External Link
Quick Definition
An external link (outbound link) is a hyperlink from your website to a page on a different website. Linking to authoritative sources builds trust with both users and search engines.
What Is an External Link?
A hyperlink pointing to a different domain. Ahrefs: "a hyperlink that leads to a page outside a particular website." Opposite of internal link. When someone links TO you, it's a backlink.
Why: trust (cite sources), user value, SEO signal. Myth busted: linking out doesn't lose link juice.
Best practices: link authoritative sources, open in new tab, rel="nofollow" for affiliates, descriptive anchor text, audit regularly.
Why It Matters
Trust signal. Pages citing sources rank better. See our SEO checklist and writing guide.
Related Terms
Anchor TextAnchor text is the visible, clickable text in a hyperlink. It tells users and search engines what the linked page is about. Descriptive anchor text improves both accessibility and SEO.Internal LinkAn internal link is a hyperlink that points from one page on your website to another page on the same website. Internal links help visitors navigate and tell search engines how your content is organized.
Related Articles
How to Improve WordPress SEO: 15 Tips That Actually WorkYour WordPress site is live but traffic is flat. After 20 years of building and optimizing WordPress sites, here are the 15 things I do on every single project to get Google traffic flowing.How to Write a Blog Post That Ranks on Google (Step by Step)Most blog posts never get a single visitor from Google. I've written hundreds of posts over 20 years, and I've learned exactly what separates the ones that rank from the ones that collect dust. Here's my complete, no-fluff writing process.WordPress SEO Checklist — 20 Steps to Rank Higher on Google in 2026A concise, actionable WordPress SEO checklist covering setup, on-page optimization, technical SEO, and content strategy. Follow these 20 steps to give your WordPress site the best possible chance of ranking on Google.