External linking

[ThorUK]

Hi guys.

So I know external linking is good, as I've seem to have read every article written on the subject from 2007 to 2016, but can't seem to find anything more recent, but does that mean you are better to at least one external link on every page?

And if so, would it suffice to link just to our social media profiles even if you are in an industry where social media brings in very little in the way of customer enquiries? I've actually linked to all our social profiles but made them nofollow.

However, that said, would it be better to leave them nofollow and link to Government white papers in my sector for example?

[MattJanaway]

You should steer clear of creating yourself a rule to say that you need to link out at least once to an external source on every page of your website. On some of your pages, multiple outbound links to great resources can be fine. On other pages, it might not make sense to link out.

If an outbound link adds value to your website visitors, then it's a good thing to do. If it doesn't, don't do it. It really shouldn't be any more complicated than that.

Linking to (or not linking to) your social media profiles will have absolutely zero impact on your SEO, but could be useful for your audience.

I'm not sure what industry you are in but a government white paper should be a superb resource to link to if you think it adds value.