If you’re looking to learn more about Notion backlinks…
You’re in the right place.
In this article, I’ll cover everything you need to know about Notion backlinks, including:
- What Notion backlinks are;
- How I’m using them in my Commonplace Book; and
- My three favorite use cases.
Let’s get started.
Table of Contents
- What Are Notion Backlinks?
- How I Use Notion Backlinks
- 1. People
- 2. Themes
- 3. Favorites
- Conclusion
What Are Notion Backlinks?
Backlinks are links from one Notion page to another.
To give an example, say I’m reviewing my book summary for, 100 Great Copywriting Ideas by Andy Maslen, or more specifically, its bibliography.
Because I’ve written summaries for some of the books mentioned, I can link to them directly in my Commonplace Book.
That way, if I clicked, say, The Adweek Copywriting Handbook by Joseph Sugarman, Notion would take me directly to the page.
Previously, Notion’s links were mono-directional. I could see that I was linking to Sugarman’s book from Maslen’s book—but not vice versa. I could only make connections going forward; not backwards.
Now, with Notion’s recent backlinks update, I can see links to both pages. This is also known as bidirectional linking. Here’s how it looks when I click through in the above example:
The best part is Notion has even made linking possible within a page’s content.
Say I’m reading my summary for A Guide to The Good Life by William B. Irvine and I notice the author mentions Epictetus:
If it’s a person I think I’m likely to link to a lot, I can create a page and a link to that person. (More on that below.)
That way, when a go to the person’s page and click the link, I can return to the precise location rather than having to browse the entire page.
Linking like this is a progressive summarization practice and will require time. But I’m enjoying adding better navigation to my notes—especially when I’m writing on a particular theme.
Further, linking makes categorizing information much easier, especially over time, and as I’ll explain in a moment, helps connect ideas across people, themes, and more.
How I Use Notion Backlinks (3 Use Cases)
I’ve found three ways to use backlinks in my Commonplace Book.
Let’s look at each in turn.
1. People
The first of three parent pages I have in my Commonplace Book is called People.
Within that page, I’ve created a page for every person I mention throughout my Commonplace Book, such as the author of a book I summarized, the writer of an article for I saved in my Resonance Calendar, a quote’s source, and more.
If I click on a person, say, Dan Kennedy, I can see the theme(s) he’s associated with like digital marketing and copywriting. (More on that in a moment.)
Further, as mentioned before, I can also see every page I’ve linked to my Dan Kennedy page and vice verse. My Dan Kennedy page, for instance, is a collection of book summaries, notes from training programs, and quotes.
Having a list of all the pages linked to a person’s page has been a gamechanger when writing. For instance, let’s say I’m writing a post called, “11 Things I Learned from Ryan Holiday.”
I’m a big fan of Holiday and over time, I’ve consumed his work through various channels. I’ve summarized his books, highlighted articles he’s been quoted in, saved tweets he’s written, and more.
Previously, I would have had to search in Notion for everything with Ryan’s name attached, but now, I can go into my Ryan Holiday page.
Then, under Theme(s), I can see all the pages that are linking to that page.
No more wasting time. No more endless searching trying to recall how I named an article; just a straightforward process that makes life easier all around.
2. Themes
The second parent page I have in my Commonplace Book is called Themes. Within that page, I’ve created a page for each interest I have—business, copywriting, psychology, smart thinking, etc.
To riff on the above example, say I’m writing a newsletter on a broad topic like copywriting. To get inspiration, I can go to Themes and click Copywriting.
From there, I can then browse every page that links to my Copywriting page, such as book summaries, articles, tweets, and more.
Further, because my People pages are also linked, I can jump into those as well if there’s a particular author I want to explore.
3. Favorites
The third parent page I have in my Commonplace Book is called Favorites. This page is actually a linked database that pulls all pages from my Resonance Calendar that I’ve checked as Favorite.
I’m picky with what I add to minimize having too much, but an example might be an article I’ve saved which I find myself returning and referring to often. For example, “15 Common Cognitive Distortions,” is an article I rely on a lot due to its utility when making important decisions.
One problem I have right now is I’m only pulling favorites from one place—my Resonance Calendar. Because my Commonplace Book is made up of two databases—one for my book summaries and one for my Resonance Calendar—I can’t pull favorite book summaries into one place.
Further, I’m unable to combine them because both have their own properties. However, I’m hoping that I can figure out a better way to have all my favorites on one page. (If you have a suggestion, leave a comment; I would love to hear your inputs).
Conclusion
Bidirectional links was a long-time coming for Notion.
And while it has a way to go if its to match the heights of its rival, Roam, it’s on track to help knowledge workers get more out of their Notion account.
If you’re a fellow-Notioner, I would love to hear what you think of Notion backlinks. Are you using it? What can be improved?
Leave a comment below.
