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Adding links to your website

Text Linking in your website is important for usability and is rewarded by Google. To begin adding internal links to text on your website, Login to your website using your username and password.

Internal Text Linking

Select the page or post to be edited.

Select over the text that you want to assign a link to and click on the ‘insert/edit link’ icon in the tool area.

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Open up a second tab in the menu bar with your site on it and head to the page you want to link to.

Copy the URL from the bar at the very top of the browser.

Head back to the tab where you are editing your site.

Paste the URL in the correct URL field > Click OK > Tick the module to save changes > Click SAVE to save the page.

External Linking Steps

To add an external link, the method is the same as for internal text linking except for one key factor.

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IMPORTANT

If you want the link you create to link to an external site, paste the URL as previously shown. But, before you hit OK, change the Target field from ‘None’ to ‘New window’.

This will open a new browser window for the external link. If you miss that step, your site will close, and the linked site will open instead.

In almost all cases, it’s preferred that external text links open in a new browser window. That way, your visitors can stay on your page and continue reading your content.

This preference is based on a factor called ‘bounce rate‘. Your bounce rate is determined by how long users stay engaged with your content. If they are not interested and leave, your bounce rate increases.

External links that don’t specify a new window as the target are detrimental to your bounce rate, as they force a visitor to leave. Which, in turn, is not great for your organic SEO.

Important: Setting External Links to Open in a New Window

If you want a link to open an external site, paste the URL as previously shown. However, before clicking OK, change the Target field from None to New window.

This setting ensures the external link opens in a new browser window. If you skip this step, your site will close, and the linked site will open instead.

In most cases, external text links should open in a new window. This approach allows visitors to stay on your page while still exploring the linked content.

A key reason for this practice is bounce rate. This metric measures how long users remain engaged with your content. If they leave quickly, the bounce rate increases, which can negatively impact SEO rankings.

External links that do not open in a new window can contribute to a higher bounce rate. By forcing visitors to leave your page, they reduce engagement, which may harm organic search rankings. Taking a few extra seconds to adjust the link settings helps improve user experience and supports better SEO performance.

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