The role of outbound links in Search Engine Optimisation has always been debatable. Contrary to a popular opinion, it is actually important to have outbound links in your website. Outbound links can have positive effects in SEO for both for your website and the visitors. This blog aims to tell you about what outbound links are, their benefits, and how to create outbound links that are of value.
Outbound links or external links connect web pages of two different domains. When you put a link of an external website on your webpage, it is an outbound link. Many people do not consider making outbound links while answering the question of how to do link building in SEO. Creating outbound links by linking to external websites help to build credibility of your website. They also help the search engine to understand what your blog is about, making outbound links and Search Engine Optimisation go together.
Creating outbound links is an on page optimisation strategy. To know about more on-page optimisation techniques for proper SEO, read our blog on MOST IMPORTANT AND EFFECTIVE ON PAGE SEO TECHNIQUES FOR SEO SPECIALISTS.
Overview of outbound links and Search Engine Optimisation
Creating outbound links help search engines know the popularity of a website and help crawlers understand the relevancy of your website. Outbound links in Search Engine Optimisation, are of two types: nofollow links and dofollow links. Click here to LEARN SEO: A BEGINNER’S MANUAL and get familiar with the basic technical terms used in Search Engine Optimisation.
Dofollow links are normal links, which are created whenever you add external links. Such links pass the link juice to the targeted webpages. Nofollow links block the passing of link juice and signal the search engines to not follow the link. Usually, while creating outbound links, you use dofollow links. This is because they ultimately help you rank higher and also result in backlinks for the website linked.
Benefits of outbound links
The answer to the question, ‘How to do link building in SEO?’ brings with it several advantages. The major advantages of creating outbound links for Search Engine Optimisation on your website are that an outbound link:
- Encourages backlinks and engagement: Linking to external websites creates a reason for other bloggers, influencers, journalists, etc. to check your website. They might like your content and in the future might even link back to you.
- Builds credibility: Linking out to websites relevant to your niche will not only build your credibility as an information source, but will also enhance the user experience.
- Helps rankings: Crawlers want to return quality and relevant results to search queries. If you link to a credible website with high domain authority, it signals the search engines that your website is of value. This helps you to gain higher ranks.
Strategies to create outbound links that are of value
It is important to be specific while you do link building in SEO. Not all outbound links provide value. Follow these strategies to create outbound links for SEO:
- Link to relevant sites: Link to sites that are similar to yours or are in the same niche. Not only does this keep your website safe from spammy links, it also brings in targeted audience to your website.
- Avoid having too many external links: Creating too many outbound links make it harder for the visitors to read your blog and may confuse or annoy them. Create more internal links and link to as few external websites as possible. Make sure the link is relevant to the content as well.
- Avoid two way backlinks: Two way backlinks or reciprocal links are good for two domains, as targeted traffic can be brought to a website. But too many link exchanges actually harm your website. Read PARAMETERS OF OFF PAGE SEO: KNOW HOW OFF PAGE SEO IS DONE and get familiar with the proper way of building backlinks.
- Select the right websites to link to: While linking out, be careful about the sites you link to. Link to pages that explain the topic you have covered and explain it further. Link to credible, high quality, high domain authority websites, and link to websites similar to you. These practices add value to your blog.
Outbound links for Search Engine Optimisation are created to benefit and provide more value to your visitors. Creating outbound links also complements your overall SEO strategy. Adding relevant outbound links to your content makes your website a useful resource for the visitors. As search engines focus on providing value, adding relevant resources makes you a credible source to the crawlers.
Put the above strategies to use when you create outbound links and watch how external links complement your overall seo strategy. Considering these external links in the overall strategy along with internal links and backlinks, very important while planning to do link building in SEO. Also read, SEO VS SEM: HOW ARE THE TWO DIFFERENT to understand the difference between the two terms.
