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And Google’s John open with his take: “Nothing happens. Why should it? This has been one of those things that SEOs have claimed / hoped since literally decades. “Here’s my affiliate site about handbags – and here’s a link to CNN & Wikipedia, please take me seriously now, k?” Treat links like content. Does this link provide additional, unique value to users? Then link naturally. Is this link irrelevant to my users? Then don’t link to it. Name-dropping a dictionary doesn’t fix your spelling mistakes.” Reddit comment If you’ve been following “best practices” and linking out to authority sites as part of your on-page SEO, you’re not alone.
Many people in the industry DB to Data this practice, and there have even been some case studies proving the validity of claims that external links on your site can help with rankings. Do – or did – external links help with rankings? Studies on external links on a page have shown that they help. Reboot Online ran an experiment years ago that spread like wildfire, and the gist was simple: Purchased 10 new sites. 5 sites didn’t use external links. 5 sites used external links. Some big names in the industry chose to review the data, including Rand Fishkin.
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The sites that had external links did experience a positive impact from the links. But there is one problem: the study was done in 2015/2016. The same team redid the study in 2020 with the same results. For 4 to 5 years, external links on the page helped with rankings. What Google ‘really wants’ from your content In a very “vague” manner, let’s discuss what Google wants because we know that no one really knows and is merely looking into a crystal ball that Google seems to shake up whenever it likes. Mueller’s comment suggests links should: Provide additional value. Be natural. Be relevant to the user. So, Mueller states that linking out won’t help your site if the link is irrelevant.
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