Do Outbound Links Help A Page's Ranking?

[Aaron Egan]

Hi,

Has anybody had some real improvements to a page's ranking by implementing outbound links from it?

i.e. From a page on "golf lessons" i link out to another (highly relevant) site's page on golf lessons?

I've heard if you are over protective of linking out it can hurt you???

Cheers,

Aaron.

[jsmichael6]

Originally Posted by Aaron Egan

Hi,

Has anybody had some real improvements to a page's ranking by implementing outbound links from it?

i.e. From a page on "golf lessons" i link out to another (highly relevant) site's page on golf lessons?

I've heard if you are over protective of linking out it can hurt you???

Cheers,

Aaron.

I dont think outbound link will be help in page's ranking.I never heard that.

[NickWatson]

It does help. I cannot say by how much, but it definitely makes it easier to rank your page and you will be pleasantly surprised when the next PR update rolls by.

I always get the best results and rank my pages easiest when I create a truly useful page of content...concentrate on your keyword, and what it is the person actually wants, then create a page giving them EXACTLY that! Even if it means a few useful links to other pages.

[rowanman28]

Yes, I've heard that the hilltop algorithm identifies expert pages as those that link out to authority sites, and this may help a little. It also helps Google understand your page's relevance, like having your keywords in an h1 tag. Having said that, I don't make do follow links out of my site much.

[gabwilliams]

If the other site has a high PR then it will definitely help you climb up Google, especially if the 2 sites are relevant to each other.

[paulgl]

How is PR going to rise with outbound links?

That makes no sense.

Why give people a way to surf out?

The only links I have are paid links.

Why would outbound links do anything?

Except give more avenues of people surfing away...

Paul

[eurekapsycrille]

Some people said that it helps, and some says it is useless. Why don't you give it a try to see if it is effective or not?

You will not see the results if you will not conduct an experiment.

[Targeted Traffic]

Outbound links do NOT increase PR, and this is obvious, otherwise it would be easy for each of us to increase our website PR to infinite, wouldn't it?! We all simply add tons of outbound links to our sites.

But more important: it's true when John Conde says "Outbound links do NOT take away PR from the page they are in", but be very careful because in practice outbound links will end up reducing the all PR of your site.

Outbound links do not increase PageRank. They do "pass" PageRank to the pages they link to, but they don't "take it away" from the page the link is on.

[thecableguy]

Has anybody had some real improvements to a page's ranking by implementing outbound links from it?

i.e. From a page on "golf lessons" i link out to another (highly relevant) site's page on golf lessons?

I've heard if you are over protective of linking out it can hurt you???

Haven't documented it on any sites, but yes, I've heard it several times from people who's very knowledgeable on the subject from as far back as several years ago. Has to do with the visitor experience and trust rank, whether the page is simply just littered with affiliate links or there's other links for the visitors reference as well. Has to be like you said though relevant links. Some suggest linking to wikipedia, ehow, etc., I open a new browser window on those links so the visitor won't leave the site.

[jordyhill]

I'm no SEO guru, but I always find related articles on Wiki and link out to them. It certainly doesn't hurt to do that, and overall I am of the opinion that it is an important factor.

I'll be watching this thread, I love a good debate.

5 in the yes camp, 2 in the no camp. Let the games begin!........

[jordyhill]

Originally Posted by jordyhill

5 in the yes camp, 2 in the no camp. Let the games begin!........

Figures correct at time of writing!

[JawadAshraf]

If its an authority and relevant site then it will just improve your site's trust relationship with search engines and not your site's rankings.

[thecableguy]

If its an authority and relevant site then it will just improve your site's trust relationship with search engines and not your site's rankings.

I have to disagree (JMO), the links won't guarantee improved rankings, but somewhere in the webmaster guidelines it mentions about the visitor experience, and linking to the definition of a word to help the visitor, or a relevant example to make it more clear, where you got your references, etc. can help the visitor experience. Just throwing out a bunch of links that link to high PR sites probably do anything, linking out acts like references in a physical book, newsletter, etc. Just as other sites can "reference" you you can reference them as well. Like I said JMO, and other webmasters more knowledgeable and successful than me have suggested it. I think that it's figured into the algorithms somehow vs a page that's loaded with just affiliate links.

[paulgl]

This thread is why at times, the WF is just garbaged.

Outbound links matter for nothing in SEO.

Anyone who says they do, due to feelings, or whatever, is
just pulling the same BS nonsense on other threads.

I can see it now. Everybody rushing to add outbound links and
looking for a miracle.

Aint gonna happen. Dream on.

Some of the replies here are just gibberish.
(Not in reference to this one one)

Originally Posted by Targeted Traffic

but be very careful because in practice outbound links will end up reducing the all PR of your site.

The number of outbound links will sure dilute your internal PR linking. And those
are gold. You could put nofollow, and some bozos do, but then they are
broadcasting that their sites are full of untrusted links!

The insanity of voodoo SEO continues...

Paul

[Mike Anthony]

Originally Posted by paulgl

This thread is why at times, the WF is just garbaged.

Outbound links matter for nothing in SEO.

l

Paul you are batting a 100 for making overboard statements. Want to link out to a bunch of porn and bad neighborhood sites and think they may never have SEO consequences? Generally what you say is true but newbies will take it the wrong way when you make blanket statements like that. If it is ever determined by a manual review that your outgoing links are paid then it will DEFINITELY have a seo effect who you link out to and why - can we say deindexation? Those two examples alone blows your blanket statement

There is no Voodoo in thinking who you link to might possibility have a (in my opinion very very) small effect in terms of content credibility. Neither you nor I know the Algo so we ought not to pretend like we do.

Practically I agree with you . If such a factor exists it is small but blanket statement wise its just flat out wrong.

[paulgl]

Oh Mike. We are not talking about porn links.

We are talking about links to related, authoritative sites that
somehow are going to boost our PR (impossible) and/or our
rankings. If that's not voodoo SEO, nothing is.

But getting back to porn links. I'm sure some people here will
find it amazing that some porn sites are very authoritative and
have high PR.

So, if you have a porn site and want to increase PR, you link
to more porn sites! That is, if you believe the hype here.

Remember, porn links are porn links. They do violate adsense TOS,
but do not violate anything else.

Yes Mike. I agree. I get filled with overbroad statements at times.

Obviously, if you have people searching with a filter...but then, they
aint looking for porn.

Here's a laugh for you Mike. How about the opposite. I can hear it now.

If you have a porn site, you will hurt your site by linking out to family
friendly urls. (If it works one way, it should work the other, right?)

Or maybe the flip side. If you have a porn site, and you link to
family friendly urls, maybe your site will rise in ratings! That would
be the logic espoused here, right?

Paul

[MrWonton]

Paul, I'm fairly certain the OP is talking about SERPs rather than PR. We all know that outbound links won't raise a page's PR, and we all know that PR isn't the only factor in Google's SERP algo.

On one of my personal blogs, a few major car insurance brands advertised in my sidebar. When I added the links, my blog started ranking for the anchor text I was using to link out to those websites. When their contracts expired, and I removed the links, my rankings for those terms also dissapeared. It's worth mentioning that my blog had no car insurance related content on it. It's most likely just a case of those KWs being on the website, regardless of whether they're a link or not.

I don't deliberately link out to other websites to try and rank for specific keywords. I'd rather perfect my internal linking.

[thecableguy]

Paul just because you don't agree with it doesn't mean it's garbage, I agree there has been some garbage posted in all the forums, and I didn't say this is a magic bullet or that it even will help in the SERPs, I said can help. I said people more knowledgeable than me and who's been successful in the SERPs have suggested doing so. For instance Brian Johnson, Craig Mako, etc. You have your opinions, other people have theirs, just because they don't agree with yours doesn't mean it's garbage.

[paulgl]

Saying that outbound links are going to improve a page's rankings is...
garbage. If it were only that easy.

But, I can see it now. Every bozo scrambling, adding links, and...
waiting for the boost!

Paul

[thecableguy]

Just a thought, put the links in your sidebar (if using WP) in a text widget or the blogroll, monitor your rankings, and if it doesn't help then simply remove it.

[Mike Anthony]

Originally Posted by paulgl

Oh Mike. We are not talking about porn links.

It applies to much more than porn links and it doesn't matter a fig newton what you link out to if its a paid link your site can get deindexed just for selling an OUTBOUND LINK so your utter nonsense about Outbound links having nothing to do with SEO is the greatest garbage in this thread.

But getting back to porn links. I'm sure some people here will
find it amazing that some porn sites are very authoritative and
have high PR.

Why? who said anywhere that pagerank can't flow to a porn site. Where he at?

Here's a laugh for you Mike. How about the opposite. I can hear it now.

If you have a porn site, you will hurt your site by linking out to family
friendly urls. (If it works one way, it should work the other, right?)

Umm No thats just you being a little silly. So if a river flows down stream it ought to flow up and work the other way too? Go get some sleep man. the porn site will still be a bad neighborhood because wait for it --- the out bound links don't change the on page content. Its still porn. Now if we have a really nice piece of content about say politics is it possible that a reference to the white house in anchor text might count toward related content about how google analyzes the page? Dunno. have you seen the algo? When did they open it up and show it to you? You should be killing a SEO WSO. Giddy up and draw in the cash cause Paul has the algo on lock.

I don't disagree that its debatable or if it exists its a weak factor but there is much more a potential of there being a sliver of truth to it than your own home grown nonsense that outbound links have nothing to do with SEO.

That makes no sense.

Why give people a way to surf out?

The only links I have are paid links.

Ahem, speaking of garbage. Why does wikipedia give links? CNN?, hundreds of top name bloggers? Going to hold your viewers hostage or something? Force them not to leave by making them forget they can in fact leave whenever they wish? No Paul people actually give links when it helps their readers to get information they need or in order to properly cover a subject. and guess what all those sites actually grow in readership. Go figure. if you actually give people some information, lead them to things that are useful instead of your bought links they actually return to the site because people don't need to be given a way out they can actually leave unless you kill them with those "wait don't leave pop ups" which readers love so much.

[Aaron Egan]

I think paulgl has misinterpreted the question that the rest of you have managed to understand.

If I were given a response that said "Yes. Go and add as many outbound links to every single one of your pages", would I go ahead and do that?

No.

Anybody that knows even the basic concepts of SEO would think that's just a waste of time that will have no positive impact on the placement of your website or it's pages within search results.

What I meant was, adding one rel=nofollow outbound link within your site's body of content so that it's not site-wide, to complement an article and give SE's the perception that you are providing value to the reader/visitor.

And as already mentioned above by MrWonton, and several others in this thread, the answer is yes (even at a minimal degree).

But it's the little things you do in SEO that can add up and make a big difference in SERP's.

Thank you to all those that responded in a constructive manner.

[Brendan Mace]

From my experience with seo, outbound links do make a difference in the rankings. If the links are relevant to the keyword you are targeting, and is considered an authoritative website, google will reward you. If the outbound link is to a link farm or low quality site, then google will not give you any boost, and may even slightly penalize you.

To state the obvious ... I have absolutely no proof that outbound links have any effect on the search engine placement of a web page. But no webmaster here can state with certainty whether google counts outbound links.

The argument could be made that if it was that easy, we'd all load up our sites with outbound links. But that is a fallacious argument for a couple of reasons. First of all, google does not like a page that is overloaded with outbound links. And it's doubtful that google would consider a page loaded with links as an authoritative post. And second of all, you have to choose your outbound links wisely. If google does give you a boost for outbound links, it would be for links that are relevant to the content and an authority. <--- and why not give a slight boost to a page that includes context relevant resources. IMO the search engines should appreciate pages that appropriately link out to relevant sites.

[Question]

I'm pretty sure it does the opposite. You don't want a large amount of OBL's or else it will actually take away from the value of your site/page. It'll make your site look like spam and will make your site a lot slower to navigate.

[Rick Diculous]

I have a few sites with relatively no backlinks (maybe 10) and as many outgoing links, but those outgoing links all point to some high PR directories (Way higher than the ones pointing in). Some of my sites got PR2 after being online only a couple of weeks (5-6).

I'm not saying I don't believe that OBL can get some PR, but then again, I can say I believe the oposite either. This is just something I experienced recently

[guzpra]

I guess OBL is just one of many factors considered by google for ranks in SERP, maybe not much help but it is counts

[NickWatson]

Paul im sorry to buddy, im another one that disagrees with you. I am a firm believer that quality, relevant outbound links DO in fact have an impact on SERPs and PR.

But not the way you think i see it...im no fool, and know that a few good quality links in my content are not going to give me some sort of SEO miracle...but as a PIECE of the OVERALL puzzle...outbound links definitely help.

The way I see it, Google will see a page with truly useful and informative information to the user. Thus, giving the page a little more weight in the rankings.