Difference between revisions of "Learn/Why-Outbound-Links-Matter"
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Revision as of 17:51, 20 April 2011
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When you link to other websites from your site, you’re telling search engines which other sites are relevant to yours. It's important that these sites really are relevant to yours, and that you know they're good actors on the Web. By linking to other sites, you’re also helping people find what they need, even if it’s not on your site. Learn more…
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Including links to relevant sites is good for your website's standing with search engines. The Web is all about linking, and search engines look at links coming into a site to help determine what the site is about, and to judge how important the site is to people. Carefully chosen outbound links on your site tell search engines that you understand the value these links give to other websites, and that you are trying to help make the Web a more informative system.
Outbound links tell people that you want to provide them with good information, even if it’s not on your own site. Linking is inherently a generous and helpful action. Your inclusion of outbound links can prompt other people to link to your site, which can in turn boost its reputation and ranking in search results. [edit] Check outbound links regularly
It's possible for people to insert links on your site without your knowledge, if they're clever enough. These links could point to sites you don't endorse, like or want to be associated with. Checking your links regularly means you can stay on top of any malevolent or mischievous linking, rare though it is.
You also may have added links on your site that are no longer valuable, or no longer go where you thought they did. You may have linked to an informational site that's no longer live. It may have moved to another web address, or the owners may have allowed their domain name to expire, and an entirely different business now owns it. You don't want to link to outdated or unrelated sites.