What are Outbound Links and Why Should You Care?

Google has made it quite clear in recent years that they don’t like “link schemes” or “link networks” where websites link to one another for mutual benefit. These types of links indicate unnatural linking, and Google is constantly working to understand the implications of these types of links.

Some are even reporting that Google may begin to devalue links from certain sites as a result of their findings. If you have an eCommerce site, you can probably see why this is something you need to know about — if not now, then soon. If your website has a blog with a lot of content, it can be used as a platform for outbound links.

Think about it: people might want to find other helpful articles on your site and discover other relevant websites elsewhere. Linking to those pages makes them easier to find — perhaps even with a drop-down or search bar that makes it super convenient. You can do the same things with images (and services like Pinterest make it easy).

What Are Outbound Links?

An outbound link is any link on your page that sends readers away from your site. You can link to other websites, media (images, audio, or video), PDF documents, or even your own pages within your site. Those who link to other sites are basically saying, “Hey, this is a good resource! Check it out!” This can be great for building relationships with other companies and getting more eyes on your site. But it can also get you in trouble with Google if you’re not careful.

Why Should You Care About Outbound Links?

Outbound links can be great tools for expanding your online presence, but they can also be a source of major headaches. Outbound links can negatively impact your SEO if they’re done incorrectly. If you want to avoid hurting your SEO and/or getting slapped with a penalty, follow these best practices.

Google’s Dislike of Outbound Links

Google has made it clear that they don’t like “link schemes” or “link networks.” Link schemes are basically where websites link to one another for mutual benefit and sometimes penalizing the websites that are being used. For example, if website A links to B and B links to A, both will get a boost from the other.

This indicates unnatural linking, and Google is constantly working to understand the implications of these types of links. Some are even reporting that Google may begin to devalue links from certain sites as a result of their findings.

If you have an eCommerce site or a page that receives a lot of traffic from Google, you can probably see why this is something you need to know about — if not now, then soon.

Isn’t Linking to Other Websites Good for SEO?

In some cases, linking to other websites can actually help you improve your SEO. But like many things in life, there’s a right way to do it, and a wrong way. The right way: Link to authority websites that are relevant to your industry or niche.

The wrong way: Link to irrelevant websites, or link to pages that aren’t optimized for SEO. By linking to authority websites that already have a lot of authority, you’re actually giving your page more authority, too.

How Can You Tell if a Link is an Outbound Link?

There are a few ways you can tell if a link is an outbound link. First, you can look at the source code on the page where the link is located and see if the link is being generated from an outside website (i.e. linking to another website).

You can also use a tool like Open Site Explorer to see if the link is being generated from your website. To see if the link will be an outbound link, check to see where the link points to. If it points to another website, it’s probably an outbound link.

What Can You Do About It?

There are a few things you can do to avoid hurting your SEO with outbound links: Avoid linking to irrelevant websites. If you want to link to another site, make sure it’s relevant to your industry or niche. Avoid linking to low-quality websites.

If you want to link to another site, make sure it’s a high-quality site. Avoid linking to a website that is linking back to you. As mentioned above, this is a sign of a link scheme, and Google will likely penalize you for it.

Avoid linking to sites that have a lot of low-quality links. If you want to link to a site that has a lot of bad links, make sure your link is a quality link.

Final Words

Outbound links are great ways to link to other websites, media, and pages on your own website. But, they can also hurt your SEO if they’re done incorrectly. If you want to avoid hurting your SEO and/or getting a penalty, follow these best practices.