A hyperlink with a cape: how one startup wants to give links superpowers

Who doesn’t love a good hyperlink? Think about it, you’re reading an article or a website, and you see that magic blue underline and you know that it will whisk you away to some other fun corner of the internet – like this. This experience has been the basic backbone of the web since its inception. It works because it’s so dead simple.

The link has become an important tool for publishers, content creators and online curators looking to tell a compelling stories that engage their audience. It has also become a staple of the marketer’s tool chest, helping them gain traction for their brands. Unfortunately, this critical tool is 25-years-old and has yet to receive an update. While the simplicity of the link is great for basic functions, it is very limiting.

However, one company thinks it can fundamentally change the way people link. Croosing, a Tel Aviv-based startup, recently launched Superlinks, a new technology that allows marketers and others to take their audiences on a personalized journey across the web.

So what do Superlinks do exactly?  

This new way of linking has managed to keep all of the features of traditional hyperlinks, while also enabling storytellers, marketers and others to guide their audience across limitless layers of content, add annotations, and even include a soundtrack selected to enhance the experience.

When’s the last time you went to your favorite band’s website, saw their new album you’d heard so much about yet needed a bit more convincing to finalize the purchase? First, you click on a link that leads you to the band’s discography. You learn something you hadn’t previously known about the band as a result, providing you with nearly all the information needed seal the deal– but that’s not it. Superlink technology continues the journey for you–taking you next to YouTube to listen to a popular track from the album and continues the song you just heard as you’re led away from YouTube directly to the band’s page. This is where I was most surprised, I must admit. Superlink’s technology then automatically scrolls the page which features reviews of the new album. This is a Superlink. Each new layer of content provides users with additional information needed to make a more well-informed purchase.

I looked at the process of creating a Superlink and it seems fairly simple and straightforward. It’s also free for most– but for anyone wishing to increase their conversion rates, there’s a small fee. To create a Superlink, users can head over to “record mode” and navigate the page naturally, just like they want others to experience it. Creators can take a number of actions such as: navigating the page, which captures each action taken like scrolling or clicking. After they finish building the Superlink, creators can then add or remove links from the sequence, adjust the timing of auto-navigation and beef up the end user experience by adding multiple layers of content.

Later this year, Superlink users can subscribe to Croosing’s Premium Tools Package, which will allow them links to multiple websites at the same price of one click. Currently, superlinks are available on PC/Mac, Windows, OSX, Chrome, Safari and most of the Chrome-based browsers, with mobile support soon to follow. You can check out Croosing’s new Superlinks here.

“The superlink is a great tool for those looking for a new way to tell stories, convey important information, personalize it and lead the traffic their way using technology that’s designed to push internet browsing forward,” said Uri Ravin, Co-Founder and CEO of Croosing. “We’re exploring collaboration options with browsing platform owners and plan to keep innovating the way internet users experience the web – believing the superlink will become the new standard link.

The idea of changing such a fundamental part of the web is a pretty daunting task. Getting people to change their habits represents quite a challenge and Crossing will need to educate people about the new functionality of Superlinks. If they can do that, Superlinks could really shake up the web and give people a whole new way to link.