Linking out: Often it's just applying common sense
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Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Creating outbound links on your site, or "linking out", is our topic for Day 3 ofLinks Week. Linking out
happens naturally, and for most webmasters, it's not something you have to worry about.
Nonetheless, in case you're interested about an otherwise simple topic that's fundamental to
the web, here's the good, the bad, and answers to more advanced questions asked by our fellow
webmasters. First, let's start with the good...
Relevant outbound links can help your visitors.
Provide your readers in-depth information about similar topics
Offer readers your unique commentary on existing resources
Thoughtful outbound links can help your credibility.
Show that you've done your research and have expertise in the subject manner
Make visitors want to come back for more analysis on future topics
Build relationships with other domain experts (for example, sending visitors can get you on the
radar of other successful bloggers and begin a business relationship)
When it comes to the less-than-ideal practices of linking out, there shouldn't be too many
surprises, but we'll go on record to avoid any confusion...
Unmonitored (especially user-generated) links and undisclosed paid advertising outbound links
can reduce your site's credibility.
Hurts your credibility, turns off savvy visitors and reduces your authority with search engines.
If you accept payment for outbound links, it's best to applyrel="nofollow"on them or otherwise ensure that they don't pass PageRank for search engines. (As a user, I
prefer to see disclosure to maintain my loyalty as well.)
Allows comment spam, which provides little benefit for users. Also, from a search engine
perspective, comment spam can connect your site with bad neighborhoods instead of legitimate
resources. Webmasters often add thenofollowattribute
(rel="nofollow") to links that are user generated, such as spammable blog comments,
unless the comments are responsibly reviewed and thus vouched for. See Jason Morrison's recent
blog post aboutkeeping comment spam off your siteto prevent spam in the first place.
Answers to advanced questions about outbound links
When linking out, am I sending visitors away forever?!Hmmm... visitors may initially leave
your site to check out relevant information. But can you recall your behavior on sites that link
to good articles outside their domain? Personally, I always come back to sites I feel provide
commentary and additional resources. Sometimes I stay on the original site and just open up the
interesting link in a different tab. It's likely that with relevant outbound links you'll gain
repeat visitors, and you won't lose them forever.
Yesterday's postmentioned
that descriptive anchor text is helpful in internal links. Is it still important for outbound
links?Descriptive anchor text (the visible text in a hyperlink) helps accurately
inter-connect the web. It allows both users and Googlebot to better understand what they're likely
to find when following a link to another page. So if it's not too much trouble, try making anchor
text descriptive.
Should I worry about the sites I choose to link to? What if their PageRank may be lower than
mine?If you're linking to content you believe your users will enjoy, then please don't
worry about the site's perceived PageRank. As a webmaster, the things to be wary of regarding
outbound links are listed above, such as losing credibility by linking to spammy sites. Otherwise,
consider outbound links as a common sense way to provide more value to your users, not a
complicated formula.
Written byMaile Ohye, Developer Programs Tech Lead
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],[],[[["\u003cp\u003eOutbound links can enhance your site by offering in-depth information and your unique perspective on related topics, building credibility and relationships with other experts.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eAvoid excessive links, undisclosed paid links, and unmonitored user-generated links, as they can harm your site's credibility and confuse visitors.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eRelevant outbound links can drive repeat visitors to your site by providing valuable resources and insightful commentary.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eDescriptive anchor text is crucial for outbound links, helping users and search engines understand the linked content.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eWhen choosing sites to link to, prioritize user value over PageRank, focusing on relevant and credible sources.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],["Outbound links enhance user experience by providing in-depth information and demonstrating expertise. Credibility can be improved by using thoughtful links and building relationships with experts. However, excessive or unmonitored links, especially paid ones without `nofollow`, can harm credibility. Descriptive anchor text is valuable for both users and search engines. Choosing links based on content quality for users is advised, and not to focus on PageRank, while avoiding linking to spammy sites.\n"],null,["# Linking out: Often it's just applying common sense\n\nWednesday, October 08, 2008\n\n\nCreating outbound links on your site, or \"linking out\", is our topic for Day 3 of\n[Links Week](/search/blog/2008/10/links-information-straight-from-source). Linking out\nhappens naturally, and for most webmasters, it's not something you have to worry about.\nNonetheless, in case you're interested about an otherwise simple topic that's fundamental to\nthe web, here's the good, the bad, and answers to more advanced questions asked by our fellow\nwebmasters. First, let's start with the good...\n\nRelevant outbound links can help your visitors.\n-----------------------------------------------\n\n- Provide your readers in-depth information about similar topics\n- Offer readers your unique commentary on existing resources\n\nThoughtful outbound links can help your credibility.\n----------------------------------------------------\n\n- Show that you've done your research and have expertise in the subject manner\n- Make visitors want to come back for more analysis on future topics\n- Build relationships with other domain experts (for example, sending visitors can get you on the radar of other successful bloggers and begin a business relationship)\n\n\nWhen it comes to the less-than-ideal practices of linking out, there shouldn't be too many\nsurprises, but we'll go on record to avoid any confusion...\n\nUnmonitored (especially user-generated) links and undisclosed paid advertising outbound links\ncan reduce your site's credibility.\n---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n- Including too many links on one page confuses visitors (we usually encourage webmasters to [not have much more than 100 links per page](/search/docs/essentials#1))\n- Hurts your credibility, turns off savvy visitors and reduces your authority with search engines. If you accept payment for outbound links, it's best to apply [`rel=\"nofollow\"`](/search/docs/advanced/guidelines/qualify-outbound-links) on them or otherwise ensure that they don't pass PageRank for search engines. (As a user, I prefer to see disclosure to maintain my loyalty as well.)\n- Allows comment spam, which provides little benefit for users. Also, from a search engine perspective, comment spam can connect your site with bad neighborhoods instead of legitimate resources. Webmasters often add the `nofollow` attribute (`rel=\"nofollow\"`) to links that are user generated, such as spammable blog comments, unless the comments are responsibly reviewed and thus vouched for. See Jason Morrison's recent blog post about [keeping comment spam off your site](/search/blog/2008/09/keeping-comment-spam-off-your-site-and) to prevent spam in the first place.\n\nAnswers to advanced questions about outbound links\n--------------------------------------------------\n\n\n**When linking out, am I sending visitors away forever?!** Hmmm... visitors may initially leave\nyour site to check out relevant information. But can you recall your behavior on sites that link\nto good articles outside their domain? Personally, I always come back to sites I feel provide\ncommentary and additional resources. Sometimes I stay on the original site and just open up the\ninteresting link in a different tab. It's likely that with relevant outbound links you'll gain\nrepeat visitors, and you won't lose them forever.\n\n\n**[Yesterday's post](/search/blog/2008/10/importance-of-link-architecture) mentioned\nthat descriptive anchor text is helpful in internal links. Is it still important for outbound\nlinks?** Descriptive anchor text (the visible text in a hyperlink) helps accurately\ninter-connect the web. It allows both users and Googlebot to better understand what they're likely\nto find when following a link to another page. So if it's not too much trouble, try making anchor\ntext descriptive.\n\n\n**Should I worry about the sites I choose to link to? What if their PageRank may be lower than\nmine?** If you're linking to content you believe your users will enjoy, then please don't\nworry about the site's perceived PageRank. As a webmaster, the things to be wary of regarding\noutbound links are listed above, such as losing credibility by linking to spammy sites. Otherwise,\nconsider outbound links as a common sense way to provide more value to your users, not a\ncomplicated formula.\n\nWritten by [Maile Ohye](/search/blog/authors/maile-ohye), Developer Programs Tech Lead"]]
