7 Factors of External Links to Consider Before Linking

External linking is an important aspect of your SEO strategy. Adding useful links to the content you create adds more depth to it. It’s a way of providing your audience with more details without having to add them all to the content you publish.

External linking also paves the way for you to earn backlinks from credible platforms on autopilot. When you link to content published by someone else, they’ll likely return the favor.

You vouch for the credibility of a platform when linking to its content. They’ll do the same for you. It’s a win-win, as links from credible sites send strong positive signals to search engines.

However, you must be careful when linking to external content. We will help you out by listing the important factors that you must consider to make smarter linking decisions.

1.  Domain Authority

When linking to external platforms, you must check their domain authority. When you add links to external sites. You form an association with them. So, you must associate your domain only with legitimate and respected sources of information.

Domain authority predicts the likelihood of a website ranking in search engine result pages. It’s a strong indicator that showcases a site’s reputation. To know a website’s domain authority, you can use tools, such as Semrush or Ahrefs.

Credibility of external links significantly influences the quality of your content. So, linking only to sites with high domain authority is the safest option.

2.  Topical Relevance

When you add external links to your content, always think about the context. You can’t just link to high authority domains and call it a day. The content you link to must be relevant and add value for your readers. Linking to irrelevant pages, even if you link to high-authority sites, compromises link quality.

Search engines are smart. They can easily understand topical relationships. Therefore, you must never link to random content. It may do more harm than good to your SEO efforts. The goal of adding external links to your content is to enhance your reader’s experience and provide them with more value. Adding external links just for the sake of it is always a bad idea.

3.  Link Destination Health

Checking the technical health of the destination page before linking to it is very important. For example, linking to a website with an absurd load time may compromise the user experience and affect your site’s credibility.

People generally abandon sites if they take more than 3 seconds to load. So, linking to such pages is neither good for them nor you. You can easily check page speed using tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights or IsItWP site speed test. So, consider using it to check the load time of pages you wish to link to.

You must also link to secure pages. Always verify that the destination site uses HTTPS. It may make your visitors uncomfortable when they see a security warning while trying to access a page you linked to. Search engines discourage users from clicking links that are not secure. So, linking to such sources may affect your domain’s reputation.

You must also ensure that the pages you link to are mobile-responsive. Over 60% of web traffic comes from mobile devices. So, you must ensure that the pages you link to offer a seamless experience on all screens.

4.  Content Quality

You must ensure that the pages you link to contain quality content. It reflects on your site’s credibility. When you link to a page, you endorse it. You recommend your visitors to explore it. So, you’d want to verify the quality of the content before suggesting it.

The first thing you should do is see when the page was last updated. Adding links to outdated information can be misleading. So, you should always link to the latest information.

You must also see that the content you link to is well-researched. If the destination pages contain facts or statistics, see that they cite sources. Plus, make sure that the information they provide is accurate.

You must also see that the content published on destination pages provides value. Linking to pages that simply rewrite information available elsewhere would do you no good.

5.  Competition

We’re not saying that it’s wrong to link to your competitors. It’s just a risky move, dare we say, not a smart one as well. Think about it. Do you think it’s wise to route your hard-earned traffic to competing sites?

Sometimes, it may be necessary to link to your competitors’ pages. For example, you’re publishing a listicle containing useful tools. You’ve listed yourself along with other viable alternatives in the industry. Your visitors may take it the wrong way when you don’t link to the competing brands.

You should also consider adding links to your competitors’ pages when leveraging their research. If your competitors’ research supports your point and you decide to use their findings, you should give them credit for it.

However, if you can access the same information elsewhere, you should prioritize linking to that destination. Linking to sites that are not your direct competitors is always a better choice.

6.  Technical SEO

You must always consider the technical SEO aspects when linking to external sources of information. The technical aspects of external linking often dictate how search engines interpret your links.

You must have a clear understanding of link attributes. You should pay attention to the URL structure of your links. Plus, you shouldn’t link to URLs with multiple redirects or temporary ones. Such links compromise the user experience, so you must always link to the final destination URLs.

Remember, linking to external sources may be useful, but you should do it in moderation. An absurd amount of external links can severely affect your crawlability. Even when you have thousands of pages, too many external links can do more harm than good. So, always link to pages that offer value and be moderate.

7.  User Experience

Where you place external links in your content matters significantly. Strategic placement of external links improves user experience, so it benefits your SEO efforts. Think of it like this. You’re providing your visitors with more details when they want them.

Furthermore, you need to see that the placement of your links doesn’t disrupt your content’s flow. Natural link placement is an art that you master over time.

The selection of your anchor texts also matters. Generic anchor texts, such as “click here for more details” or “read more” won’t do you any good. You must always use descriptive and relevant anchor text for external links that indicate what the visitors will find at the link destination.

You must also consider your visitors’ device preferences. We already said that a significant portion of web traffic comes from mobile devices. So, you must ensure that the touch targets should be large enough and spaced well to prevent accidental clicks. Links placed too close together may cripple the experience you offer to mobile users.

It’s a Wrap

Effective external linking demands attention to detail and smart thinking. There are many things that you should consider to come up with a strong linking strategy that benefits your SEO and helps you provide an enhanced information navigation experience to your audience.

You must always link to high-authority and relevant domains. Make sure that your links are contextual and provide value. You should never add an absurd amount of external links or link to poorly-performing pages. You should fact-check the content before linking to it and get all the technical aspects right.

It may take some trial and error for you to come up with an efficient linking strategy. The recommendations we provided may come in handy.