Are External Links Really Bad for SEO?

[applesofgold]

I have a quality site with good PR and we have very few outbound links.

We are always looking for good content since it is a blog, and I get frequent requests from "guest bloggers"–some of which actually provide really high quality & unique content. But, of course, to get their content I have to give them at least 1 link.

I have always been taught that external links really hurt your site and that basically 1 outbound link cancels out 1 inbound link because they balance each other out.

Is this true? I always wondered why we must get penalized for linking out to good sites? It makes me get very "stingy" with my outbound links, whereas if my site would not be effected, I would want to be more generous.

Any suggestions & info would greatly help!

Thank you,

Afshin

[evolvingSEO]

Afshin

To my knowledge, outbound links do not cancel inbound links. They will flow PR if they're followed (which takes PR away from internal links, but this is not of worry. Look at all the best sites on the net, they ALL use outbound links!)

Its best to think of this based upon the engines and users.

Engines - there has actually been a very slight positive correlation shown between rankings and outbound links. Also, link out to sites that are similar in content to yours. Don't sell links of course, and don't go WAY overboard with outbounds.

Users - Link externally for users. Add outbound links based upon user value. Its that simple. And think about the "karma" too... if its a blogger who you genuinely like, you're building a relationship with them, and these relationships can provide great value in the future.

-Dan

[EGOL]

I have always been taught that external links really hurt your site and that basically 1 outbound link cancels out 1 inbound link because they balance each other out.

I am going to refrain from making comments about your teachers. 

If everybody linked to nobody the web would not be 'The  Web".  You know that.  Google knows that.  So you should be able to conclude that linking out is good.

The question that you should be asking is... "Who am I linking to?"

Let that be your guide.

My rule is to link out generously and often.  But always do my best to link to sites or to content that is either superior to or complimentary to my own.

An article with abundant links out to high quality sites on the same topic is a richer resource than the same article with zero links - and I think that google will rank it higher.

But, if the Pope sends me a great article with a link to a payday loan site then I will hit the delete button.

[wojkwasi]

Great answer

[applesofgold]

I appreciate the response. I do like what you are saying and hope it is true. It is logical, that's for sure. Do we have any documentation that Google feels as you do also? That would really settle it for me.

But all in all, I think it is good advice to link to relevant quality sites that make sense to link to.

[EGOL]

Pick five articles on your website and go to the SERPs to see how each of them rank for several relevant keywords.   Record your results.

Then, on each of those pages place a box in the sidebar that contains links to five fantastic pages on high authority websites that are about the same topic.

Wait three months then go out and check those rankings.  I will bet that your rankings go up.  I have satisfied myself that this is true.

[applesofgold]

very interesting. I may do that. This will certainly open a lot of possibilities if I can stop being afraid to link out to other sites. I was just told early on from several sources that outbound links hurt and I always carried that with me.

This was about 6-7 years ago when SEO was still more hazy for many people.

Afshin

[applesofgold]

Thanks, Dan. I appreciate the input!