Advice needed please? No follow links/open in new window?

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   CrystalStarWomanposted 15 years ago

   I'm getting confused and I don't know if I am asking a stupid question, but is a 'nofollow' link the same as a link that opens the web page in a new window?
   
   When I put links on my blog (whether to my hub pages or websites of interest to my readers) I usually add the following code - target="_blank"> - so that a new page will open when they click on the link and my readers will come back to my site when they've finished looking at the link and closed that page! (If you see what I mean?!)
   
   Is better for links to open in a new window?
   
   I would be grateful for some advice please, thanks!

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      TerryGlposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Most definitely. You are spot on when you say the visitor goes to a new page and when finished returns to your site.
      
      A nofollow link is not the same as an open in new window. The nofollow attribute will be applied if your Hubscore is lower then 75 and on your blog if you have external links nofollow clicked in your dashboard.
      
      I think links that open in new window is perfect. Maybe when the visitor returns to your site they might click an ad out or continue reading. Besides that your statistics for time on site increases while the visitor is on the opened page ("_blank")

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         CrystalStarWomanposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks Terry! Thanks for clearing that up
         
         So, is it better to have 'do follow' links where possible? Or doesn't it really make any difference?

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            TerryGlposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            I agree totally with Bill. It is often said that do follow links leaches your own sites page rank juice to the do followed link site. Now it is being said that page rank does not really mean much.
            
            I see the beauty in dofollow links if you want a lot of commentators on your site to boost your content and keep pages fresh, by telling them your site uses dofollow. Problem with that now is you get massive amounts of spam comments.
            
            Personally I use nofollow to all external links except the sites I own and want to promote.

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2. 73

   Bill Manningposted 15 years ago

   I personally don't think most SE's including google bother to even see if a link is labeled "do" or "do not" follow. So I would just not bother either way.
   
   As for opening links in a new window, I do that with almost every link in my own sites and blogs. That way you have not lost your customer. Good idea.

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3. 60

   CrystalStarWomanposted 15 years ago

   Thank you Bill and Terry - I really appreciate your advice and comments

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   thisisoliposted 15 years ago

   A no-follow link basically means that the google spider will not see that link at all. 
   
   This does affect page rank, although mostly for the benefit of your target site. A higher number of links on a webpage can have a negative affect on it's page rank, but this is not a huge issue.
   
   "I personally don't think most SE's including google bother to even see if a link is labeled "do" or "do not" follow." That is completely wrong, since the no-follow attribute is something which all the search engine spiders take notice of.

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      Bill Manningposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Actually there has been lots of talk on SEO forums about how google no longer does "not" see a no-follow rule. Not sure where but I have seen it numerous times.
      
      Plus I've gotten ranking in google from sites that only have a no-follow link to my site. So they must have followed the link to have a ranking show up for my site on that site.

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5. 68

   Mishaposted 15 years ago

   Actually opening links in the same window is considered the best industry practice. The reasoning is you give your users a choice instead of forcing them to remain on your site. Does not mean you HAVE to follow it, but it is something to "ponder awhile" about

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   sunforgedposted 15 years ago

   index and PR spiders are different creatures.
   
   noFollow only relates to to  "juice"spiders
   
   There is always lots of talk on seo forums and forums in general, most of it is "blind leading the blind"

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      thisisoliposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      No follow covers all the major search engine spiders, since a no-follow tag can also be used to prevent your website appearing in your Google search engine rankings.  I have had a couple of clients in my partnership on Graficstudio who have requested to have their websites kept off of the search engines, the no-follow attribute is one of the few ways this can be achieved!

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   Has_aWayWithWordsposted 15 years ago

   I would say the blind leading the blind is pretty accurate, Google keeps pretty tight lips about their technology and methods and they change it fairly regularly. I would say thet everyone knows the half dozen or so common factors but no one has a clue about the remaining factors in the Google algorithm

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