external link
Also called: outbound external link, outbound link, external hyperlink
An external link is a hyperlink that points to a page on a different domain than the one it sits on. Seen from the page it leaves, it is an outbound link; the same link viewed from the destination site is an inbound link, or backlink.
Every external link has two ends, and SEO treats them very differently. An outbound external link is one you place on your own page pointing to someone else. Google says this is fine and even useful: “using external links can help establish trustworthiness (for example, citing your sources).” Outbound links are not a direct ranking factor, and link equity is not “lost” when you link out. It is shared across every link on the page.
The other end is what moves rankings. An inbound external link (a backlink) is another site vouching for yours, and earning those is the whole point of link building.
Making external links count
For a link to register at all, Google has to be able to crawl it, which means a real <a href="..."> element, not a button or a script event. Descriptive anchor text tells both readers and Google what sits on the other side, so avoid “click here.” When you link out to a source you do not vouch for, or to a paid placement, mark it: rel="sponsored" for ads, rel="ugc" for user-generated content, rel="nofollow" when nothing else fits. Google treats these as hints, not hard directives, so a nofollowed page may still get crawled through other paths. Use nofollow only when you actually distrust the source, not on every outbound link by reflex.
How it affects your traffic
The external links that grow your organic traffic are the ones pointing at you. Each relevant, editorially given backlink is a third-party site telling Google your page is worth surfacing, which lifts how it competes for rankings and how often it gets pulled into AI answers. A few links from thin or off-topic domains do little. A deliberate profile of links from sites in your niche compounds over time. That earning process is what our Link Building service handles, turning other people's external links into your ranking authority.
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