Link Building
External Links
Hyperlinks pointing from one website out to a different domain, the mirror concept to a backlink from the linking site's perspective.
What Is External Links?
An external link is any hyperlink on a page that points to a URL on a different domain than the one it's hosted on — as opposed to an internal link, which points to another page on the same site. External links are, definitionally, the same object as a backlink, just described from the opposite side of the relationship: a link on Site A pointing to Site B is an external link for Site A and a backlink for Site B. On your own site, external links serve a real editorial purpose beyond SEO mechanics — citing sources, referencing supporting data, or pointing readers to genuinely useful related resources builds credibility and can improve the reader's experience by connecting them to relevant context you don't cover yourself. Search engines also use the external links a page includes as part of understanding what that page is about and how trustworthy or well-researched its content is, though this is a much smaller signal than the value a page receives from its own backlinks.
Why External Links Matters for SEO
Credibility through citation
Linking out to authoritative, relevant sources signals that content is well-researched, which readers (and to some extent search engines) reward with trust.
Contextual signal for search engines
The external links a page includes contribute a small amount of context about what the page is discussing and how it relates to other content on the web.
Genuine reader value
Thoughtful external links connect readers to deeper, related, or supporting information you don't need to cover yourself.
A Simple Example
A blog post about climate policy cites a specific government report by linking directly to the original source document, rather than just describing it vaguely. This external link both strengthens the article's credibility with readers and gives search engines clearer context about the specific data being referenced.
Best Practices
- Link out to genuinely authoritative, relevant sources rather than avoiding external links altogether.
- Periodically check that outbound links still resolve and haven't gone stale or broken.
- Use descriptive anchor text for external links just as you would for internal ones.
- Don't hoard all link equity internally out of a misguided fear that linking out "leaks" ranking value.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Avoiding external links entirely out of an outdated belief that they weaken a page's own ranking potential.
- Linking to low-quality, unrelated, or spammy external sites, which can undermine credibility.
- Letting outbound links rot into broken links without ever auditing them.
- Using vague, non-descriptive anchor text for important external citations.
Key Takeaways
- An external link points from one site to a different domain.
- It's the same object as a backlink, described from the linking site's perspective.
- Thoughtful external linking builds credibility and gives readers genuine value.
- Avoiding external links entirely is an outdated and unnecessary practice.