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Definition of the term, "external linking"

External linking

Also known as: "outbound links"

Simple put, external links are links from your website to another website.

There are several issues relating to external linking to be considered. Many businesses do not like linking to other sites due to the fact that visitors can leave their site. However there is a fundamental benefit to external linking that is your site becomes a more useful resource for visitors so they are more likely to return (and in the same respect, a useful page on your site is more likely to encourage natural link growth). The reality of browsing the web means that a user can leave your site at any time (by closing the browser or hitting the back button) - so why not make their browsing experience as useful as possible while they are on your site?

In terms of SEO, there has been speculation in the past that external links can be a ranking factor. Although there is little tangible evidence to support this, it makes sense that search engines look at references to other websites (external links) as an indicator of the quality of your page.

However, simply linking indiscriminately to other sites in the hope that Google may view your page in a better light isn't an appropriate course of action to take. This thought lead to the SEO myth that linking to Google would help your search engine rankings! This isn't the case at all.

If you do choose to link to other sites, then have a think about why are you linking to them. Are the pages you are linking to good resources for your visitors? This is the main issue - everything else is largely irrelevant.

Related terms and definitions

• ethical link building
• Google
• internal linking

eflaunt is a UK Internet Marketing and Search Engine Optimisation agency based in Edinburgh, Scotland. For industry news, please refer to the eflaunt SEO blog.