There's a lot of debate in the web world, particularly in the SEO & marketing departments of mid-size and larger organizations, about whether or not to link out to other websites from their own. People are scared for a number of reasons; they worry that linking out could:
- Harm their reputation
- Damage their search engine rankings
- Cost them PageRank
- Create exit portals where users will drop off
In my opinion, these concerns are largely unfounded. Linking is common practice on the web - expected and respected by users of all kinds - and therefore, extremely unlikely to harm your reputation. Even if you link to the occasional site or page that's been taken over by a domain squatter, aspiring pornographer or entranced Twilight fan, your visitors are likely to carry a great deal of forgiveness, especially if it's an old link.
In much the same fashion, search engines recognize that even the best websites sometimes carry a link to the nether regions of cyberspace (talk about bringing back your '90's lingo!). So long as you don't carelessly provide links to malware-installing, pop-under spouting, Shamwow hawking pages, you don't need to take especially more care than you would linking to possible 404s.
As for costing PageRank - yes, it's true. Technically, the original PR formula (described in great detail here by my grandfather, Si) dictates that any link equity spent on external pages is lost opportunity that could have been spent on internal pages. HOWEVER, I (and many other notable SEOs) have seen very compelling evidence to suggest that not only does linking out NOT harm a site's rankings, it appears to carry some positive correlations with ranking, trust, etc. on both a page and domain-wide level. I'll cover this more in my reasons to link out below.
The final argument - that users will leave the site - ignores ample evidence that sites & pages that link out actually benefit from those links. Think about the most popular, most used service on the web - a website we all turn to dozens if not hundreds of times each month - Google. They make it part of their corporate creed to get users off the site as quickly as possible, and have benefited from it tremendously. Likewise, a survey of major newspapers on the web found that those who link out tend to outperform those who don't on many performance metrics. If you want more examples, check out Digg, Reddit, Yelp, Twitter & Delicious- who all link off their own sites as part of their core business and still get visitors coming back again and again. I have yet to see any proof that linking out to good sites that users will appreciate and enjoy actually hurts long term revenue.
So, with all those arguments against shot down (or at least, slightly maimed), let's dive into the positives. These all refer to benefits you receive from raw linking without nofollow (though a few can be obtained even when you link with nofollow, though certainly not to the same extent).
- #5 - Linking Out Sends Trackable Traffic
If I link to a great site for finding local classes & teachers or this one for automotive advice or this resource for all things TV and they get even a smattering of visits, it's very likely that the website tracking folks will notice the link, visit SEOmoz and investigate. Maybe they need SEO services or would be interested in some of our spiffy tools. Perhaps they'll enjoy this post and link to it in the future. What I'm getting at is that we (all of us, not just SEOmoz) have the potential to attract important, relevant, valuable eyeballs when we link.
_ - #4 - It Makes Your Site a More Valuable, Scalable Resource
No matter how great a website you build, you can never be all things to all people, nor contain all the relevant information & value a user might be seeking on your given topic. As such, it makes great sense to leverage the power of the web - the power of links - to create an easy, scalable path to making your site's experience better and more rewarding for those who visit. If you find great links via Techmeme or Hacker News or SearchEngineLand, you're going to mentally reward those brands with positive appreciation and memories. Use that same power on your own site and you, too, can become a reference resource in your niche.
_ - #3 - Search Engines Likely Reward the Behavior Algorithmically
Our Linkscape team has spent a lot of time looking into spam analysis and stumbled upon some pretty cool theories and applications. One in particular that stands out is the so-called reverse or "anti-trustrank" that looks at who you link to as a signal of quality vs. spamminess. While it certainly pays to consider the links you've earned, looking at the links you send can be an equally usable and useful signal of quality - low quality sites tend to link to a far greater share of junk, while great sites typically link to other great sites. These webs of trust & value can be algorithmically mined by engines to produce better search results. Take advantage by linking to resources your users (and the engines) will love. (BTW - just internally speaking, we really like using Linkscape's Domain-Level mozTrust metric for stuff like this.)
_ - #2 - Linking Out Incentivizes Links In
With a few notable exceptions (Wikipedia & YouTube, I'm looking in your direction), websites that earn links tend to do a good job of linking out themselves. When you link out, it creates a signal to other websites and content creators that you're a willing participant in the web's natural linking environment and not a closed-off community or purely self-referential, pompous know-it-all.
_ - #1 - Linking Out Encourages Positive Participation & Contribution
There are a lot of very smart, very dedicated, talented people on the web that can either contribute to making your efforts more successful or inhibit your growth. When you link out, especially in a consistent, opportunity-driven way, you build incentives for the Linkerati (bloggers, social media sophisticates, online journalists, website builders & forum participants) to engage with your site. Granted, when you're small and just starting out, the incentive is small, but I've seen, via first-hand experience, the value it brings. Don't underestimate the power of rewarding your community - it's built some of the most amazing brands on (and off) the web.
_
I think there are plenty of other good reasons to link out as well, but these are certainly top of mind for me, and typically make a very compelling argument when we work with clients who are initially opposed to the idea. As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts, experiences and rationales for linking out (or not).
p.s. A big thank you to Tim Grice (aka seowizz) for his timely YOUmoz post on this topic. Read the post, How Effective are Outbound Links, and comments for more interesting discussion about the potential SEO-specific benefits of linking out.
Nice post Rand and something I wholeheartedly agree with. But seriously, 5? Is that all? I managed 10 (kind of).
;)
Thanks for the shout Rand,
It has been common knowledge for a long time that linking out is great way to establish some authority, I recommend it to all my clients.
The post I wrote was really tryinig to generate a discussion about the power or weight of outbounds. When people consider ranking high in the serps the focus, justifiably, goes towards inbound links. However more and more examples are popping up that are really making me re think my external linking strategy.
I'll ponder on it some more :)
Hi Rand,
Most clients would be affraid of loosing their customer and increasing bounce rate.
I think being pitched correctly and linking to quality and relevant sources enhances the user experience. Traditionally sites that do this well have nothing to loose.
Showing clients top performing sites and the value it adds can help get client's at least understand the concepts. Obviously this is one area the SEO jigsaw.
Shahid
You're changing my mind, Rand...
previously I was hesitant to link out only because my colleagues - who have been in SEO for longer than I have - expressed their hesitation and lived by the "nofollow all outbound links!" rule.
Now that I've taken on a side project and am maintaining a website on my own - where I ultimately make the decisions - I'm starting to link out to other sites. I have yet to establish PR on that site, but this will be an interesting "experiment" of sorts.
The argument that outbound links to "authority" sites, news sites, etc. will help your site establish credibility makes a lot of sense to me. Linking to cancer.gov from a site you've developed that is focused on alternative cancer treatments, for example, lends a sense of reliability to your site.
Thanks for the post!
Edit: comment removed by self for irrelevance :(
Will all the ole' pagerank hoarding myths still floating around it is nice to see a common sense post on why websites should link out. I have seen/heard to many webmasters and crappy SEOs tell their clients to not linnk out to relevant websites for no good reason at all. I will point them to this post for future references.
Outstanding, this is a great line "not a closed-off community or purely self-referential, pompous know-it-all." those in the industry will absolutly understand that statement. This is excellent work. Thank you
Yahoo started out as a resource that linked out and you probably know that they made it all the way to being the #1 #2 search engine, so they must have been doing something right?
I personally think that the process of Hoarding PR is very un-web-like. Surfers spend time online going from 1 webpage to the next and if your site is a dead end, then maybe that is how Google should see it!
I'm a firm believer that links out to other website are nothing to worry about. Firstly your .normally' going to be linking to high PR sites because you believe it adds value to your blog/site secondly its natural to link out and I Havant personally come across a situation where linking to a site has resulted in any harm. As Google always bangs on about if it looks natural all will be good :-)
I think the more people view your site as an excellent and trusted resource, the more they will keep coming back to your site despite the outbound links. Excellent examples of this are provided in this article.
Thanks Rand,
I have been making the same statements for some time now, but as always you said it with far more eloquence and in much greater depth.
(heck, you probably smell better too) But I am printing this out to point at when I get back on my soap box ;)
Now go help mysteryguest with those boxes
If i'm not wrong HITS algorithm mentioned hubs and authority sites,linking out improve your "hubness" in the eyes of Google. Please correct me if the comment is inaccurate :)
I think one of the biggest reasons people are scared to link is psychological - a link is, after all, a clear path to another website. Maybe people think they'll lead a once-loyal visitor to their website to a better website that will cause them to stop visiting their site for good. It's not rational, but maybe the fear is psychological.
The Web simply wouldn't work without links. Hyperlinks are the foundation of hypertext which in turn is the foundation of the Web. People who are afraid to loose visitors by linking out are probably not convinced that they provide quality content, which makes visitors want to come back.
Great post Rand. This may explain why the two highest PR pages on my site are the ones with the most external links...
Live changing article - it was a long time I used nofollow on all my websites and you convinced it's worth to make all links dofollow to good websites. 10x
Anyone plz. tell me how can i make strong backlinks of my website with other website, my website is
https://www.ibps-exam.org/
A great place to start learning is https://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo/growing-popularity-and-links. Leaving comments on unrelated forums and blogs aren't going to be of much help for backlinks, as they are usually nofollowed or the links removed entirely.
I think that linking out to others is a question of trust and need and not a sign of generosity.
maybe marketing wise, this will make my visitors (persons not robots) trust more my site.
yes, I accept especially if we do some statistics on the reactions of visitors when they find that my non-blog web site is linking to other web site.
In a nutshell: DoFollow what is worthy to be followed whereas NoFollow the rest. I wonder whether seach engine algorithm will face changes to accept the major changes in the web 2.0 environment!
Very interseting. There is a big divide on this one, you have cleared up a lot of the myths. Thank you
I have my blog at blogger.com named https://blog-advert.blogspot.com
and have added related videos from youtube.com and links from wikipedia and it seems that i am getting more traffic than before. Today i have learnt more utility of adding links which will help me a lot.Thanks.
Do whatever you think is beneficial for the reader and good will follow.
Take yourserf in the position of reader and test . I guess most of the time you will be on the right track.
Hi,
Great Post very useful information for me as i'm in the infancy of an SEO career and love to read all this advice.
One question though. Can i simply add a link to my site without permission from the site i am linking too? For example i work for a Web Design and Online Marketing agency and was thinking of linking to an industry news website, would i need their permission first or can i simply add the link?
Many thanks
No, you don't need their permission to link to them.
Yes, by all means you should put the link to this type of site.
Your link to them, only helps reinforce their relevance in the same vertical as your website. This is the perfect kind of outbound link to make. It does not give away business to a competitor, it is helpful to your human visitors (at least gives them good information) and as long as you are not making some derogatory statement in your link, (such as "don't trust these guy's!") no one will ever have a problem with it.
It is strictly, Win, Win.
Good luck
Thats brilliant Thank you very much for your help!
even before i knew anything about the possible seo value of linking out, i linked out from my website because i found sites that were topical or useful and that i thought clients and friends might enjoy. i have found it odd that so many webmasters etc aren't keen on this idea at all and argue so vehemently against it in general it seems, though i have said in forums that the whole basis of the internet is links and linking from one site to another (reasoning to myself that if google were really smart they might be taking some of that into consideration as well).
with so many webmasters etc it's kind of like a hoarding response or a scarcity mentality, and one that i don't find appealing. i can understand people being cautious about not wanting to lose their hard earned clients/sending them off to another site, so it is something of a tradeoff which i figured for myself and my site anyway is worth it. and apparently there may be some seo benefits after all.....
Should I take into account the PR of the sites that I am linking out to?
Lots of webmasters don't link out too much -some very good suggestions.
I like the idea of linking to reliable sources. I know it's been repeated many times, but relevance is very important. Sites like Twitter and FaceBook uses NoFollow and that's a little annoying. I don't mind though and still link to them. I probably wouldn't hesitate if there were better tools to achieve my goals.
I think it would be a good idea to put together a post which compares the TrustRank of a site which 'links out' to one that does not.
How has the algorithm experience changed in the recent years regarding outbound links?
Nothing like being the most thumbed down Pro Member out there! It's a sure sign that everyone here loves your comments! Nice devil horns by the way. =)
Hi Samuel,
I'm not sure what you're referencing, but if you have any concerns please let our team know.
Also, I removed the link from your comment as promotional for promotions' sake links are against our community rules and etiquette.
Thanks!
Great Post, very natural and extremely out of box.
I Have a little doubt, this is originally posted on "February 24th, 2009" and today we are in 2016. In this meantime i think, there are so meny changes and updates happen in Link Building Strategy.
The concepts you reveal in this post are same as now or any changes.
I was not good at English, If any mistakes please ignore.
Thanks in advance
Imran
Very interesting and rewarding. many thanks I love it. :)
NOTE: This comment is from a novice!
I have a question about multiple occurrences of the same outgoing link on a single page. An example is a listing of concerto competition winners year after year, when the competitions are sponsored by just a few organizations, so their names appear over and over in the list. I'm concerned that multiple identical links might not be good. Can you advise me on this twist?
Should I take into account the PR of the sites that I am linking out to?
[Link removed by editor.]
As a new Pro member I am learning a lot about SEO, this is another thing that it useful to know and will be putting it into practice in the next few days.
Thanks for the article, this is something that I had been wondering after it keeps coming up as a recommendation on MOZ.
Hi, I was just searching the web for information on link building and found this site. I have been blogging for a while now and is just taking it one step further, to find ways of increasing traffic to my website. I found your information very helpful. Thank you :)
It's a nice information. I am really very happy to see this post. Thanks a lot for sharing this topic. Keep it up.
I agree,but SEO optimization should be by key ward rather than submitting in third party optimization..
team 99propertyguru.in
Can you update this post? Have algorithms changed or is outlinking still as relevant as it was 6 years ago?
Please guide me.
If I want people to click on links to get more traffic. Have Service or not?
https://www.etsy.com/listing/224506769/1x-leather-...
Hi pengwhan! I'm not sure what you mean. Do you mean, does Moz provide a particular service?
Thank you so much for this post. I have a lot of links on my blog, Internet Security 101, and was wondering if it was a good idea to have so many links. My main worry is that I would lose profits from Google Adsense and other affiliates. I visited a very popular blog today in my niche with very few links and that also made me think I am making the wrong decision having so many links on my blog. Most of the links are for free Internet security software, as my blog is on Internet security. Your post has really given me food for thought.
*shudder* does no-one read the research any more? First up, try Kleinbergs little cracker "Authoritative sources in a hyperlinked environment", at https://www.cs.cornell.edu/home/kleinber/auth.pdf, and "When Experts Agree: Using Non-Affiliated Experts to Rank Popular Topics" by Krishna Bharat and George A. Mihaila (I can't seem to locate a full text version of that available for free - ah disregard : https://www10.org/cdrom/papers/474/)
Where the hell is Slawski when you need him, LOL?
And those 2 don't even touch on Topic Sensitive PageRank or LocalRank (which is the Reason That Reciprocal Links Are Good For You).
For those without any maths ability, or too short an attention span to read, the takehome is this : Teh Intarwebs was not designed and built for your sole profit or enjoyment, you greedy, greedy, repulsive little speck of fly leavings. Link out. And don't nofollow it, either
I'm really glad that you wrote this article.
So many people are suggesting adding some plugin to WordPress to no-follow all your external links and they almost got me. I was on the fence for a while mainly because there is a lot of conflicting info out there. Thank you!
I like the idea of letting people know who you associate with (which domains). In other words, that my site exists in a good neighborhood, and I also like the idea of search engines actually looking at this, to evaluate authority and relevance.
Hi Rand
Just read this post again and still think it's great. A client has questioned our content policy and asked what approval policy we are following for external links. He said in his previous roles he has needed the external sites approval before placing any links and in one of his roles,, with a leading online retailer, they forbade sites linking to them. You heard of that?
we learn a lot from moz.com
thanks
Earlier i used to think that linking out will be like damaging my website and benefiting to other sites, but after reading this article i came to conclusion to add external links to quality websites with in my niche. one thing can i give external links to Wikipedia ?
Thank You for for providing us the useful info
Thanks such a useful info.
Good post Rand.I completely agree that links from relevant copy can be beneficial both from a users' point of view and from an SEO viewpoint.
Linking within a site is definetely a 'horses for courses' case. Press websites naturally link off to several other related articles at every given opportunity, where as links from ecommerce sites need to more calculated, with 'conversion' the keyword. External links from a ecommerce site should primarily be used to improve a users viewpoint of a product, with the objective being that they will return to the site to book a room or order a product etc. If a hotel is enjoying great coverage on Trip Advisor, then link users off to the Trip Advisor page. Customers will get a great opinion of the Hotel and then return to book.
Matt.
I was surpriced than in the :
https://www.seomoz.org/article/search-ranking-factors
The:
Quality/Relevance of Links to External Sites/PagesHave a 3.5 in High Importance!
Most respetable people in the field think that this is a very important on page factor.
Might have been a fluke but I saw a friend who shares a name with a famous person move up in the rankings by creating a "resources" section that linked out to sites pertaining to the famous person.
Love the post, Rand -- the point you mention above that I think is the least worry is the concern about 'losing customers because of the link' -- I've never bought that argument. Regarding SEO, my opinion is to do what's right for the customer. If you're thinking in that vein regarding a human customer, then over time, it'll be a good thing for the bots.
Now, we do make use of no-follow links off of our site right now, in many areas; but, that's only to (a) reduce risk of spam and (b) set us up for premium services for teachers down the line. We've always fully anticipated enabling follow-links for people who we have a deeper relationship with, and I have no fears at all about losing customers, leaking page-rank, or anything of the like.
But, I'm glad to hear that SEOMoz agrees -- see you around town,
Dave
Hi Rand - your article is very timely as we are reworking our website and I appreciate the extra ammunition.
My problem is a variation on the 4th argument - exit portal. Here's how my boss looks at it. We don't sell direct to the public so our website is all about educating consumers and then directing them to our dealer network where they purchase the product. He does not want to include a link to a dealer's website on our dealer locater because many dealers sell competitor's products too and he doesn't want to expose the consumer to the other brands.
My take on it: users are going to look up the dealer anyway (I certainly do it whenever I'm shopping for stuff). So by not including a link to the dealer we are just annoying the user who has to manually find the dealer. Also, as soon as they walk into the store, they will see other brands and frankly, a live salesperson is far more influential in terms of what product is purchased than a website.
So if we aren't worried about that - the product competes very well - why not give the link where it makes sense?
If anyone has any further arguments in favour of providing links, I'd love to hear them.
Outbound links can demonstrate your [client's] knowledge and add value as a resource, not just a source. People like having a single place to get relevant information especially if its unbiased (not self-serving) unless of course they are looking for biased information (PC vs. Mac) but the same ideas apply...
Visit Site "X" to find the best information about topic "Y"
I agree Rand. I have been hearing this unfounded myths about link exchanges. I just read one blog I think at Tech Republic about this same issue
Thanks for posting this. PageRank hoarding needs to stop. As websites we have a duty to link to good content and NOT no follow it as if we don't trust it. It's sad to see how many sites are nofollowing all outbound links these days.
Great post. But one question: In one of your PRO guides, you mentioned that when you link out, you don't lose your own PageRank; you rather pass importance onto a different site, but still keep your own pagerank, no matter how many outbound links you have on your web. So do you lose PageRank when you link out? The more external links you have, the more you lose or not? Thanks.
Great!! Thanks for comfirming all my suspects
Here in Spain is amazing how big newspaper websites don´t show outgoing links, maybe they're afraid to take traffic to other websites, maybe they don't know that sharing information is the first rule on the Internet
Great run down / top five list and I tend to agree with most of the things mentioned above.
The internet is all about networking and links is what ties everything together and grows the web. You have to know who you are linking out to, obviously, and if you don't --- ask yourself, it is worth it? If you have to stop and think everytime you want to link out then it is probably not worth it.
Linking out to credible websites/sources is fine. Linking out just for the hell of it, in other words sending visitors on the chase for more information when you didn't do your homework and reviewed the source, etc... Not so smart and kind of pointless.
I never paid much attention to whether or not Google just might pass on a bit of link juice or not to somebody --- or worried too much about my pagerank going down over time as the outgoing links numbers grow because I build websites that accommodate the visitors. A happy visitor = happy client of mine.
There are SEO guidelines to follow as far as linking in and linking out goes, as I mentioned above, gotta know when to link and when not to but it really comes down to whether the outgoing link is worthy. Gotta love _blank
Mike
It is a no brainer. But 5 excellent reinforcements.
https://markltuttle.com/information/to-link-outornot-link-out/
I link out quite often from my Blog - www.blog.iqmatrix.com. Most of my articles have at least 10 to 30 external links to quality content within my specific niche. My Page Rank has been climbing ever since I launched the Blog and is now at Page Rank 4.
Given that, I don't think that linking out is hurting my Page Rank.
without linking how can you tell some one hay look at this resource it is good or related to this article or service, other way could be copy full article or service on you page, which being duplicate contents, so it is not bad, only if you start linking bulks of website then you might be on risk, funny enough to mention, i link to one of my competitor and now i am ranking third in Google for their name which is quite popular, i just place a banner ad and alt image text,
I too have put some time into testing obl's and i havent seen any real benefit to removing the nofollow from these links
nofollowed links are still trackable and retain pagerank
however there is some arguement about improving your 'neighbourhood' tho as yet ive not seen any evidence of this.
if anyones got some solid evidence plz publish and stop the debate.
#3 - Search Engines Likely Reward the Behavior Algorithmically.
Agree that search engines most probably link 'like with like' here. It would actually make sense and although would be susceptible to manipulation is a general rule of thumb that good website link with good websites.
As always Rand, your timing is spot on. Just when I needed reassuring that I'm doing the right thing, here you are again with a pat on the back. Many thanks.
As a newbie in SEO, my orientation was not to link out as this would leak out domain juice from your site. However, when Rand speaks about something on SEO, it should be taken seriously as I assume Rand would not waste his time and brain writing for SEOMOZ members. No more arguments. Let us go link out to high quality content to provide more excellent resources to our visitors. It is worth a try to find out if it is of value.
Great post, Rand!
Rand, this was a great post. My father has been in the newspaper industry for 30 years and I have been helping him move towards more of an online business model. The idea of linking away from his advertisers scares him a little, but I believe it creates a better overall user experience and your examples back me up. Thanks!
I agree rand, it was difficult leap to start putting outbound link on my retail sites but the benefits outweigh the cons.
Links to the charities that you support is a great one, not only are you potentially more likely to get reciprocal links but is can make your online business seem more real and trustworthy to your customers.
We have a blog on our site with the latest blog post in full on the front of the site. There are always 5-10 outbound links. Interesting stories, things like that. Our readers like them, and the other sites don't mind a little traffic. However, we have seen a little dip in PageRank and I do wonder if I should nofollow those links.
I Agree rand that linking out is good but what if i have a service provider website and i link out to the same business website?
like suppose i have a Web site desgning website and i am linking to other service provider website i am seriously telling the visitor to move from my path dont you think so?
and 1 more question: What if i link to my clints in portfolio!?
This might sound counterintuitive, especially to marketers, but there are times when it make sense to link out to some of your competitors.
I agree. We link to partners and trusted sites like the charities we support because we want people to find them. We really don't care what it does to PageRank.
I came to a post of yours done about 3 years ago concerning blogs really helped me to sort things out re:blogs.
Totally 100% support the link out principle.
Through linking out I have come to the attention of many great contacts and this has led to lots of different business opportunities I may have missed if I had just approached the web owners directly.
Yeah, linking is at the core of hypertext; makes the web what it is.
#5 is funny because I do the same thing..."what the heck is this site linking to us...oh, it's a pretty cool site..."
Late in the party.....
Here are my take on some of your reasons for linking out:
#5 - Linking Out Sends Trackable Traffic: to what avail? It all comes down to conversion and the kind of product line that you have. If a travel company links to a pharmaceutical company, where is relevance? Should I then go linking relevant website, not really, unless I want to loose traffic. I would rather have a unique content, try to capture the audience and maximize their visit to my own gain.
#4 - It Makes Your Site a More Valuable, Scalable Resource: I read it twice and even thrice, and I felt like you are basically purporting creating unique content so that the site gets referenced, there by getting links and so forth.
#2 - Linking Out Incentivizes Links In: Thereby doesn’t it cancel out the link juice? Basically, this is a link exchange, isn’t it?
#1 - Linking Out Encourages Positive Participation & Contribution: this point kind of sums up why “communal linking” works for “communal sites” like blogs and forums and so forth.
I am scratching my head and banging my head on the wall thinking, how can this possibly help a for profit organization running in a competitive business environment.
I am just thinking out loud!!!
I agree, that's why when I put out a post on my php book blog about 7 great downloadable resources, I linked to SEOMoz. Besides, I've gotten tons of value, I most definitely would want to share that (the jury is still out on if I'd ever get the love back, but it was worth it none the less). :)
Thanks for the great post. I will keep on linking out to high value websites for my swimming related blog. Our readers are steadily growing and one day soon hopefully we will receive some nice links back!
I work for a company where the boss HATES the idea of linking out. It doesn't matter that I am the in-house SEO 'expert', or provide evidence to show it is a worthwhile cause, he just simply can't get his head round the idea.
You can take a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.....which is a shame really.
Outbounds are good but only if you know how to do it in a proper way. Many people link to irrelevant and low authority sites which can harm their rankings.
So do it carefully!
Cheers! :)
I agree that you have to do it a proper way and not get too crazy with it.
Sly-grrr posted a great comment in the YOUmoz post about this.
Sly-grrr's Comment
@ Mintyman - Let me guess he thinks blogging and forums are worthless methods of creating relevence? We used to consult for a company with an owner who couldn't check email, yet wanted a full explanation of every single thing we were doing. Even though he could not comprehend the gravity of what we were explaining. After 6 months we reached an impasse were he intentionally would pull us off vital projects on his behalf to pursue projects with little to no short or long term benefit. We were forced to void his contract and we parted ways. These types of people as I have said before are DOOMED to failure, at least in the internet world. We refer to them as the "Cut of your nose to spite your face" clients.
Thanks Rand, good to know that, because https://imvendor.com is completely based on other businesses and links, the main idea is to promote small businesses all over the world.
All Vendors are invited to promote there business and be seen more.
Thanks
I was working on a link-building blog today (https://10bestsolutions.blogspot.com/) and linked to this blog post (ironically) because I totally agree that good content should be shared. I do not think reciprocal links are the best way to get better search engine rankings, but great content will get organic links bc people will want to share it (just like I wanted to share what you had to say on my blog). Thanks for your thoughts about this.
Using links will always benefit your website. You just need to make sure that the website you link to also has a reciprocal link, allowing the user to link back to the original website. Most people assume links are bad and will cost them traffic or page rank, but in fact if links are used correctly, they could actually do the opposite.
Great post, thanks for this,on your website have more interesting post,I'll try to find the time to review all..
I'm agree with your post, but your comments-links stay on seomoz ;)
Do i tell but don't I do.
I'm sorry but the hype behind this new SEO video, and making such a big deal about it? once you know so much about SEO you know more then enough considering that alot is hearsay and bunk anyway. It's time to start building websites, writing and learning code. anything more is really black hat, and just little tricks and shady marketing theories. you dont need to read/watch any more about SEO!!! you need to become active on and off the web and become a unique, interesting content provider.!
... what video?
I think that is a response to Rands Marketing email that came in today to subscribers.
Oh, right. Err, may I, as a former moderator on this blog, suggest that comments should remain at least partially on the topic presented in the post at hand ;)
I had French Onion Soup for dinner, it was rather nice.
BTW, borsodas is the most famous tennis player on the web - she features on most Enom domain parking pages.
If you don't believe in it that much, why are you on this site and not to mention a PRO MEMBER, at that. Must really be worthless information if you are willing to spend that much a month to be a member here.
SEO Troll is successful
Nothing like being the most thumbed down Pro Member out there! It's a sure sign that everyone here loves your comments! Nice devil horns by the way. =)