External linking, which refers to linking to other websites from your own, can have both positive and negative effects on on-page SEO. Here are some ways external linking can affect your on-page SEO:
- Positive effect on user experience: If you link to high-quality, relevant external content, it can enhance the user experience of your website visitors. This can lead to longer dwell times, lower bounce rates, and increased engagement, which are all positive signals for search engines.
- Improved credibility and authority: By linking to reputable and trustworthy sources, you can demonstrate to search engines that your content is credible and authoritative. This can lead to higher rankings and better visibility in search results.
- Risk of losing visitors: If you link to external content that is not relevant, spammy, or low-quality, it can negatively impact the user experience of your website visitors. This can lead to a higher bounce rate, which can hurt your search engine rankings.
- Dilution of link equity: If you include too many external links in your content, it can dilute the link equity of your own website. This means that the authority and value that your website has built up over time could be spread out to other websites, potentially reducing the impact of your own links.
In summary, external linking can be beneficial for on-page SEO if done correctly. By linking to high-quality, relevant external content, you can improve user experience, credibility, and authority. However, you should be careful not to link to low-quality or irrelevant content, and avoid including too many external links that could dilute the link equity of your own website.