Credibility

Linking is all about credibility. It is votes that a site is of good quality. While most people worry about and concentrate on inbound links, they fail to see the importance of outbound links. Yes outbound links are important.

Think of it this way, links are the life blood of PageRank. If no one links out, logically no one will get links in. How in the world are you going to get inbound links if no one has any outbound links. Then the only way to get inbound links are from directories and link farms. The latter of which is a bad idea, because Google and the like frown heavily on linkfarms.

You link out to add credibility to your page, article, blog or story. It’s a confirmation of something that you have written. But just linking out to any old site is quite useless. If I write about website development and link out to a bunch of porn sites because they paid me, what value does that have for my page/article as well as the receiving site? None at all. It’s all about being relevant.

Outbound links serve as a reference. The higher the reference the more credible the article. Print articles often include references and pointers to other articles and print media to emphasise their point of view, or to cement a factual idea. Why should we not do that with web pages and blogs. If it is a good idea for print media, why is it not a good idea for online media?

Example: If I write about PageRank, and link to Google, Matt Cuts, and other SEO gurus on the same topic, then my article becomes even more worthwhile. It does not stop there, you might link to an article that takes the opposite view, to prove a point. This can also prove to be worthwhile. The point is, you are showing your readers that you have at least done some research, and not sucked things out of your big hairy thumb.

Google, and other search engines say that they want their ranking to reflect, as much as possible, human behaviour and thought. PageRank is a reflection of how important People think your site or page is. How Google do this is a secret. But think of this; if you read an article, that references other similar articles of good and high quality, articles that themselves have high PR, what would your own estimation of the value of the article be. I know what mine would be. I would think that this is an article of some value.

Directories and Link Farms

What about directories and link farms. Well the former is just a listing and probably has no, or very little if any, PageRank value. Normally listings in directories and link farms are not to enhance PageRank but to get exposure and increase traffic.

Directory listings are normally ok, but link farms are frowned upon. Many have stated that Google and other search engines will ban sites that pose as link farms. Linking to link farms could also have a negative effect on PageRank.

But does it matter which site you link to. Google openly states that links to bad neighbourhoods are detrimental, and could even cause a banning. We all know this. Any SEO guru worth their weight in gold, will tell you that linking to or getting links from bad neighbourhood sites is a no no. If this is true, then logically the converse should also apply. Linking to good neighbourhoods will be beneficial.

Off Page SEO Benefits

So then if we value articles or pages or posts whose links give value to that article and in turn give value to me, why then would this be a bad thing. Especially if the search engines try to mimic human behaviour and thought patterns.  

Outbound links offer more than just a small bit of PageRank score. There are other benefits as well. We speak of “off page” or “offline” SEO, or SEO that you have no control over.  The benefit that outbound links have, is that at some point someone is going to notice your link to them, then at some point return the favour.

So in linking to someone else's article they could link back to you, not only giving you link juice, but also potential traffic. Users browsing their article will naturally follow through to read yours, and vice versa.

Relationships

Outbound linking is about building relationships with other bloggers/webmasters. Linking out and sending traffic to other sites is one way of telling others that you exist and that you are serious about your topic. Relationships are vital to any web 2.0 or blog or even business. The old adage “No man is an island”, “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” is very apt.

Reader Satisfaction

The main reason your blog or website is up is because you want to attract readers, users, or customers, or what ever you might call them. The impact that links have upon your customers or readers is far more important than SEO, even though SEO is important. You want links to outside articles to give your readership as much quality information on any given topic as you can. Remember the customer/reader is King. If you do not please them then it is all pointless, isn’t it?

Keep in mind also that too many links can actually decrease reader satisfaction. Especially if they are not relevant or useful links. Keep it natural. Do not overdo it just for the sake of outbound links. Some articles don't require outbound links, some do.

Expertise and Experience

You give the impression that you have some expertise in the given topic. By linking to other sites you are showing your readers that you are ahead of your game in your particular niche.  When you link to other sites you are showing what other sites are doing. This can increase your readers perception of you as someone who knows what they’re talking about.

Conclusion

So it’s not just about PageRank, or traffic, or outbound value or inbound value, its about everything grouped together.

The problem is that this debate has been going on for years. Because no one knows what the search engines, particularly Google, use as their algorithm to calculate PR, we are all speculating the value of outbound links when it comes to PageRank. But this I am convinced about, if Google wants to represent what I as a user think of a particular article, then outbound links become important. Although it might not be of the same value as inbound links, it will have some small value attached to it.

There is also the other side of the argument, that says outbound links have PR leakage. Based on what I have said here, and read on the net,I don’t think I agree with this. Why would Google penalise you for giving value to your readers? Sounds very unlikely.

I am interested to know what your thoughts are? Comments any one ? …