If you are working on improving the content of your website or blog, you have probably heard or read about the usefulness of internal links. However, external links also play an important role in SEO positioning.
Owners usually avoid doing so because they have a misconception about its use, although it is equally true that certain precautions must be taken. In this sense, it is ideal to be informed in order not to make mistakes and to carry out the best practices.
What is an external link?
To define what an external link is, we will say that it is a hyperlink which directs users from your site to a different one. In simple words, it is a digital bridge that connects your content with that of another page.
They are usually included to provide complementary information, cite reliable sources or give the reader a more detailed reference on a specific topic.
For example, an article that addresses the prohibited topics to monetize with Google AdSense, focused on giving more value to the user, can link on Google’s own policies, to give more reliability to the content.
How does using external links in your content help SEO?
External links not only benefit readers, but also have a positive impact on the perception of your content by search engines.
- Improve the user experience. By creating this type of links with the intention of complementing your content, you help readers to go deeper into the topic, something they will value, because they don’t need to look for it in another tab.
- They support your credibility. When you cite sources that can be trusted, you give the impression that the text, images and videos, depending on how you prefer to use the resources, are well researched and backed by solid data.
- Increase your page authority. Google, as well as other search engines, value content that is connected to quality pages, and a strategic use of external links can benefit your placement in better positions.
- Foster relationships with other sites. If you link to other websites, or make a proposal with valuable content, you could establish relationships that, in the long term, result in collaborations, and you are creating an opportunity for this.
- They generate a structure of useful information. External links allow your content to be a more complete reference point, with diverse sources that enrich your message, and last in the users’ minds.
Can they generate any problems?
Although, as we have seen, they are positive aspects for your website, they can also become a double-edged sword if they are not used correctly. The key is to know where and how to link to other websites.
If you fill your page with external links with the sole intention of selling them or they point to low quality or meaningless content, you could be damaging the perception of your site. Google will probably interpret this as a spamming practice. And how does this translate? Well, it translates into penalties, affecting your ranking in search results.
In addition, when you link without a clear purpose, the reader may lose confidence in your content. A page saturated with links to sites not directly related to your main topic creates the impression that your content is neither genuine nor valuable.
Therefore, it is essential that each one you include provides value both to your audience and to the relevance of the topic you are dealing with so as not to waste your link juice or risk too much.
Practices for using external links correctly
The best way to take advantage of the benefits that this practice adds, and avoid problems, is to apply it in your strategy with the following aspects in mind:
Links to trusted content
It is often said in the SEO world that links are votes of confidence towards the website they point to, and although it is something repetitive, it is still true. Therefore, it is essential that you verify the quality and reputation of the pages you select.
A link to a site with inaccurate, dubious or poorly structured information can damage the image you have built of your website in the eyes of search engines, which is difficult to recover later.
Take the time to research the sources: check the authority of the domain, its age, and the type of information they offer. If you are not sure, omit the link or look for an alternative. Remember that, in addition to improving the user experience, Google rewards pages that link to truly trusted sites.
Keep the link relevant
For the presence of this resource to make sense, it must be well placed, complementing the topic you are dealing with in your content. Before including any link, ask yourself if the link provides the reader with something to understand what is being explained.
For example, if you’re writing about digital marketing strategies, including a link to an article about interior design, while interesting, and perhaps even minimally relatable, won’t make sense to your audience in that context.
The concordance between the two is what will increase the usefulness for the user, and of course, will save your page from being perceived as spam, something that nobody wants.
Do not sell them without clear criteria
If you decide to generate extra income, either by selling links from Linkatomic or directly with brands, keep in mind to do it ethically. Selling links can be a profitable strategy, but it can also be risky if not handled correctly.
Don’t place hyperlinks that lead to sites that have no merit, that are inconsequential or that may harm your readers. Always prioritize content that is useful and reliable, but what if it is not? Remember that a bad decision in this aspect will diminish your credibility and even cause penalties in your SEO positioning.
In other words, if you decide to sell links, do it with criteria and thinking about the value they bring to your audience, and not just the income they represent.
Control the number of external links
Although external links are a valuable tool, you should not overuse them. Placing too many links in the same article will distract the reader, making them constantly jump between pages without understanding the main content.
Instead of focusing on quantity, prioritize the quality of the links you include. On the other hand, not all your articles need external links. Consider carefully when and where to include them so that they really serve their purpose.
An idea to keep in mind in case you have doubts in this context is: links should complement the content, not compete against it.
Use the ‘nofollow’ attribute if necessary
The vast majority of links to external sites that you add, you can do so with the nofollow attribute. This attribute tells search engines not to follow the link, thus protecting your SEO strategy.
This is a responsible practice that will help you to keep control over the quality of the external links you place on your site.
By default, these are set as dofollow, but a small manual change is enough. The good thing is that if you prefer to do it automatically, it is also possible by configuring it in plugins like Yoast SEO or Rank Math, something that will save you a lot of time in the medium and long term.
Check the links regularly
A common mistake in external linking is to forget the links after publishing them, and it is normal for this to happen. However, over time, the pages you link to may cease to exist, change content or become irrelevant.
These broken links not only generate a bad experience for the user, but can also negatively affect your positioning in search engines, by a little, with a couple of positions down, or by a lot, staying in previous pages, or worse, in none, although this is in cases where more negative factors are added.
Take the time to check the links of your articles every so often. There are tools that facilitate this task by automatically detecting broken links. This practice, although it may seem tedious, is crucial to maintain the quality of your content and take care of your image in front of readers and search engines.
Combines internal and external links
The balance between internal and external links is key to a good SEO strategy and an enriching user experience. Internal links help readers discover more content within your website, while external links reinforce credibility and expand information with trusted external sources.
Distribute both types strategically and avoid saturating your content with too many links. For example, if you are writing about a technical topic, you can include internal links to guide the reader to related articles within your website and complement with external links to specialized studies or resources.
Thus, you achieve a more complete and valuable content that generates satisfaction in those who have entered the platform looking for something, and leave after having found it.
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