The Dos and Don’ts of External Links You Should Know
Priscilla Sedinam Djentuh
Digital Communication Strategist| Freelance SEO Content Writer| Digital Marketer| Environmental Advocate
An external link is the opposite of an internal link. Technically known as outbound links, external links are hyperlinks that lead to another website or domain. External links help search engines and users understand the context of specific topics and niches.?
If you hyperlink to other sites, you build their authority and credibility, and vice versa. To understand how many websites link to your site, you can run Backlink Analytics on Semrush.
Let’s look at the dos and don’ts of external or outbound links you should know to help in search engine optimisation.
The Dos of External Links
Use Relevant and High-Quality Sources
When you hyperlink externally, use relevant sources that add value to the reader. By linking to other websites, you build credibility for your site and the website you're linking to. It also helps your website appear in search results.
Hence, pay attention to the domain authority. While Wikipedia may have a higher domain authority, it’s not advisable to hyperlink information from the site since anyone can edit the information you link to at any time.?
To find reliable sources,?
Optimise Anchor Text
Anchor texts are clickable hyperlinks that are visible, highlighted, and often underlined, indicating they link to another page or website. It usually appears in colour depending on your backend colour settings.?
The most common colour palettes of hyperlinks are blue and green to indicate links you're yet to click and those you’ve visited.
For example, you can also read about internal links in this article. You can see the internal link in the example is hyperlinked. I could’ve hyperlinked a different text, but linking the exact text for context is what an anchor text is all about. It helps your article or website rank in search engines and builds authority. It also gives an idea of what the link is about.
There are best practices for using anchor texts in external links, including:
Diversify Your External Link Profile
It’s strategic and valuable to link diverse websites and sources in your article. Some of these websites may link to yours if you continue to provide helpful content.
This process improves traffic flow from various audiences and locations, eventually leading to visibility, growth, and user engagement.?
Some strategies for diversifying external links include the following:
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The Don'ts of External Links
Avoid Linking to Low-Quality or Spammy Websites
One of the negative consequences of linking to low-quality or spammy websites is that search engines may penalise your website. This punishment will reduce organic traffic to your website. You can use Google Analytics, Search Console, and Semrush to identify low-quality websites.?
Don't Overuse External Links
Overlinking your website with external links makes it look spammy and harms your SEO. Thus, avoid using too many. Aim for 3-5 links per content.?
Avoid Using Broken or Dead Links
Using broken links affects the credibility and authority of your website. As a result, you may see a negative impact on your SEO performance. Consequently, your website's ranking may be reduced if search engines view it as unreliable or irrelevant due to broken links.
Best Practices for External Linking
Use Nofollow and Dofollow Attribute When Appropriate
Dofollow links: These are web addresses telling search engines to follow the website you link to. Dofollow links pass on "equity,"? or “authority” to the target page, which can help improve its ranking on search results pages (SERPs).
Nofollow links: Links with nofollow are characters that tell search engines not to follow the website. Despite not passing along equity, nofollow hyperlinks are still capable of driving traffic to the target page.
For example, if you’re linking relevant content on a competitor's website, you may activate ‘nofollow links’ so search engines will not pass your authority to them.?
You can always activate these best practices at the backend.?
Monitor and Update External Links Regularly
Some external links you use today may be damaged as time goes on due to technical issues. To avoid this situation from affecting your SEO, monitor and update external links using relevant tools.
Some of these tools include:
In Wrapping Up…
For effective online communication and website management, mastering the dos and don'ts of external links is crucial. Develop and use best practices, including checking the relevance, credibility, and accessibility of the links you include.?
This not only improves the user experience but also contributes to the integrity and authority of your content.