Forum Moderators: open
G) Outbound Links:
From every page, link to one or two high ranking sites under that particular keyword. Use your keyword in the link text (this is ultra important for the future).
Can anyone tell me why this is important?
I understand that it is important to "receive links" from quality sites but what good does it do to link to them?
Thanks!
However there are different models of websites and different ways of attaining rankings for these sites. This linking out debate crops up every second month and there are no definite answers. Try and experiment and see what works for you. Hope that helps. :)
SlowMove said it for me, links help determine topicality, and it cuts both ways.
That doesn't fly.
"Use descriptive page titles."
It works, and will always work.
In this case, outbound links will for eternity be a signal of a strong site. Sites that don't link out will always be viewed as afraid to link, of not being a part of the greater web, of being afraid of comparison.
There will always be exceptions, but the best authoritative sites in every niche link out, while the weaker ones almost never will (or will link to only their family sites, or bury links). A good search engine should highly value links to non-related sites. This shows "backbone" (was going to use another "b" word) and confidence. Linking to the appropriate dmoz or Yahoo category for your topic is user-friendly and doesn't have a significant downside... unless your site is weak.
The loss of PR is more than made up for by the gain in credibility.
outbound links will for eternity be a signal of a strong site
What kind of signal, and to whom? And what do you mean by a strong site? There are two separate issues: (1) whether an outbound link can be proved to improve the ranking of a page for a particular search (in the way that a good title can - and any webmaster can test that out for themselves), and (2) whether it's good for visitors.
With the massive changes that Google has made it has become very difficult to identify what is important anymore.
Yes, and one reason why it makes sense to use outbound links: not for their unproven SEO potential, but because having a well-rounded site that honors the precepts of the "organic Web" reduces your vulnerability to changes in the Google algorithm.
... (external links) increases the chances of googlebot understanding that your site is good...How exactly does Google do this? Can anyone prove it? The pagerank calculator I use proves mathematically that an external link passes pagerank from your page to the one you link to. In other words, Google "believes" the page I've linked to is "good" because my page has "voted" for it. If the external page doesn't link back to mine, then Google doesn't think of my page any differently than it did before. As I understand it, this simple principle is the foundation of Google.
Google doesn't quantify your sites existence only on links back - if that were true then there would be a crapload of sites that havn't been updated in 5-10 years sitting in #1 spot becuase they have tons of links out there.
Googlebot uses your outbound links to see if you are the "leader" of your topics. If the outbound links from your site build a pattern of quality content it can help your ranking.
The idea of google is to give credit where credit is due - and business sites that don't link out as you propose are not what googlebot is looking for. Google is a content search engine and thats what people expect. If the serps don't return legitimate content people complain - yet if the sellers loose rank they complain that too. (thats for another discussion).
The web is built of a network of interconnected websites. How intricate and how in depth you tie your website to that web directly reflects into the serp positions you have. Outbound and inbound links provide a reflection of your content and subject matter. Being a hermit doesn't do anything for you :)
If you sold cars, why wouldn't you link to the manufacturer of those cars? How about some reviews of them in some car magazines?
Easy. Because if you linked to the car manufacturer your user might want to buy them direct and if you send them to car magazines the users might see an ad for a different car, see an adsense ad for your competitor or get otherwise distracted. A professional business would review the cars themselves or syndicate some content and contact the car manufacturers and ask about displaying their logo on their site.
We have such a small time to get our visitors' attention that we have to minimise distraction. Yes, I agree that information about a product can generate sales, but keep the content on your own site. You've all heard the "three clicks and you're out" mantra - well if that is an external link then it is one click. The disloyal user, with the attention span of a gnat, surfs away, never to come back.
Dissing your own site isn't good seo.
...ponder the new buzzword "signals of quality"
Interesting point Buckworks. G never says anything without a reason. So what could be some "signals of quality?" Could outbound linking to a relevant site that Google considers important be a signal of quality? That sounds pretty reasonable to me.
To me, "quality" in Google speak means sites that place user experience over everything else. Some things that jump to mind:
- copy written by humans for humans, not computer for bot
- related, organic (or at lease organic looking) inbound links from quality sites
- well constructed pages and url structures
These are the obvious ones. What about less obvious things like site speed, a site's traffic, repeat visitors, etc.
And how Google can algorithmically measure signals of quality is anyone's guess.
If your site is afraid to link out because it is too weak to hold users, then it sends that message loud and clear, and a search engine should look to rank stronger sites higher. Dissing your own site isn't good seo.
Can you find any links out on Google's corporate pages? Amazon? Ebay? Dell? Kelkoo? Lastminute? Apple? But I guess these are weak sites, aren't they, not strong ones? Too weak to hold users...
But then, I guess your site is in a different league to these weak sites...
Excellent point. There are many prominent commercial sites that do well in the SERPs that have few outbound links. Best way to test a hypothesis if to find examples that suggest otherwise. Check out the SERP for "pizza". Do those large chains ranking high link out to at least 1 external site on most pages?
If your site is afraid to link out because it is too weak to hold users, then it sends that message loud and clear, and a search engine should look to rank stronger sites higher. Dissing your own site isn't good seo.
I worked hard on my site and at various place put links to various government agencies with the note that analysis on my site is good but for the last word and most up-to-date info please visit them. From my log analysis, I find them vanishing from my site at those places. I think I will have to add some disparaging words there - like "but really really bad interface." Do government agencies sue for defamation? :)
Except for Froogle, Google has never claimed to be running a shopping directory, and its mission statement talks about "organizing the Web's information and making it universally acceptable." On its "What's a Google?" page, the Google Web site gives examples of how the seach engine might be used:
"A Google user might be a woman in Atlanta trying to decide what car to buy. Or a doctor in Osaka looking for the latest study on an unusual illness. Or maybe a business executive in London researching a competitor."
Note that, even in the one shopping example, the user is looking for information--not looking for a dealer or to make an immediate purchase.
To me, this suggests that--in the future--owners of e-commerce sites may need to think and behave like owners of information sites if they want to compete with information sites on an even footing. The other option (which may be more appealing to many) is to buy ads just as businesses do in the offline world.
I agree a links page / directory to non quality sites would be a no-no on a serious site - but also it would be naive to think that no outgoing links will benefit a site.....but I'm still learning... :)
You have GOT to be joking! Google's corporate pages link to their search engine which links to every freaking body in the galaxy, including having a directory with millions of sites in it.
You don't have to link out to unrelated domains from every page of your domain.
Can you find any links out on Google's corporate pages?
Can you find any links out on Google's corporate pages?
Steveb had a good answer for this.
Also, the members who have objected to outbound links in this thread haven't qualified their statements by saying "Links from corporate pages of business sites are unprofessional." They've objected to outbound links from anywhere on their business or e-commerce sites, unless I've misread their posts. That's certainly their privilege, but if they aren't going to be part of the information Web, they'll have no grounds for complaining if they find it difficult to keep high rankings in the #1 information search engine.
they'll have no grounds for complaining if they find it difficult to keep high rankings in the #1 information search engine.
I have yet to see any evidence to prove the theory that outbound links help with rankings. Not a sausage. Nothing in my experience at all. I've had no problems getting very good rankings without outbound links - and will keep getting great rankings without them. Even if we suppose for a second that outbound links do give some benefit, it will never be a large factor.
...it will never be a large factor.
Never is a very long time. Who know's what tomorrow might bring?
WBF
Never is a very long time. Who know's what tomorrow might bring?
If outbound links were a large factor then there wouldn't be so many dead or PR 0 directories out there. I don't think Google wants to revive them. If outbound links are such a big factor then why have we seen no evidence? Why isn't everyone setting up linkfarms?
You been out of town the last three months?
The evidence is everywhere.
IMHO, it just makes sense to have a well-rounded site that won't go skidding in the SERPs if Google turns up the "authority" knob ever so slightly. Still, to each his own. AdWords are always available to those who need them. :-)
The evidence is everywhere.
Please feel free to enlighten me. I haven't seen any.
For the past year or so, I have ranked in the top 3 for the term "gender scout widgets." All through Florida, Brandy, other minor updates, no changes.
On this particular page, I have a prominent spot for text link sponsor, that has always been blank. As these particular widgets are not sold online, this was not a monetizable page for me via affiliates.
So, a couple weeks ago, I added a prominent text link to Gender Scout Widgets of America, as a helpful link for my users.
Almost immediately I dropped to page 3. This text link was the only change on my side (though clearly there have been plenty of SERPS changes).
Anyone think there was a correlation between adding the link and the drop in the SERPS? I remained stable in other key words where I had and still do rank highly.
[/edited for grammar]
Can you find any links out on Google's corporate pages? Amazon? Ebay? Dell? Kelkoo? Lastminute? Apple?
Uh, did you bother to check these sites?
Google links to everyone in the world. It's called the google directory. The whole point of google is to send you elsewhere.
Amazon - aparently they don't link out much, but I did find some in their help pages within a minute of going on their site.
Ebay - just look at the home page. You can find lots of other links out by just following around a few clicks.
Dell - check their goverment pages.
Kelkoo - never heard of them. Looks like just another catalog affiliate site. Doesn't matter though, when you get down to the pages about the individual shops, they have links to them.
lastminute - looks like over-SEOed travel affiliate. How could they stay in business if they did not link to other sites. That is what they do. Those ads on their site link to doubleclick.
Apple - [apple.com...] need I say more?
Yeah. This is their business model, we are all clear about this. So can you find any others?
>Amazon - aparently they don't link out much, but I did >find some in their help pages within a minute of going on >their site.
Can't find them. I know their policy is not to link out.
>Ebay - just look at the home page. You can find lots of >other links out by just following around a few clicks.
Those are ads and security certificates...
>Dell - check their goverment pages.
1 for each state. So that resellers know who to contact to become a vendor. I stand corrected.
>Kelkoo - never heard of them. Looks like just another >catalog affiliate site. Doesn't matter though, when you >get down to the pages about the individual shops, they >have links to them.
They're a PPC engine for crying out loud - every link is paid for! Check their other pages...
>lastminute - looks like over-SEOed travel affiliate. How >could they stay in business if they did not link to other >sites. That is what they do. Those ads on their site link >to doubleclick.
Those are adverts. And if you think they are over-SEOed, take a look at their URLs - they haven't been touched with an SEO barge pole...
Apple - [apple.com...] need I say more?
Ok. I stand corrected on that one. ;)
The point I am trying to make is that ecommerce sites don't make a habit of linking out to informational resources. Why do you think AskJ search results open in a frame?
Thus linking to these "if you have a listing in DMOZ" will always help you.
<added>Because the link anchor is a bridge of theme it's important to link out "on theme" so that the theme progression that to you improves. e.g. if you have a space related site -- linking to NASA is quite beneficial to you - where linking to non-profit cancer site would produce less return.
Don't confused this with PageRank - not the same thing.</added>
