Off-Topic Outgoing Links

Will a few hurt a theme ?

[mark_roach]

My site is basically a directory of dog breeders. Each breeder can create their own page on my site and is allowed one external link to their own website (if they have one). These links therefore are all to other websites about dogs.

I am toying with the idea of allowing each breeder to have their own favourite links page. It is likely that the majority of these pages will be to other dog websites, although quite a few are likely to be off-topic.

Will my site gain any perceivable benefit from having a large number of extra outgoing links (I have 1000+ members, so we could be looking at 10,000+ links), and if so will it hurt if too many are off topic ?

[mark_roach]

Just flipping this back to the top. A week gone and no answers, I thought the folks here knew everything :) .

There has been some talk recently about off-topic incoming links hurting, so what is the view on outgoing links ?

[Woz]

Hi Mark, I am afraid I don't know the anser to this one either so I'll rally the troups for you. Hang On!

Onya
Woz

[engine]

Hey Mark,
Much will depend how you structure these new links.

I'd recommend every users' site is either
1.
Operated as an individual site - ie, no links from your site to the users' sites - and you link each members' site back to your home page.

This has the effect of each members' site looking like a link into your site. The off topic links will then have little effect. In other words, try not to link to the individual members' pages, unless they are on topic.

I'd think the majority will be, as you say, dog-releated, so the benefits should outweigh the potential downside.

2.
Or
If you have to treat the members' sites as part of your own site (Linked from a page on your own site), then ensure you place your own, on-topic links in prominent positions from the members' sites.

It's inbound links that do all the good for you, with outbound links doing less harm than you might imagine - especially as in 1 above.