A blogroll is the list of links to other blogs (or websites) on the side column of a blog.

You should maintain a blogroll with links to your favorite blogs. Don't worry if those blogs are not linking back.

Once you have this blogroll displaying on your blog, regularly click on the links. That is, instead of visiting these blogs from the "Favorites" or "Bookmarks" of your browser, visit your blog and click on their links in the blogroll.

When you do this, a visit is recorded on the statistics (server logs) of those blogs. Those bloggers will see that someone clicked through from your blog to theirs. They won't know that it was you that clicked through, they'll only know that people in general are being referred from your blog to theirs.

(Well, technically a blogger CAN see the IP address of each referral, but few people ever take server log analysis to that extreme).

The net effect of all this is that these other bloggers will get a sense that they're receiving a valuable benefit from you, and thereby will put you on their good side. Maybe they will put you on their blogroll. Maybe they'll mention you in their articles. Maybe they will add you as a friend to their Linked In profile, or who knows what.

With so many bloggers out there, there are enough of them to get a good percentage willing to reciprocate a favor. And it all started with you clicking on your own blogroll links.

Labels: Blogrolls, Real Estate Blogging