External Link
An external link is a hyperlink that points from one website to a different domain. It connects your content to another website — or vice versa — and plays an important role in the way search engines understand relationships, relevance, and trust across the web.
For example, if you link from yourwebsite.com to example.com, that’s an external link.
External links can point outbound (from your site to another site) or inbound (from another site to yours). Both types are important for SEO and user experience.
Types of external links
- Outbound external link
A link from your website to another website.
Example:[Check out Google’s SEO guidelines](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/seo-starter-guide) - Inbound external link (also called a backlink)
A link from another website that points to yours. These are highly valuable for SEO, as they signal that your content is trustworthy and worth referencing.
Why external links matter for SEO
✅ Outbound external links:
- Improve credibility – Linking to authoritative, relevant sources enhances the trustworthiness of your content.
- Add value for users – Help readers explore related topics or verify information.
- Signal relevance – Search engines see outbound links to reputable sources as a sign of high-quality content.
✅ Inbound external links (backlinks):
- Boost authority – When other sites link to you, it builds your domain’s trust and authority.
- Improve rankings – Backlinks are one of the strongest ranking signals in Google’s algorithm.
- Drive referral traffic – Links from other websites can send targeted visitors to your site.
Best practices for outbound external links
- Link to trustworthy, high-authority sources
- Use relevant anchor text – Describe what the linked page is about
- Set links to open in a new tab if they take users away from your site
- Use
rel="nofollow"orrel="sponsored"for paid or user-generated links - Don’t overdo it — too many links can distract users or dilute your content focus
External vs. internal links
| Feature | External Link | Internal Link |
|---|---|---|
| Destination | Points to a different website | Points to another page on the same site |
| SEO value | Helps build authority and trust signals | Helps with site structure and navigation |
| Control | You control outbound links; not inbound | You fully control internal links |
In summary, an external link is any hyperlink that connects one website to another. Whether pointing out to a trusted source or earning backlinks from other sites, external links help build credibility, improve SEO performance, and enhance the user experience.