Do Outgoing Backlinks Help?
I have read somewhere that outgoing backlinks to authority websites help with SEO, but I am not very sure.
Let's say I wrote a developer blog on JS and using the Web APIs.
This would mean that having a couple outgoing follow backlinks to authority sites like Mozilla Developer Network and CSS Tricks would help with SEO.
Is this true?
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Not in the same way that having sites linking to you helps.
First, how is a backlink beneficial?
Backlinks (links from other websites to yours) signal to Google that your content is authoritative. Backlinks are 'votes' in a way, the more 'votes' your site has the more important it must be (in the eyes of Google). This was one of the key differentiators in Google's early search algorithms, and part of why they excelled at returning quality search results.
You linking to other sites does nothing for the above.
What it does though is show your readers that you've done your homework, and are knowledgable in your field, and want to give them access to all the information they'd need even if it's not on your website.
This could lead to a better reading experience, help people trust you more, and add more value in your content which in turn can give you an SEO boost. It's much less direct than how backlinks help though.
GREAT reply 🙌