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Widget link love.

The presentation on widgets at SES Travel by Rebecca Kelly of SEOmoz was one of my favorites. Because I went to the conference knowing the least about this subject, I learned the most. Thanks, Rebecca!

What is a Widget?

• Widget is short for “windows gadget”. (There are also Mac widgets, so don’t let the name fool you.)
• A widget is a brandable display enhancement or interaction that offers users the opportunity to embed applications into their pages.
• In other words, you create a little interactive web page add-on, put it on your website and share the code with others who can then put it on their sites. You can also submit your widgets to places like Yahoo! Widgets where people go to look for and download them.

Why Widget?

• They are like free ads that other people gladly put on their websites for you.
• They are very trendy and everyone wants to bling up their blogs, websites and Web 2.0 pages with them.
• You can control the links and link text and get a link from every page that it is placed on.
• Good ones are virally distributed, resulting in more buzz and more links for you.

Characteristics of a Great Widget

• FREE!
• Interactive.
• Attract user generated content.
• Humorous, entertaining, and useful.
• Appeal to the ego and vanity of the user.
• Have a great look and style, which is often as important as the content.
• Focuses on subjects interesting to the blogosphere - pop culture, politics, technology, etc.

SEO for Widgets

• Use keyword rich - but not spammy - alt tags on images.
• Point links to any page you want as long as it has a very prominent link to the widget download page.
• Make the links say anything you want - which, of course, will be something to enhance your link reputation.

Learn More About Widgets

• Yahoo Travel Widgets
• More travel widgets
• Even more travel widgets
• Travel widget contest
• Widget Blog

When you see these widgets, you’ll want some of them for your own website or blog. Go for it! They’ll make your pages more interactive, visually appealing, useful, and fun for your visitors. With widgets, everybody wins - the creator, the publisher, and the user.

However, remember the SEO benefit of windows gadgets comes from creating your own widgets that others put on their websites which link to your pages.

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Categories: SEM.
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