Including a Link to a webpage takes users away from Hubpages.

1. 81

   Bill Yovinoposted 13 years ago

   Is there a way to include a hyperlink to another website without transfering the user away from Hubpages? In other words, is there a way to force a new window so that the original page is still present?

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   1. 87

      WryLiltposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Used to be. Think it's gone now, with the next text editor update.

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2. 83

   WriteAngledposted 13 years ago

   This has been mentioned several times. HubPages refuse to give us this feature any more.
   
   As a result, I will not be putting in any live links in my hubs any more, apart from those in Amazon capsules or permitted affiliate links.
   
   I feel this will dramatically reduce the value of my hubs to the reader, but am left with no other option due to Hubpages' intransigence on this matter.

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   1. 81

      Bill Yovinoposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks.  It seems like a no-brainer to include that feature.  It  would be in everyone's best interest not to steer readers away from your Hubs. This is very disappointing.

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      1. 60

         TheWhisperposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         You can always tell your reader too hold ctrl before clicking. This should take them to an external window.

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3. 90

   Will Apseposted 13 years ago

   If your page is worth reading, visitors will open links in a new window.
   
   If your page is not so hot, you will lose them anyway.
   
   Excluding links because you are scared to offer your reader an escape route is not going to work.

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4. 76

   wheelinalloverposted 13 years ago

   In all my hubs I only have one link which takes people out of hub pages but the site was created to be used by hubbers. If a hubber can't find hub pages we are in pretty bad shape. LOL I honestly think if I were to put another link in to something outside hub pages it would have to be something I felt was real important to the readers of the hub.

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   1. 90

      Will Apseposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      This is the internet.
      
      The internet is about interconnected pages and sites that allow a person to pursue an interest in a subject.
      
      If your site has no links it is pretty poor. Just a dead end. Google hates that. Readers hate that.
      
      Pointing readers in useful directions is one of the best things you can do- unless you believe you have covered a subject exhaustively, have no need to acknowledge any sources and there are no related sites of interest.
      
      Don't listen to the BS that you read in 'writing for adsense' blogs. You will have more success producing quality pages that serve your reader.
      
      If you only offer links within Hubpages, you will not be doing anyone a service.

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5. 80

   Garrett Mickleyposted 13 years ago

   Most people know that Ctrl+Click makes a new tab, right?

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   1. 83

      WriteAngledposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      No. Why do you assume that?
      
      I know a number of people who have extremely limited knowledge of how to use computers. Some of them are absolutely terrified of the subject. 
      
      Even when you do know, it is so easy to forget and just make a couple of clicks without thinking, and bang! you're away from the site. It happens to me all the time, and then if I want to get back to the original site, I have to remember how I searched for it and repeat the search in order to find it again.
      
      To have one new window open is no problem whatsover. It's easy enough to close it again. It is when a whole cascade starts to open that problems start.

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      1. 80

         Garrett Mickleyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Well either way, I have solved your problem here: http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/76814#post1663126

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      klarawieckposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      or right click "open in new tab"

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   3. 95

      CWanamakerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Or you can click the mouse wheel on a link.

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6. 80

   Garrett Mickleyposted 13 years ago

   You can achieve this by going in to the HTML and adding target="_blank" into the HTML for the URL.
   
   Example:
   
   <a href="URL" target="_blank">ANCHOR TEXT</a>
   
   
   One suggestion I make to everyone is that if you plan to make money online, a level of HTML knowledge is a must.  A great place to learn HTML is Webmonkey.com which is where I learned it years ago.  Still to this day, it is the best site for learning HTML.
   
   Edit: Sorry for taking so long to get this info to you.  I had to test it first and I didn't have a chance to sit down and try until now.

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7. 67

   relacheposted 13 years ago

   Google interprets forcing a new window to open as being the same as a pop-up ad, and they disapprove of pop-ups and downgrade pages that have them.  Why would you want to do something that makes Google downgrade your Hub?

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   1. 76

      sunforgedposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      How about a source?
      
      She is incorrect, but it would be nice to see what inspires such unqualified statements.
      
      One is a  html target attribute and the other is a javascript function .. google would not confuse them, nor would any web developer.
      
      The choice for a new window has often been considered about user experience whether that choice about how you choose to "make" your user act has a SEO effect is arguable but any confusion between a pop up and a "open in new window" is not
      
      Perhaps a TOS link would help

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8. 95

   Glenn Stokposted 13 years ago

   Google is constantly changing the rules lately and HP is doing their best to keep up with them. HP's focus is with helping us all be successful. One of the rules is that Google will lower your ranking if you force people to open a link in a new window. Just as relache has mentioned... this is interpreted as a pop-up ad, which Google is trying to avoid.
   
   I am busy removing target="_blank" from all links in my business site too. I'd rather be ranked higher and not worry about losing people who choose to follow a link I gave them anyway.

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   1. 80

      Garrett Mickleyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I've never heard that rule before. Where did you hear that google looks down on those links?

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   2. 71

      Bill Manningposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      That is 100% not true. I have dozens of websites and every single link opens in a new window. They rank on the first page of G for almost all my keywords.
      
      SE's don't give a damn if a link opens a new window.

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      1. 95

         Glenn Stokposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Garrett, I read a post that implied the problem. But you and Bill are both on top of things. Thanks for bringing that to my attention. When I went back to my saved bookmarks and found the old article, it was not written by Google. Here it is, in any case...
         
         http://www.vanseodesign.com/web-design/ … -visitors/

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         1. 81

            Bill Yovinoposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Funny that in that article, the author says that a survey showed that most users preferred a new window, but then goes on to say why it's a bad idea.
            
            When I asked the original question I was thinking in terms of opening a new window to define a term that some readers might not know, not to link to another Hub or other article.  Modifying the html for this will solve that problem. I didn't realize we could play with the html on Hubpages.
            
            Don't assume that readers know how to manually open a link in a new window. I work with professionals who use computers all day long and I would bet that none of them would know how to do that.

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9. 76

   wheelinalloverposted 13 years ago

   One of the sites I use quite a lot opens just about everything in a new window. This site is business related so it works well. Google still loves them in spite of this.
   
   It is also convenient for the people who click through, I find most people who are in business on the internet know both how to get to a new window and use the back button. The thing I like about having two windows on this site is I can just move over one window to gather more information, then pop back when I have it. I personally agree with not holding someone hostage.
   
   In the past when I was doing research there were quite often 20 windows open at the same time. I didn't like having to close them all when I was finished. I was also smart enough to know just hitting the arrow would have taken me back to the first page if I wanted to go there. In most cases I did not.
   
   For the most part my hubs only relate to other hubs and I do link to them. As far as sending them off my site, if they didn't come to read my work, why are they there.
   
   Most of the other sites which relate to the ones where someone could be sent, they are forced to pay for information, I offer free. If they choose to find those places on their own it doesn't bother me but I won't purposely send them there.

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10. 60

    Fiction Tellerposted 13 years ago

    If I recall correctly, the so-called "rule" originated way back when opening a new window effectively deactivated the back button for the user, making navigation more cumbersome.
    
    However, that stopped being the case a few years ago when all the browsers began to automatically refresh pages upon the user's clicking "back."  That eliminated the back button far more thoroughly, as data was always refreshed and not reliably the same data the user originally saw.
    
    For that reason, as a user I was always thrilled when clicking on a link automatically opened a new tab (not window, though).  It left my page of origin untouched and easily accessible.  But since I couldn't count on websites to program links that way, I learned how to open links in a new tab as a visitor.  Many users still don't know how, though. 
    
    There's a learning curve either way.  The first few of times it happens - a link opening automatically in a new tab, that is - a user can be disconcerted and not even realize the link was properly opened.
    
    I actually think outlawing links opening automatically in new tabs or windows is an outdated and misguided practice at this point.

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11. 78

    daybreakposted 13 years ago

    I have also researched this topic several times and found no evidence that search engines prefer a given linking scheme.
    
    Whenever an issue like this is encountered, a visit to Google Webmaster Tools or Matt Cutt's blog is usually a good starting point.
    
    There are some excellent SEO sites out there but there is also a huge amount of misinformation concerning search engines.
    
    It is becoming more and more difficult to find a reliable source of information.

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