What is External Links?[How to use it in right way?]
Editor / September 23, 2024
The correct use of external links is a major SEO strategy which can boost the possibility of higher ranking on search engines for webpages and help users to get right information.
However, the wrong use of these links usually does more harm than good.
If you’re wondering how to use this linking technique properly, you’ve come to the right place.
In this Fastlinky article, you’ll find almost all your questions regarding this powerful technique lucidly answered.
Let’s dig in.
What are External Links?
An external link is a clickable object on pages of your website that leads visitors to pages belonging to other domains. Properly used, these links will provide users with relevant additional information and a wider range of references.
Thus, this external linking technique improves the user experience, which search engines take for a crucial ranking metric. So you see, the correct use of these links will automatically increase your website’s higher ranking probability on the search engine results pages (SERPs).
How Do External Links Differ From Other Links?
There are three major linking systems in SEO: internal or inbound links, external or outbound links and backlinks.
Their principal functional difference is while external links connect your webpages to different domains, internal links connect pages on your own domain.
Backlinks, on the other hand, are connectors other webmasters use to connect their pages to your domain.
Types of External Links
The major types of external links are–
- Reference link
- Citation link
- Affiliate link
- Resource link
- Social media link
Correct and intelligent use of these links helps websites build credibility, improves their user experience and SERP ranking.
Reference Link
These external links direct users to pages outside the original domain for additional information or context.
Reference links are divided into two major sub-categories. They are nofollow and follow links.
Nofollow Link
A nofollow link tells search engines that you do not endorse the page you are linking your site to.
In other words, you tell search engines not to count this link as a ranking metric.
Since this is not a default option, you need to add a “nofollow” attribute to the HTML code to link a nofollow one.
You may decide to use a nofollow link when connecting to a low-grade webpage or pages that search engines don’t consider as ranking metrics.
So, you see, though a nofollow link may provide the users valuable additional information, they are useless so far as better SEO performance is concerned.
Follow Link
A follow link, on the other hand, is a default linking option and it tells search engines that you endorse the link.
This means that search engines will consider such a link as a ranking metric and evaluate it accordingly.
Since this is a natural linking option, you don’t need to add any attribute to your HTML code to make a link a follow one.
Citation Link
Citation links are used mainly in professional and academic writing. They give credit and indebtedness to other sites as sources of information, quotations or theories.
If properly and sparingly used, citation links prove the authenticity and honesty of the original site, which may improve its user experience and SERP ranking.
Affiliate Link
Affiliate links are special types of external links that direct users to a service or product outside the original site.
The webmaster of the original site usually gets a commission if a purchase is made through its affiliate link.
Resource Link
Resource links direct the user to another website for useful resources like downloads, tools or other resources relevant to the user.
For example, a site providing tutorials on SEO may direct its users to pages where they can download relevant tools or PDFs.
Social Media Link
Social media links take the user to the original site’s social media profiles on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube etc. for additional information or specific posts.
This type of link may boost the user engagement of the original site which may indirectly improve its SEO performance.
Benefits of Using External Links
An external link takes the user from your site to some other site. So it is plain stupidity to use them, right?
Wrong!
Correctly and intelligently used, an external link can serve some vital purposes in your SEO strategy. Here are some beneficial effects external links may have on your website’s SEO practice.
External Links Strengthen Credibility
Search engines have a one-track mind: they are always preoccupied with methods of delivering the most relevant pages against a query double quick.
And pages that give them the most relevant info usually rank high with them.
Correct use of such links tells search engines you are trying to provide the users with the most relevant and correct info by directing them to credible authentic sites that contain such info.
This will significantly improve your site’s credibility and authenticity with search engines and this improvement will have a positive effect on your pages’ SERP ranking.
Improved SEO Performance
By analysing your external linking strategy, search engines understand what your site is all about. This understanding helps them do a comparative study of your site as against your competitors’ sites.
By linking to high-quality authentic pages, you can influence the results of that study so they go in your favour. In that case, your site will rank higher on SERPs than your competitors’ sites.
Thus, a properly used external linking strategy improves your site’s SEO performance.
Help Get Valuable Backlinks
If you link your page to some external site, that site takes it as a friendship-like gesture and may link its site back to yours. Thus correct external linking facilitates getting valuable backlinks for your site.
Thus external linking is an effective way to reach out, make important connections with your industry leaders and present your good work to people who matter.
External Links Add Value to Content
Externally linking your pages provides the reader with a better user experience as they get a wider range of references that add value to their time with you.
Allowing your readers access to additional information on authentic sites, creates a bond of trust between you and the users. This will help you engage your visitors and increase their time on your site.
Readers’ trust in you as an authentic source of valuable information will simultaneously increase, which will have a positive effect on your website’s SEO performance.
External Link Best Practices and Tips
Strategic use of external links, as you’ve seen, can improve your site’s SERP ranking and the user’s experience.
By providing links to credible and authentic sites, you improve your credibility and authenticity with search engines as well as your target audience.
These links lead to relevant additional information and thus add value to your content. Linking is a ranking metric for Google and other search engines. So links to high-value, high-quality stuff will automatically increase your site’s ranking potential on the SERPs.
But to use them properly, you should follow some special methods.
Provide Links to Relevant Sources
Search engines are obsessed with the word ‘relevance’. This is why keywords are an inalienable part of SEO.
It happens like this: Suppose you’re writing a blog on external links. Search engine crawlers will zero in on this phrase immediately and look for relevant material on your site or on sites you are referring to.
If you give external links to pages containing authoritative high-quality additional information on ‘external links‘ and relevant terms and phrases, presto! web crawlers are happy and your site’s SERP future is brighter.
Get the photo? So, if you are to link to outside content, make sure that content is RELEVANT to what you are saying.
Only Credible Sources, Please!
Search engines have a serious job of delivering relevant high-quality content. Don’t mess up with them by linking your pages to third-rated irrelevant low-value content.
External links to high-class relevant content are one of the SEO best practices. Observe this rule religiously and chances are your stuff will stand out.
Give Special Attention to Anchor Text
In case of external linking, the anchor text is the words in the hyperlink that will take your readers to relevant outside resources.
Take pains so those words are optimised for search engines. Trust me, you’ll have to take a lot of pains to select words for your anchor text.
Your anchor text must contain relevant text, to the point and short. Generic irrelevant words will confuse both search engines and your readers. This confusion may lay waste on your entire SEO strategy.
Avoid Link Schemes
Search engines like Google take this linking business seriously. This is one of their key ranking metrics. So they are very careful while evaluating a link for ranking purposes.
You’ll face a nasty consequence if you violate the linking don’ts laid down by search engines. Some of them are–
- Buying or selling links for SEO purposes
- Linking to or getting backlinks from spam sites
- Using links generated by automated programmes
- Linking from disreputable bookmarks or directory websites
Apart from avoiding the abovementioned pitfalls, you should add the “nofollow” attribute to affiliated or sponsored links so search engines know they are not used for ranking purposes.
Avoid Link Stuffing
Links are good for your SEO performance. But there should be a limit to their use. You should use as many links as are necessary to give your readers the best possible visitor experience.
So be careful while using links. Do not overwhelm your readers with too many outbound links. They may think you are using them as a part of your SEO strategy. They may not like it and keep clear of you in future.
A New Tab for External Links
External links should open in a different tab. This will give your visitors full control over their experience with your site. A separate tab will allow visitors to enjoy your article while referring to the relevant external site if and when the need be.
Don’t Link to Competing Sites
Avoid linking to sites that are holding high ranks on SERPs for the same keywords as yours. this may–
- Make search engines think your stuff is second-hand and not unique and give them a low rank.
- Take your readers away from your site if they find that the page you are linking out to has a much better reputation and ranking than yours.
Audit Your Links Periodically
Periodically audit your links to make sure they are properly working. If after clicking on your external link the reader gets a 404 message or is led to an outdated page, well, may God save you!
Conclusion
Now you know what external links are, the SEO purposes they serve, how to use them correctly and how and when not to use them.
To summarise it all, let me remind you an effective external linking strategy has the potential to dramatically improve the visitor experience and your SEO performance.
Just remember, you are linking to outside material so your readers get the best possible experience. It’s fine when they are getting it.
But if there’s the slightest possibility that your links will not add to the value of the visitor experience, don’t use them.
Also, don’t violate the rules laid down by search engines regarding external linking to avoid any serious punitive actions.
Happy linking!
Frequently Asked Questioned and Answers
External links are clickable objects on a webpage that connect it with pages in other domains.
Yes. If properly used external links can improve the SERP rank of a webpage.
Not exactly. If you link to a site, it will act as an external link for your site and a backlink for the site you link to. For this reason, some people consider backlinks a sub-category of external links.
An external link with an attribute “nofollow” in the HTML code is a nofollow link and search engines do not count it as a ranking metric.