An effective way to draw traffic to your blog is to link other blogs--even your competitor's. Blogs provide users a way to join the discussion. Whether you like it or not, your competitors are part of that discussion.

Although a blogs are often just a part of a larger website, blogs are not websites. They are blogs. Not all the same rules apply. Essentially, the blog changed web-publishing the way that the printing-press changed the bible over 500 years ago. Everyone has a voice now. This is what Mitch Joel from Twist Image meant when he said that social media is what made each and everyone one of us person of the year.

If you blog and ignore the competition, it is like being a free-speech advocate that censors your critics. As Kevin over at LexBlog notes:

It's this discourse that further enhances your reputation as an expert and grows your business. Not commenting about what other lawyers in your area of the law are blogging about is shooting yourself in the foot.

Indeed, it is impossible to exclude your competition from the discussion. By voluntarily including them, however, you appear more confident and, therefore, more credible. As the Copyblogger puts it:

The marketplace is going to sort things out on its own whether you like it or not. If you’re blogging and not linking due to fear of competition, you may be surprised to find that you’re not even in the running.

If you've chosen to blog as part of your PR/marketing strategy, it is because you have recognized the potential of the trend. If you want to harness the blog, however, you must use it the way a blog is meant to be used: for discussion. Blogs invite people to the discussion by linking them. You cannot have a discussion by yourself.