External links are links from your website to someone else's site. External links are a great way to build credibility in your articles and improve your SEO.
Read on to learn more about external links, why you need them, and how to find them.
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What Are External Links?
External links are links from your blog post to other websites. These links can be to any page outside of your domain but are best when they link to reputable or highly authoritative websites.
Should You Include External Links in Your Blog Post?
Yes! External links are important because they provide additional information to back up your own claims.
External links also show your readers that your blog posts are well-researched and more than just the author's opinion. Always make sure that whoever is writing your blog posts includes external links in their posts.
Value of External Links for SEO
External links to your website help boost your SEO. Including links to websites that Google considers "high authority" improves the SEO for your website.
The more links you include to reputable, authoritative sources, the better your site looks to Google's algorithm. The better your site looks to Google's algorithm, the higher you'll appear in search results.
How Many External Links Should You Include in a Blog Post?
A guideline for the ideal number of external links is 3 per 1000 words in your post. Some prefer to shoot a little higher or lower, but 3 is a safe number until you develop your own preference.
What Should an External Link Look Like in a Blog Post?
External links should be to reputable sources only. Include them whenever you make a claim in your writing that can or should be supported by research.
Spread your external links throughout the article. Including many external links close together can cause your reader to click off your page and never return to your post. Instead, you want to keep people reading your post or moving to other pages within your site.
Speaking of not directing people to other pages, always ensure your external links are set to open in a new tab or window. Most readers who open links in the same window do not return to what they were reading originally.
What Should Your Anchor Text Look Like?
Anchor text is the text in your article that contains the external link. Type the text, highlight it, and insert a link to the external page to create anchor text.
Effective anchor text clearly describes where the link will take you, is formatted to look like a link, and flows with the writing.
Anchor text should not be "keyword heavy." Whatever keywords you optimize your blog post for should not be included explicitly in the anchor text. Anchor text impacts your SEO by telling Google what the linked article is about.
Here are two examples of solid anchor text for an external link to a Harvard study about teacher burnout.
This Harvard study found that 80% of teachers reported experiencing burnout after the first month of the school year.
Teachers leave their positions because they experience increased burnout, desire higher pay, or are unhappy with their administration.
These two examples use different types of anchor text, but both tell the reader exactly where they will go if they click the link. They are also integrated into the writing, so they are less likely to distract the reader from the blog post's content.
Where Can You Find External Links for Your Blog Post?
You can find reputable external links for your blog post by searching for them on Google or your favorite search engine. Before choosing which links to include, make sure you review each one for legitimacy, conflicts, or other issues.
How Do You Know Which External Links Are Best?
External links should be to reputable websites sharing information supporting what you write in your blog post.
Ideally, all your links should end in one of the following:
.gov
.org (except Wikipedia)
.edu
Avoid using .com websites because they tend to be less reliable or direct competitors to your articles. Check out the section below to learn more about why you should avoid linking to direct competitors.
How to Locate Reputable Sources
I personally prefer to use studies from various places to support my blog posts. While I typically read through 10-15 sources to create a single blog post for a client, I don't include nearly as many as linked sources.
Here are a few easy ways to locate studies relevant to your topic:
Type "studies show" into the search bar with your topic to pull other articles about the same issue that already found relevant studies you can use
Search your topic in a database of peer-reviewed sources (links provided in the section below)
Adjust your Google search settings to pull only reputable sources while researching your topic
Find your topic on Wikipedia and check the footnotes for useful sources
There are many ways to locate reputable sources for external links. The more posts you write, the better you will become at finding sources quickly and efficiently. For more help with this, check out this guide for recognizing reputable sources.
Generally, reading the abstract and/or conclusions section of the study will be enough to use the study in your article. You can almost always access this for free without paying for the full text of the study.
External Links to Avoid
Avoid linking to any of your direct competitors. Anyone selling the same products as you OR attempting to reach the same audience is a direct competitor. Linking to their websites will improve their SEO and contribute to them ranking higher than you on the search results page.
Avoid any website that might not be a reputable source. One giveaway that a site might not be reputable is if you cannot identify the post's author. Another red flag is a website containing extensive errors or typos. Generally, if it feels like something is off with a website, you probably shouldn't use it as a source.
Databases for External Links
Search for your topic in these databases to find studies for external links:
Medical & Fitness Related Articles: PubMed, National Institute of Health, Cochrane
General Research Across Industries: Jstor, Harvard Journals, American Institutes of Research
STEM Related Articles: Science.gov, Science Daily
Wrapping Up
External links are essential for building authority with your readers and Google's algorithm. Effective anchor text tells your readers where the link will take them and does not disrupt the flow of your writing. Always ensure your external links are to reputable, high-quality sources.
If you're looking for more help with your blog, or someone to do the job for you, check out our blog services page to learn more about how we can help. We create blogs that are customized for your small business (and your budget).
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