What Are External Links?

External links, also known as outbound links, are hyperlinks from your website to a page on a different domain. For example, if your blog links to a government site or a well-known publication, that’s considered an external link.

Why External Links Matter

1. Build Credibility and Trust

Google encourages linking to authoritative and trustworthy sources when it helps users understand the content better. This aligns with Google’s emphasis on high-quality, helpful content.

2. Enhance User Experience

Outbound links allow users to explore a topic in more depth. They serve as citations or additional reading, making your content more useful.

3. Provide Topical Context

By linking to relevant external pages, you give search engines additional context about your topic, which can assist in your content’s discoverability.

Best Practices From Google

Use Crawlable Anchor Tags

Ensure links are created using standard HTML <a href=""> tags so Googlebot can find and interpret them.

Write Descriptive Anchor Text

Anchor text should be clear and concise, describing what users can expect when they click the link.

Use Link Attributes Appropriately

Google supports the use of attributes like rel="nofollow", rel="sponsored", and rel="ugc" to signal the nature of a link:

• Use nofollow for untrusted links or when you don’t want to pass ranking signals.
• Use sponsored for paid or promotional links.
• Use ugc for user-generated content like forum or comment links.

Linking Guidelines

There is no official limit on the number of external links you can include in a post. Google recommends that you only add links when they are genuinely helpful to your users.

Do:

• Link to reputable and relevant sources.
• Ensure links are added to improve the quality of the content.
• Open external links in a new tab if appropriate for usability.

Don’t:

• Link to spammy or low-quality sites.
• Add links solely for the purpose of manipulating search rankings.
• Use excessive outbound links that don’t add value.

Avoiding Spammy Practices

Google explicitly discourages link schemes, such as large-scale guest posting campaigns done solely to build backlinks. If you’re contributing content to another site, the primary goal should be to provide useful information, not to manipulate search engine rankings.

Quick Checklist

• Use <a href=""> with appropriate rel attributes.
• Link only when it enhances the user experience.
• Use clear, descriptive anchor text.
• Don’t overdo it — focus on quality, not quantity.
• Periodically audit your external links for broken or outdated URLs.

Summary

External links are a key part of building valuable, trustworthy, and well-structured content. When used responsibly, they benefit both users and search engines. According to Google, linking to other websites is not only acceptable but often beneficial—just make sure the links are relevant, useful, and follow best practices.

References (All Official Google Sources)

1. Link best practices – Google Search Central
2. Discover your links – Google Search Central
3. A reminder about links in large-scale article campaigns – Google Search Central
4. Qualify your outbound links to Google – Google Search Central