IFB POLL: Are Blogrolls Relevant?
By: Jennine Jacob

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Back in the day, blogrolls were an essential part of a blog’s anatomy. Every blogger would craft their list of favorite blogs, blog friends and display them on their home page. IFB used to do it, if you look at our old site… but with 46,000 members, it’s impossible to have any meaningful blogroll without excluding anyone. Over time, the art of the blogroll has diminished, they take time to maintain, they’ve been moved off homepages, and often have disappeared. I have to admit as a blog reader, I miss them, getting lost in a world following one blog to discover another, then another. It was down the rabbit hole in the blogosphere.

Back in 2008, ProBlogger talked about why he didn’t have a blog roll, for political and design reasons. At the time, blogrolls were still going strong in the fashion space. However these days, it seems they are dying out… are they dying for the same political and design reasons?

Do you have a blogroll?

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Comments

  1. mrs. williams says:
    November 19, 2012 at 12:12 pm · Reply

    It’s funny this came up b/c I JUST deleted my blogroll last week. Mostly for design reasons for me, plus I link to my favorite bloggers all the time.

  2. Avatar of Elissa
    Elissa says:
    November 19, 2012 at 12:16 pm · Reply

    I know blogrolls are important to build SEO credibility and create backlinks and I think this seems to be the best way. Any others disagree and can share some best practices for creating backlinks and SEO visibility without a blogroll?

  3. Avatar of Rhythm and Ruffle
    Rhythm and Ruffle says:
    November 19, 2012 at 1:03 pm · Reply

    Interesting. I do see more bloggers creating a seperate page for their blog lists; I think for design reasons and in general this is the best option. I LOVE to discover new blogs like this.

    http://rhythmandruffle.com <3

  4. Rachel says:
    November 19, 2012 at 2:54 pm · Reply

    I have one, but it is not on my front page, only on a page you can access by being on my ‘About Me’ page!

  5. Avatar of Nasreen
    Nasreen says:
    November 19, 2012 at 3:49 pm · Reply

    No i dont have one! theres just something about it that doesnt appeal to me :P

    http://lazyobsession.blogspot.com

  6. Maira says:
    November 19, 2012 at 9:44 pm · Reply

    I do have one but in a static page, ordered by category, I think is the best way to have it without damage the design.

  7. Sean says:
    November 20, 2012 at 12:32 am · Reply

    truth to the rabbit hole comparison – they’re vital!

  8. Jenny says:
    November 20, 2012 at 11:28 am · Reply

    It’s funny, I love looking at other people’s blog rolls, but I don’t have one myself. I have discovered so many fabulous blogs through blog rolls, and I’m just so honoured when someone includes me in there’s. The reason I don’t have one is because I am way too scared of missing or forgetting someone and I really don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. I follow way too many fabulous blogs and supportive bloggers that my list would be hundreds long! :)

    xo Jenny

  9. Cara says:
    November 20, 2012 at 11:50 am · Reply

    I do have a blog roll, but mine is not just a mere list. I do take the time to review and write about what I like about it to give my readers an insight on why I enjoy reading these blogs.
    To see what I mean, have a look see: http://pixelboo.wordpress.com/category/blog-roll/

  10. Avatar of Rena A Thompson
    Rena A Thompson says:
    November 20, 2012 at 1:54 pm · Reply

    Instead of having a blogroll on my homepage, I have an actual page named “Blog Love” dedicated to a list of my favorite blogs and fellow bloggers. I am going to try to keep it to a max # of blogs though. I think it would defeat the purpose of having a “favorites” list if it was too long. Also, when I add a blog, I’ll mention the date it was added just so it’s not a static page.

    Rena @ the Style Gospel
    http://theStyleGospel.com

  11. Avatar of Ashley "Ashe" Robison
    Ash, Ashe or Ashley says:
    November 20, 2012 at 2:03 pm · Reply

    I think I technically have an out of date one on my About page… but they’re so time consuming, so political…. I feel the need to keep one up, because I get steady traffic from a few bloggers who do still have one and I’d love to return the love, but…. yeah.

  12. Andrea says:
    November 20, 2012 at 2:15 pm · Reply

    I have to admit I haven’t updated my blogroll in ages (bad blogger, I know), but I really wouldn’t want to delete it as I’ve found some amazing blogs through other peoples blogrolls. Maybe someone hits the jackpot while looking through mine.
    xo Andrea
    Wonderful and Marvelous

  13. NeutraKris says:
    November 21, 2012 at 3:38 pm · Reply

    I have one, and I love when other blogs have one. It’s a great way to discover new blogs, especially within the beauty and fashion niche where it’s easy to get lost.

  14. Long Live Clasy says:
    November 21, 2012 at 3:41 pm · Reply

    I still think they’re alive and well! A lot of my traffic is generated through other blogger’s blogrolls, and I am so thankful for that! I haven’t taken the time to create mine yet, but I’m planning to :)

  15. Avatar of Hey Mishka
    Hey Mishka says:
    November 21, 2012 at 3:52 pm · Reply

    When I really love a blog, I always check to see if they have a blog roll — I like looking through the curated lists of blogs that blogger admires (to hopefully find similar awesome content).

    I do have to admit I haven’t updated mine in a while, but I this is a good reminder. ;}

  16. Rebekah says:
    November 21, 2012 at 4:15 pm · Reply

    It’s really funny that this was posted, just last night I added a new blog roll type segment. I feature one of my favorite bloggers each month with a post describing why I like them, then they live in the ‘blog roll’ tab at the top of my blog forevermore. I enjoy seeing what bloggers inspire those who inspire me!

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