Why Shouldn’t You Include Web Addresses in Your Articles?

Sam Says: June 3rd, 2009 at 11:11 pm

This is a great tip and I can certainly understand its purpose. I do have one question however. Is it possible to have an article rejected on the basis that it has too many references to various websites? Is there a limit on the number of website references I may include or is it just better practice to avoid making such references?

Thanks

Sam

Z.N. Singer Says: July 8th, 2009 at 2:45 pm

Owww...I spent all that time researching helpful links for that last article - but thank you for telling me. Now I know. Regrettably, this makes too much sense not to act on. I guess I'll have to resubmit it.

Ashley Says: July 12th, 2009 at 12:26 pm

I understand why you shouldn't include a link to offsite. However, my article was ABOUT a website. I'm not sure I understand why we can't include a link if it's the own client's site. They asked for a review of the site, and my review included a link to the site, not a link away from their site.

Either way, I removed the link. But this blog post was given as a reason why I shouldn't have put it in there and I don't feel it was completely relevant to my specific article.

Patrick M. Kennedy Says: July 26th, 2009 at 6:14 pm

I mistakenly left research material at the end of my article. I won't do that again.
PatK

LShores Says: July 28th, 2009 at 11:37 am

I find this restriction unhelpful and unrealistic. People expect to find useful information, (including relevant links) in articles they find on the internet. I bookmark blogs and authors who do regularly include links because I know I can count on them, not only to provide a decent discussion, but to act on it, by providing me with the resources to continue doing research.

Jeff Says: August 7th, 2009 at 11:50 am

@Ashley
In the case where an article is about a particular website. It makes the most sense to just remove the http://www and refer to the website as website.com.

@LShores
I can understand where you're coming from regarding links adding value to the articles. Unfortunately, because we offer usage and unique rights where the purchaser can't change the links that are actually embedded in the article, having links scattered through the article may end up being a detriment to making a sale.

In addition, if we allow links we open up the site to a lot of people who are writing promotional content and putting links to their own sites into the articles. We really try to avoid this kind of promotional content. As the post says most purchasers are interested in promoting their site as opposed to the site that the writer is inclined to promote.

Sensei J. Richard Kirkham B.Sc. Says: September 13th, 2009 at 9:40 pm

May I also presume no links includes the about the author section as well?

Rick

Sophia Croft Says: September 21st, 2009 at 5:11 pm

What about when you're citing the sources? No websites even in the Bibliography?

Odysseas Says: September 26th, 2009 at 7:02 pm

Well, I have a question regarding the use of URLs: I 100% understand the problem that "when you click a URL you go to a different site", but what if your article is a tutorial or is based on something that can be found on the web? To clarify, let me mention that I worked (and I still work as a freelancer) for a Greek publication regarding computers, software and technology. Whenever I write a tutorial for them I add URLs where the readers can find the stuff they need to accomplish what I write. Example:

We'll see how you can do video editing with VirtualDub, a free linear video editor (URL of VirtualDub).

Or, in a recent article I submited to CC, I'm writing about what's a CMS and what are the technologies used. Shouldn't I add URLs for each technology and piece of software needed (WordPress, Joomla, Mambo)..? I thought it was ok to add URLs like that, but when I saw your policy I rushed to revise my article.

Best regards
Odysseas

Becky Says: October 1st, 2009 at 1:46 pm

In regards to what LShores said, I can only agree. While the website may have someone go "off site", links can add value to the reader and improve the legitimacy of the site. Couple that with content requests which include links to reference. This rule makes sense, but should include some exceptions, including forms, studies or other official documents that cannot be completely covered in the request's scope.

Todd Says: October 27th, 2009 at 1:14 pm

What happens when my article is rejected for putting web links in and I know for a fact that there were no web links in the article?

Veronica Davis Says: January 5th, 2010 at 2:54 pm

I understand why this restriction in place. However, in some cases a link included helps the site gain credibility and helps the reader. For example, I did an article about writing SEO content and included a link to Google's free keyword tool. That was for their benefit. Needless to say, I had to remove it.