It’s sometimes called a linkup, a linky, or a blog party. Whatever you choose to call it, a linky party is essentially a social blogging event that brings bloggers together. And we’re so happy to announce the first ever South African linky party – the #LekkerLinky!

My co-host, Carly from Mom Of Two Little Girls, explains more about our new baby, the #LekkerLinky, in her post. I’m here to tell you why joining the party would be a pretty awesome idea.

What are the benefits?

If you’re wondering what the benefits are in joining a linky party, I’ve listed a few below. In alphabetical order, just for fun. ?

Be seen

When you join a linky party, you’re putting your blog out there to be seen by everyone who visits the host’s page. Your blog becomes visible to an audience who may not otherwise have found it (or who may have only discovered it much later).

Blogger buddies

A linky party is a great place to discover amazing blogs. A blogger needs a tribe, and finding other bloggers through a linky party is the perfect way to make these connections.

Comments + social media shares

The rules of the linky party will mean that those who click on your link, will also comment on your post, and share it on Twitter or other social media platforms.

Featured bloggers

The hosts will choose their favourite posts from each round of the linky party. The featured bloggers will have their posts announced at the next linky party, which means more exposure and more blog love.

Quote

Finally, here’s a quote from someone who has loads more knowledge on all things SEO, and all that really important stuff:

“There are several benefits to joining blog linkys. When you share your content with others in your niche, you have a higher chance of readers coming to your blog (increase in traffic) and engaging with your content (commenting, sharing, etc.). If a link to your post appears on an authoritative site (we call this a backlink), you will have a higher chance of increasing your search results. Don’t just link drop and go, however. Google warns us that ‘excessive link exchanges (“link to me and I’ll link to you”) or partner pages exclusively for the sake of cross-linking’ will be penalised in search engines. The best way to go about this is to interact with the bloggers who post their blogs – read their blogs, comment on their content, share it on social media and don’t forget to thank your host with a link back to their site. I love Shout Me Loud’s article on the benefits of blog comments on SEO. I definitely recommend you read it.”

– Imka Webb, www.imkawebb.com

How do I link up to the #LekkerLinky party?

Now that you’re convinced of the benefits, you’re probably wondering how to go about linking up to a linky party. It’s actually really simple once you’ve done it the first time. I’ll do my best to take you through the steps.

1. When the linky party opens, you will see a small blue button at the bottom of the post that says “Add your link”. When you click the button, it will take you to a form that will ask you a few details (your blog post link/URL, your post title, and your email address).

2. Once you’ve filled in the details, an image from your post will appear. However if it doesn’t, you can simply click on one of the images to select it (thumbnail images appear once you’ve filled in your post link/URL). Then, click done.

3. You will then be asked if you would like to return to the linkup, or if you’d like to add another post. Click on “return to the linkup” and you will see the thumbnail image from your post, with a link to the post, on the Linky Party page.

And that’s it, you’ve just linked up to your first linky party! ?

Grab that #LekkerLinky button

Once you’re done linking your post, don’t forget to grab the button from the host’s page, and add it to to the html (text) portion of the post you are linking up. The button lets others know that you’ve joined a linky party, and may encourage other bloggers to join in as well. This is great, as the more bloggers there are linking up, the more opportunities there are for comments, sharing, and exposure.

How do I add the button to my post?

This one scared me the first time I linked up to a linky party, but now that I know, I can tell you how it’s done so you can handle it like a pro.

1. Under the button you’ll see a box with a bunch of funny looking text (code) in it. Select all that text, then copy it.

It will look like this:

2. Go to the post you’re linking up, and choose to “edit post”. If it’s on visual editor, change this to text.

3. Scroll to the bottom of your post, after your usual sign off (on mine, that’s after “xoxo, Charlene”) and paste the code you copied from the host’s page.

4. Lastly, hit “Update”. The button (just the image, there shouldn’t be any code) will appear on your post when you view it.

That’s it from me guys. I hope I’ve sufficiently covered the benefits and the how to with regards to linky parties, and I hope you’ll join us on our first ever #LekkerLinky party on Monday (18 December 2017).

For more about the theme, guidelines, and rules, you’ll find all you need in Carly’s post.