions I think I've got it! Yay! If I do, I'll be busy shaping up my old hubs in practice for new ones to come. Thanks much-I'm encouraged to look more closely at all aspects of using links now. Love to "really get" something new to me re web writing!
I will definitely apply what I have learned here in all my current and future hubs. This was useful and very well explained. Voted up &, of course, useful.
See good information goes a long way Sinea Pies")
RTalloni, when I learned this html "trick" I was so excited, too. It not only helps us to keep readers on our page, it helps the reader, too. Most of them want to search good links but still want to finish reading our post, too.
Thanks Claudio Tello. Glad to be of help. Thanks for the vote up and useful! :)
Thanks bri36!
Yahoo! I decided to practice this on one of my oldest hubs with a low score. I knew it needed some reworking as I've learned a lot since it was posted and doing this would give me a chance to update it.
The first link I tried worked beautifully--I was quite proud of myself. :) However, I was puzzled by the next few. I had to figure out how to go through the "gibberish" and find the right location for the HTML info.
I was able to finish that hub successfully, so I jumped to my highest rated one of today. That went very smoothly and even it needed some revamping--don't they all?! I also learned to check and double check on whether the links stick after saving.
If I see a noticeable difference in their scores I will try to let you know. I've read other good hubs on this topic but either I was not in a frame of mind to understand well enough, or the wording was beyond my level of comprehension--not sure which, maybe both at the time! :) Anyway, thanks again.
RTalloni, I am so delighted to hear that it worked well for you. After a while you will just see where it goes. Takes a little practice but, as you've experienced, it's easy enough to do. As I've said many times, I think it's well worth it. Do let me know if you notice a difference.
Great Hub. I haven't been doing this very long, and don't know much about HTML. This may well be the best advice I have received so far. Maybe someday I'll understand SEO and backlinks.
Thanks for the help.
Thanks bankscottage. Don't feel bad about not knowing much html. Sometimes it only takes a little to go a long way. SEO? Just when you think you know it, the game changes. Just write good stuff. :)
Wow! This is just amazing and wonderful piece of information. This is really helpful and easy to follow. Thanks for sharing and voted up:)
You are so welcome, Internetgeek! When I learned this I had to go back through my hubs to add the html code to open links in a new window. That was a while ago but just the other day I found one that I had missed! It's a job but well worth it.
Hi Sinea. I just reread your hub and have to say again how much I appreciate the information. Knowing how to keep people on my site while letting them follow a link, is extremely valuable.
Thanks again.
Thanks Maralexa. I know what you mean about re-reading hubs. There have been a few over the months that others have written which are so rich in helpful content that I have re-visited them, as well. Thanks so much for letting me know that you found this so valuable. :)
writeronline Level 7 Commenter 6 months ago
Fantastic tip! Thanks, Sinea.
As a non-html 'understander', I've been reduced to saying "Be sure and open this link in a new window, so you can come back here". But of course, that relies on people knowing how to use the right-hand mouse button, and selecting the correct option in the dialog box....and as a PC user, I don't even know if Apple users have that facility (sheepish look).
There's so much more to online success than 'just' great content isn't there?
Thanks again, Sinea. Must rush, I have quite a few Hubs to amend...