What Is An External Link? Best Practices & How To Use It

Think of external links as bridges, connecting your content to valuable resources while boosting trust and relevance in the eyes of both your readers and search engines.

Used wisely, they can enhance your SEO and content quality; used poorly, they may not really work in your favor.

In this article, we’ll uncover the dos and don’ts of external linking to help you maximize SEO without losing your audience. Let’s get linking!

What Is An External Link?

An external link is a hyperlink on a webpage that points to a website on a different domain. It’s typically placed over text but also on images or buttons. External links are used to provide additional information to visitors, support content with references, and direct users to complementary services, among other purposes.

Why Are External Links Important For SEO?

External links are good for SEO for several reasons:

Improve User Experience

External links improve user experience. They provide additional information and resources, directing visitors to valuable content where they can find out more.

Enhance Trustworthiness

Links to external sources, such as facts and statistics, support claims and allow readers and Google to perceive a page’s information as trustworthy.

Increase Relevance

Links to external websites also help search engines understand the topic and niche of a website faster. Connecting your content with other relevant websites enables Google bots to establish context and relevance, which is vital for accurate indexing and improved ranking.

Every page you publish should have at least one relevant link to another page on your website. If you don’t think a page can have a link to another page on your site - if it doesn’t connect somehow to the bigger picture of your website - then the page may not be essential.
- Jorge Sheffy, Custom Website Designer

Internal vs External Links

Internal links and external links (also known as outbound links) serve distinct purposes within a website’s structure and SEO.

Internal links point to other pages on the same website. They help visitors navigate through a website’s content more easily and meaningfully, increasing engagement.

On the other hand, external links point to a different domain. They act as sources where readers can see more information on a topic, or they act as references. At the same time, they create quality signals for search engine bots.

Nofollow vs ‘Follow’ External Links

External hyperlinks marked as Nofollow advise Google not to pass ranking signals from the external reference to your page.

The nofollow code looks like this:

<a href=”https://example.com” rel=”nofollow”>

So, why use Nofollow?

Website owners use this attribute when they must link to untrusted or low-quality websites and want to prevent their own sites from being associated with spammy or harmful content.

Although search engines may still crawl these ‘nofollow’ links, they will not pass any link equity to your website.

Now, all external hyperlinks that are not marked by Nofollow - are "Follow" by default (so you don’t need to add any attribute). In this case, Google passes ranking signals between pages, thereby enhancing targeted keywords and content relevance.

Best Practice For Using External Links For SEO

Here’s how to use external links to boost your SEO:

1. Include Some External Links, But Don’t Overdo It

A healthy number of external links enhances user experience, credibility of information, and search engine rankings.

However, remember not to overwhelm your readers with too many external (or internal) links. You might end up losing them if they feel they’re “used” as part of your SEO strategy.

Follow a strategic and balanced approach. Every external link should serve a clear purpose: to enhance the reader's understanding or provide further exploration of a topic.

2. Link To Relevant Sources

Respect your readers by directing them to relevant content that will help them gain a more comprehensive understanding of your content.

3. Link To Trustworthy Sources

Only link to sites that are authoritative and trustworthy. Do not link to websites that promote clickbait content. Not only do you weaken your readers’ trust, but you also Google associates your website with shady SEO activities.

4. Don’t Link To Competing Websites

SEO is all about getting above the competition for your targeted searches. With that in mind, avoid linking to competitors’ sites, especially those that target the same keywords and are doing better than you.

5. Link To A Variety Of Sources & Formats

Look for external links in all kinds of sources like videos, podcasts, or infographics, as well as “real” discussions in forums and social comments. This diversity adds value for your audience and Google.

6. Optimize Anchor Text

There are various ways to optimize your anchor text:

• Choose wording that’ll help users understand where the link will take them and what they can expect to find on the target page.
• Link to your exact match keywords.
• Include long-tail keywords in your anchor texts.
• Don’t forget to use semantic variations of your coveted keywords as anchor texts.

You can either use the same format or differentiate your anchor text style on the same page.

7. Use External Links To Initiate Link Building Relationships

Think of linking to another website as an opportunity to establish potential link-building relationships.

For instance, if you’re writing a blog post about a local attraction and you link to a local guide for reference, consider asking them to link back to yours from a relevant article.

8. Audit Your External Links Regularly

Links don’t stay the same forever! Articles are removed, websites are revamped, and pages are deleted (though, ideally, when altering or removing a page, you should always redirect your URLs to maintain your SEO score).

So, using tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush, you can easily identify whether any of your external links point to 404 pages, if they’ve been redirected, or if their content is still relevant.

As industry experts say, “it’s important to check periodically your external links to make sure they’re still valid and up to date.”

Keeping your linked sources looking sharp elevates your site experience and your SEO.

Seeking comprehensive SEO services that deliver results? Contact our experts at Atropos Digital SEO Agency. Book your strategy call today!