Links
to Other Websites?
There
are website Administrators who feel like they're shooting themselves in
the foot by including outbound links to other websites. One false idea
is that having outbound links will hurt a website's Google ranking by
canceling out your inbound links.
Another concern is why take the time and effort and spend money
popularizing your company's website and then say, in effect, "Here's
your hat, there's the door" by providing links to other websites?
Linking out doesn't get you labelled a spammer practicing black
hat
SEO. Linking out doesn't drain authority from your site.
The truth is that you should be linking out to sites that are
pertinent
to your page's content. Outbound links to quality sites with relevant
content to your website is usually positive for your site's Google
ranking. At worst, the outlink has no effect.
Outbound links that will hurt your Google ranking are links to
"Link
Farms." A Link Farm is typically a group of web sites that all
hyperlink to every other site in the group through automated programs.
Link Farming is a form of spam that tatgets the index of search engines
(aka spamdexing).
Websites exchanging links with other relevant websites are not
considered spamdexing.
Don't create a links page of outbound links on your website
because the
relevancy of the number of diverse links in not always apparent to a
search engine. It is better to include the outbound link at the point
where it comes up in your content - for example, if you say you are a
member of the Chamber Of Commerce then you can link to the Chamber Of
Commerce right there.
Links between relevant sites with good Google ranking are
mutually
beneficial. There is no cause for concern that outbound links might
harm your site's reputation. Part of marketing your website is to
become an Opinion Leader providing high quality content relevant to
your line of work. Including links to other experts in your field is
logical and helpful.
