Don’t be scared and thanks for the example. And you’ve made my points exactly. Honestly, it is better to put links you really recommend into your blog posts. If you want to set up a referral set of links, then do so in a post or a Page so people will understand completely that these are your recommendations – not just some links in your blogroll. Give them the attention they deserve.

Your sidebar was an example of good and bad elements, a great combination. You understood the value of the blogroll, now why not notch it up a few steps, as you said, so people really understand why you are proud to have these links in your sidebar or anywhere.

Thanks! And don’t be scared. We only bite once.

I completely agree that every link should count, definitely. And thinking about each link as a personal recommendation tied to the legitimacy of that personal blog as you mentioned, is perfect and something everyone should think about.

In the image above, only 4 links are actually blogs and they’re listed under the Blogroll section title (2 are blog directories which I actually should remove, thanks).

I guess it’s not a common usage of the blogroll space but my Nothing But Shoes category contains a list of online shoe stores that I personally love – and unlike dentists, I do want millions of different shoes and there are millions of beautiful, quality shoes to choose from. I think most people, (okay, most women) shop at many different stores in their lifetime and if they’re reading a shoe blog, they’re probably looking for information on new shoes they haven’t seen yet and, being as blogs are online, maybe an online store to buy them at too. I like being able to be the person that told someone about the great shoe store they didn’t know about.

If you still think I’ve been too lengthy in my blogroll/helpful-shoe-shopping-resource-guide, I’ll mention one more thing in my defense. There are a ton of online stores that sell shoes along with other items like clothing, etc. And while I do shop at and reference in my blog posts many of those websites as well, my blogroll only contains websites that carry nothing but shoes.

I’m considering adding the Blog Herald to my blogroll, but now I’m scared! :)

nyshoespy

While that is the intention of the blogroll, the abuse of the blogroll makes it an often ignored area of your blog’s structure. Give it value by emphasizing those sites in your blog posts and keeping the number in the list small. There are many ways to encourage people to visit other blogs, but an overblown blogroll list doesn’t help.

Don’t forget that some bloggers use the blogroll as a supplement to their reader – I use it to visit blogs I like to read, and hope my readers do the same.