External Linking

External linking is the practice of linking from your website to a page on a different domain. It signals credibility to users and helps search engines understand your content's context.

Category: SEO

Author: Atomic Glue SEO & GEO Team

## Definition

External (outbound) links point from your site to other sites. Contrary to old myths, linking to high-quality, authoritative external sources does not 'leak' PageRank or hurt your SEO. Google views outbound links to relevant, authoritative sources as a positive quality signal. They demonstrate that you have done research and are providing value to your readers.

## External Link Best Practices

Link to authoritative, relevant sources. Open external links in a new tab (target="_blank") to keep users on your site. Use `rel="nofollow"` or `rel="ugc"` for user-generated content, sponsored links, or links to sites you do not fully vouch for. Do not link to spammy or low-quality sites.

## The External Link Myth

The belief that external links hurt your rankings by 'draining' PageRank is a persistent SEO myth. Google has confirmed that pages linking out to quality resources tend to rank better. Outbound links are part of being a good information resource on the web.

## Note

The fear of outbound linking is a relic from the early 2000s. Modern SEO rewards good citizenship. Link out to authoritative sources. It makes your content more useful and signals to Google that you are part of a healthy web ecosystem.

## Key takeaways

• External links to authoritative sources are a positive signal
• Outbound links do not drain PageRank
• Use nofollow for UGC, sponsored, or untrusted links

## Related entries

• [Internal Linking](atomicglue.co/glossary/internal-linking)
• [Backlink](atomicglue.co/glossary/backlink)
• [Dofollow vs Nofollow](atomicglue.co/glossary/dofollow-vs-nofollow)

Last updated June 2026. Permalink: atomicglue.co/glossary/external-linking