An outbound link is a link from your blog page to another website. Many people are against this, and their claim is that you should never send people away from your site because if you do, that site visitor is gone for good.
There is truth to that. But if done with care a balance, outbound links can actually do wonders for your blog.
Here are the seven benefits of creating outbound links to other websites:
- Your blog becomes a resource page
- You will have a boosted reputation
- Your blogs become relevant
- your blog can get backlinks
- Search engines may reward you with more traffic
- Your blog adds value to readers
- Your blog becomes identified as legit
Let us take a look at each one and see how outbound links can benefit your blog.
Your Blog Becomes a Resource Page
readers like it when you point them to other credible resources. When they clicked on your link, they have reasons to believe that you are going to provide them help. If your blog can do that, readers would appreciate it if you can point them to another resource that will answer some of their inquiries.
For example, you may have a blog about slot machines. If you mention the history of slot machines somewhere in your slot review, it will help if you link the history to another resource page.
If you do this, the reader would certainly think that you are not trying to be an academic expert, but merely a slot machine enthusiast. The reader would trust you about your slot machine opinion. But showing the reader where you got the information about the history adds credibility.
As such, the reader would start thinking that there is so much to learn about slots and that you can direct him to the right resources.
You Will Have a Boosted Reputation
Reputation depends on one thing: people.
If you are operating a closed-world blog where all your links point to your own blog posts, no one will know that you are there, except your readers.
This is self-limiting, as opposed to sending people out to other blogs. If you create links to other blogs or websites, your readers would naturally think that you are a connected person—that you are part of a niche that caters to what your readers need.
Having said that, your site visitors would start thinking that you are a part of a larger group of experts in the same field.
Just imagine a doctor referring you to another. This doctor may be a general practitioner, and he referred you to an oncologist. As a patient, you will appreciate what the general practitioner did—referred you to the right resource to help you.
Outbound links work in the same way. Readers would think you are trustworthy if you send them to websites that provide them help for specific areas that are outside your expertise.
Your Blogs Become Relevant
The internet is like a country that has thousands of interlinking roads and streets. Google, and people who read blogs, use these links to jump from one page to another.
Search engines index the links and categorize the pages accordingly. Google does this to know what the web page is all about. If we go back to the slot machine blog, Google will crawl the outbound link you made to the slot machine history.
Google will then decide that your blog is about slots. It gives Google a clue what your niche is, and then that page is indexed in the category of slot machines.
From the outbound links you create, Google will know:
- Your niche
- The industry you belong to
- The kind of content your website has
- What problems you solve
- The value you add to your readers
And if Google knows about these things, it will increase your relevance in the rankings because what you have to say on your blog matters.
Your Blog Can Get Backlinks
As you link out to other blogs, you can start an outreach campaign later on. An outreach program or campaign is a process where you talk to a site owner, and then ask him to create links back to your website.
In many cases, this just comes naturally. Many bloggers who know SEO can track where their traffic is coming from. And once they find that you are supplying them with leads, they are likely to return the favor.
“Scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours” is a highly applicable idiom in this case. If you endorse the work of other people, they will naturally feel flattered, and link back to you.
And if more and more people in the same niche does this, the search engine will rank you higher in the search results.
Search Engines May Reward You With More Traffic
The actual traffic you get from other websites backlinking to you is minimal. But if you create outbound links to other websites, you are sending a signal to Google and other search engines that you are a part of an ecosystem.
You see, search engines create an imaginary web that interlinks one connected site to another. As you create more outbound links, you become part of a more significant community, which Google will eventually find out.
As Google lists your blog as part of that community, it starts to trust you more, and it can rank you higher on the search engine. And if it does, you will have the luxury of direct traffic if you are on the first page of the search results.
Your Blog Adds More Value to Readers
There are some things that your blog cannot cover, primarily because it is not your niche. It is also a bad idea to be a know-it-all in your domain. If your blog site is about slot reviews, you may one day touch the subject of other games, like blackjack.
While it may sound like a good idea to explain how blackjack works, an outbound link to a high-authority resource will work better. Readers will start questioning your authority if you are trying to promote or explain blackjack on a slot review website.
If you direct the reader to a blackjack site, which is an authority site about the game, you are adding value to the reader’s experience.
Your Blog Becomes Identified as Legit
The outbound links tell a lot about the quality of your website. If your links are spammy, which means you only link out to your affiliates, Google and your readers will dislike this. But if you create outbound links to sources that benefit your readers, they would naturally think that your website is legit.
There is a big difference between a site that only monetizes, and a site that is genuinely created to provide help. Spammy websites will never get ranked, but those that create an ecosystem of valuable information will find their way at the top of search engine results.
Summary
Outbound links serve a purpose. If done right, they can do wonders for your reputation and your traffic. And as you know, a blog’s lifeline is the number of traffic that gets to it.
Whenever you link out, think of the seven benefits of creating outbound links to other websites, and be guided accordingly. Always think about how Google and your site visitors would react, and you will be able to create outbound links that deliver results.
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