A couple of days ago we talked about “Best Of” blog articles and in that article, I briefly mentioned that it is perfectly fine – and even beneficial – to link to other sites. I thought that topic warranted an article of its own.

Many newbie bloggers and Solopreneurs (and even experienced ones) are afraid to link to other sites. They think they will lose readers and bleed out “link juice” and authority to the other site.

If you’re linking to crappy, spammy sites, that is definitely the case. But if you’re linking to other quality blogs or various authority sites, these outbound links can actually be very beneficial.

What Is an Outbound Link?

An outbound link is simply a link that goes to a site other than your own. If I’m linking from one of my blog articles to an older one, that’s an internal link. If another blog links to me, that’s an incoming link. If I link to someone else’s blog or an article on a university website, for example, that’s an outbound or outgoing link.

Linking To Authority Sites

Linking to other websites is good practice; after all, that’s what makes the web the web. These links are what connect all the websites and blogs out there. You just want to make sure that the page and site you sent your readers to is a quality site. Check out their content and make sure it's quality stuff before you link to any site.

Linking Helps With Credibility

Linking to other helpful blog articles is a nice thing to do for your audience. It helps you build credibility and trust. Readers will come to see you as a great resource of information and that will keep them coming back for more.

Linking Helps With Search Engines

Last but not least, linking out to authority sites will help you gain more credibility and help you rank higher. Give it a try. Find a high authority blog link to or even better, where it makes sense, link to articles and blog articles of any university or government sites.

The Rundown

Don’t overdo it, but don’t be afraid to link out here and there and see if that doesn’t help you rise in the search engine rankings.