Links are important to the quality of your content. That at least is the perception of the Google Search Engine. But piling in links wantonly works against you. Put in too many links and your article loses in relevance rather than gaining from it. Put in too few links, and the same applies. As with everything you do in writing, the matter is one of balance. As to the placement of the links, that is a matter of contention between experts.
When choosing links for your articles, use only the most relevant ones and discard all others. Links that touch on your subject at the outer edges are not relevant and will annoy readers using them. A well-chosen link brings readers to a place where they can pursue their interest. If in doubt about the relevance of a link to your readers, imagine what you as a reader would like to see there.
As to the placement of links in an article, I have found conflicting advice from relevant SEO companies all over the net. Some say it is best to spread your links over the article, some consider the end of the article as the best place. Many companies ask for their links to be placed in the middle of a post. Maybe it should be all, and maybe it does not matter in the long run. Google changes its mind every month about how its algorithm is supposed to work anyhow. Use common sense; that should irritate the guys at Google no end as they have no clue what it is.
As a matter of choice, I am careful with any links inside the text of my article body. I find reading texts with to many inside links tiresome and decided to do it sparingly. If I get fewer views because of that is a matter of theory, as the opposite can’t be proven. I could give a logical explanation, too, if that seems more relevant to you.
Readers are looking for information in your article, not links. If after reading they should want links, their placement at the end of the article makes it easier for them to find them in an organized way. You should also consider the site you are publishing on. If the publishers use keyword adverts in the text, you are occupying possible links that might earn money for your article. The decision must be yours as to what is more important to you.
Limit the number of links you display at the end of your article. I limit myself to a maximum of three links. I saw you looking down and counting. You can make exceptions; if readers find an article interesting, they might want to read another one in the same series; that doesn't have to be the last one you published, but might be a quite early one. In this case, I have on occasion displayed all prior articles of a series. If readers are looking for a specific theme, they may jump to that article without having to backtrack through all the previous ones. If you are reviewing books and are dealing with a series of five, that would work, to.
What you shouldn't do is linking back to your own completely unrelated articles just to get a few views on older stuff you have written. That looks desperate. Desperation is not part of any brand. If older articles of yours are relevant to the article you are writing, then they do belong in that list. Over all, always use common sense when placing links and you should do fine. As a rule of thumb, insert no more than one link per 100 words.
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