What is an External Link?
An external link is a link that points from one site to another. When clicked, the link takes you away from the site you are currently on to a webpage on another site. It is also called an outbound link.
External links are beneficial to the sites that give and receive the link. For one, it increases the credibility and authority of the site providing the link. It also improves their user experience, as the link typically points to helpful resources related to the content the visitor is interested in.
As for the site receiving the link, the external link acts as a source of referral traffic. Receiving an external link (essentially a backlink) is crucial in improving a site’s authority and rankings. The more high-quality backlinks a site gets, the higher its ranking on search results pages.
Importance of External Links
External links are crucial for enhancing a blog’s credibility and authority. When you link to reputable, high-quality sources, you signal to visitors and search engines that your content is well-researched and trustworthy.
For example, citing a study from a respected institution or linking to an expert’s article adds depth and relevance to your post. This builds trust with your audience and demonstrates to search engines that your content is valuable and relevant.
From a search engine optimization (SEO) perspective, external links contribute to a better user experience as visitors are likelier to stay on pages they find informative and helpful. This increases engagement and time spent on your site and reduces your bounce rate.
Furthermore, external links can foster relationships within your niche and encourage reciprocal linking. When you link to other bloggers or industry leaders, they may notice and share your content or link back to you in the future. This creates a mutual support network that can amplify your blog’s reach and authority.
For example, if you reference a popular blogger’s guide and they later link to your post, it can drive significant traffic and improve your authority. This makes external links not just a technical SEO technique but also a strategic tool for building connections and growing your blog’s influence.
External Links Best Practices
External links are a vital component of SEO, helping to enhance your blog’s authority and user experience. However, using them effectively requires following best practices to ensure they add value without harming your site’s performance. Below, we will explore some actionable tips for including external links in your content.
1 Only Link to Authoritative and Reputable Sources
Linking to well-known websites, studies, or industry leaders shows you did your research, and your information is backed by reliable evidence. For example, linking to a government health website in a post about nutrition adds weight to your claims.
This practice builds trust with your audience and signals to search engines that your content is trustworthy. As a result, your blog is more likely to be seen as a valuable resource, improving its search engine performance.
2 Ensure Your Links Are Relevant to Your Content
External links should always be relevant to the topic you are discussing. Irrelevant links can confuse visitors and create a negative user experience, which may cause them to leave your site and lead to higher bounce rates.
For instance, if you are writing about yoga poses, linking to a page about gardening tools would be off-topic and unhelpful. Relevant links, on the other hand, provide additional value and context, keeping readers engaged and allowing search engines to understand the context of your content.
3 Always Use Descriptive Anchor Text
Your anchor texts should describe the content of the page receiving the link. Descriptive anchor texts help visitors understand what to expect when they click the link. It also provides search engines with context about the linked content.
Avoid generic anchor texts like “click here” and use descriptive ones that are relevant to your content. For example, if you are linking to content about yoga poses, an anchor text like “best yoga poses” may be relevant.
However, make sure to avoid over-optimizing your anchor text with keywords. This is considered keyword stuffing, which is spammy and may harm your rankings.
4 Always Open External Links in a New Tab
Include the destinazione="_vuoto" HTML attribute in external links that originate from your site. This ensures that the external links open in a new tab instead of the current browser.
This is crucial as your visitors can leave your site if your external links open in their current browser. This is also helpful for your visitor’s user experience as they can easily refer back to your post as required.
5 Avoid Using Too Many External Links
While external links are valuable, overloading your content with too many can overwhelm readers and dilute their impact. Too many links can make your content appear spammy, which can harm both user experience and SEO.
Instead, aim for a balanced approach, linking only when it adds significant value to your post. For instance, 3-5 external links are usually sufficient for a 1,000-word article. Just make sure to focus on quality over quantity to ensure your links enhance rather than detract visitors from your content.
6 Regularly Check for Broken External Links
Broken external links lead to 404 non trovato pages. Such pages frustrate readers and can harm your blog’s credibility and user experience. To reduce the chances of such happening, make sure to regularly audit your content to fix or remove broken external links.
7 Avoid Linking to Your Competitors
Avoid linking to competing websites. While it may sound practical to link to a competitor since you are in the same niche, such external links can drive traffic and revenue away from you.
Instead, link to complementary resources or authoritative sites that enhance your content without promoting competitors. This strategy helps retain your audience and ensures your blog remains their primary source of information.
8 Add Nofollow Tags to Untrusted Links
Il Nofollow tag is essential for maintaining transparency with search engines. Specifically, it tells search engines not to pass link equity e PageRank to pages you link to but are unsure about.
So, make sure to include the no follow tag in external links you are unsure of or do not trust completely. In the case of sponsored external links, consider using the No sponsored tag. This helps to protect your blog’s credibility and ensure you remain compliant with SEO best practices.
9 Use a Mix of Internal and External Links
A healthy mix of external and internal links creates a well-rounded content structure. Internal links guide readers to related posts on your blog, increasing engagement and time spent on your site. External links, on the other hand, provide additional context and credibility.
For example, a post about “Best Yoga Poses” could include internal links to your guides on yoga and external links to industry reports on yoga poses. Balancing both types of links enhances user experience and strengthens your blog’s SEO.
10 Prioritize Quality External Links Over Quantity
The quality of your external links matters far more than the quantity. High-quality links improve your content’s credibility and SEO performance, while low-quality links can harm your rankings.
So, a single link to a highly authoritative source can be more impactful than multiple links to low-quality sites. For instance, linking to a well-respected industry journal carries more weight than linking to a lesser-known blog.
11 Avoid Linking to Low-Quality Sites
Always vet the sites you link to, as linking to low-quality or spammy sites can harm your blog’s reputation and SEO. For example, avoid linking to sites with excessive ads, poor content, or a history of spam.
Search engines penalize content associated with such sites, which can negatively impact your rankings. Instead, make sure to only link to high-quality sources. This protects your blog’s credibility and improves your SEO and search rankings.