SEO Report: Outbound Linking

Many webmasters hesitate to link to other sites thinking that their page rank will be compromised and that their search ranking will drop. This is not true. You can link to other websites as long as those sites are relevant and useful to your website visitors. Of course, don’t link to hundreds of others sites from the same page – if you have a resources page, however,  you can link to hundreds of sites from the same page and it will just be a links page.

Reciprocal linking bit the dust a few years ago because of the fear that linking to other websites would dilute a website’s ranking. Google, however, does recommend outbound linking from websites as long as it is happening in a natural fashion. Linking to other websites will neither boost your ranking nor pull it down. In reality, linking out can help your website by turning it into a ‘go-to’ site. This will make your website an authoritative resource where website users can find other good resources from which they can benefit.

While linking to other sites you must create your links carefully so that they are relevant to your website’s content and topic. Sites you link to must be reputed sites in the industry; should not be blacklisted; and should not contain any malicious software. In other words, visitors to your site should be safe to click on any link to be taken to one of these outside websites. If they encounter embedded malware or spyware,  it will affect your website’s reputation and your website will be associated with the harmful website.

Never, ever allow your website to be associated with websites with bad reputation. Your sterling reputation is everything when it comes to online marketing. You should also not be linking to insignificant content sites that may or may not be there tomorrow or the next year. Only spend your time linking to websites that have a long  history so your links will  not end up being broken links- (which could affect your website in a very bad way)..

Set up a a regular schedule for checking your website’s outbound links so that you can get rid of any broken ones quickly. By doing this, you will save your website’s reputation and minimize the damage broken links may cause to your website in the eyes of visitors who could be disappointed. Also, make any outbound links open in a new tab so visitors do not leave your website.

Your website will attract more visitors if they see you as a highly valuable resource. One way to be resourceful is by providing your website users with relevant information that can be found outside your website. While linking to other websites, Google recommends that we keep the links to 100 links per page. Too many links on the same page can indicate that they are paid links. It clutters the page,  may put off genuine users and could keep you from being considered an expert in the field. Link wisely but not too well!  A link building package is your best bet to get all the best links for your site.