A blogroll is a list of external or internal links—usually displayed in a website’s sidebar or footer—that showcases recommended blogs, partner sites, or related resources. Originally popularized in early blogging platforms like WordPress and Blogger, blogrolls served as a way for bloggers to curate content they trust, follow, or find valuable.
Purpose of a Blogroll:
- To build community by promoting like-minded or partner blogs
- To share useful resources with readers
- To improve SEO through outbound linking (if done ethically and contextually)
- To signal relevance and authority by association
Why It Matters in SEO and Digital Marketing Today:
While blogrolls are less common today than they were in the early 2000s, they still hold strategic value when used wisely:
- Outbound Linking – Linking to high-authority, relevant sources can signal credibility to search engines.
- Referral Traffic – A well-placed link on someone else’s blogroll can bring in a stream of targeted traffic.
- Partnership Building – Blogroll exchanges can foster collaborations, guest blogging, or co-branded campaigns.
- Internal Blogrolls – Some businesses now use “modern blogrolls” to link to their own top-performing posts, creating powerful internal linking structures.
Examples in Practice:
- A law firm’s blogroll links to authoritative legal news sites, niche publications, and partner attorney blogs—building topical trust.
- A home improvement blog includes a blogroll of local contractors and designers, helping with local SEO relevance and community trust.
- At Elite SEO Consulting, we’ve helped clients curate internal blogrolls in footers or sidebar widgets to highlight cornerstone content—boosting crawlability and time-on-site metrics.
Caution:
Overloading a blogroll with irrelevant or spammy links (a black hat tactic from
the past) can hurt SEO and user trust. Modern blogrolls should be:
- Curated carefully
- Limited in number
- Contextually relevant to your audience
Pro Tip from Elite SEO Consulting:
A blogroll today is less about link trading—and more about strategic curation. We help clients create blogrolls that support content strategy, reinforce authority, and provide real value to users.