Google’s John Mueller commented on the SEO practice of linking to authoritative websites. John Mueller explained the history of this SEO tactic and provided Google’s perspective on it, stating that it doesn’t really change anything.
SEO Outbound Links to Authority Sites
There is an SEO rule that states that linking to an authoritative website will help a site rank higher.
This tactic is unsupported by anything a Googler has said or published indicating that linking to an authoritative site is a ranking factor or helps SEO.
It is, in fact, a practice that evolved from a 1998 algorithm research paper and the seminal SEO practices document created by one of the fathers of modern SEO, Brett Tabke.
The HITS Algorithm
Jon Kleinberg published a paper in 1998 detailing his ranking algorithm research paper, which used a new type of link analysis known as HITS.
This new method assigned two scores to a web page:
- A hub rating
- A score for authority
Kleinberg’s HITS algorithm was based on the idea that some websites featured hand-curated pages that linked to authoritative sites. The sites that linked to other high-quality sites were referred to as “hubs,” and they were assigned a hub score.
The second concept underlying HITS is that high-quality sites tend to accumulate links from hub pages. Authorities was the name given to these pages.
- An authority score was assigned to authoritative sites.
- A hub score was assigned to sites that linked to authority sites.
The concept of a hub score and an authority score piqued the interest of the SEO community, which later adopted the concepts as SEO best practices.
But here’s an important fact that many people overlook: Google never used the HITS algorithm.
Nonetheless, the concept of hubs and authority sites became integrated into SEO practice on the premise that Google may have already used or would use them in the algorithm in the near future.
This is where an article published in 2002 on WebmasterWorld.com comes into play.
With only Google, you can build a successful website in 12 months
Brett Tabke (@btabke) published an article in 2002 whose recommendations became the foundation of modern SEO, establishing him as the father of SEO best practices.
This nearly two-decade-old article was titled:
Successful Site in 12 Months Using Only Google: 26 Steps to $15,000 Per Day – A Modern Guide to Content Marketing
One of the SEO best practices recommended by Brett Tabke in 2002 is the idea that it is good to link to another site.
Brett stated:
“G) Outbound Links:
From every page, link to one or two high ranking sites under that particular keyword. Use your keyword in the link text (this is ultra important for the future).”
Because almost all of the recommendations in that 2002 article became the standard for how to practice SEO, I consider Brett Tabke to be the father of modern SEO.
Many of the SEO practices from 2002, such as linking out to an authoritative site, are still regarded as useful by the SEO community, despite the fact that Google has never confirmed that linking to an authoritative site is good for SEO.
Read Finding Success with Legal SEO: 4 Tips for Newer Law Firms.
Are Links to Reputable Websites Beneficial for SEO?
We’re 19 years later, and linking to authoritative sites is still a thing.
The person who asked the question wanted to know if outbound links were still used.
Here’s the query:
“Does giving a “do follow” link to a trusted authoritative site, is that good for SEO?”
John Mueller responded by first providing some context for the practice of linking out.
Because I have a long history in the search community than in John Mueller, my account of how this practice began is based on being present “way back in the beginning.”
Nonetheless, Mueller’s version is fairly accurate.
It Doesn’t Make Sense to Use Outbound Links for SEO.
John Mueller responded:
“I think this is something that people used to do, way in the beginning, where they would create a spammy website and on the bottom they’d have a link to Wikipedia and CNN and then hope that search engines look at that and say like, Oh, this must be a legitimate website.
But… like I said… people did it this way in the beginning and it was a really traditional spam technique, almost.
And I don’t know if this ever actually worked.
So from that point of view I would say no, this doesn’t make any sense.”
Linking Out Can Be Beneficial.
John Mueller then reaffirmed the value of outbound links as a good practice when the content refers to another web page.
Mueller noted:
“Obviously, if you have good content within your website and part of that references existing other content then kind of that whole structure that makes a little bit more sense and means that your website overall is a good thing.
But just having a link to some authoritative page, that doesn’t change anything from our point of view.”
Google is unaffected by outbound links
Outbound links, according to John Mueller, do nothing for Google in terms of algorithmic value.
Everyone who insists that linking out to an authoritative site for which I requested a citation is a good SEO practice can’t explain why.
Everyone I’ve asked has struggled to find a Google statement, a patent, or a research paper that definitively demonstrates that this is something that is good for SEO.
They struggle because there is no confirmation from Google that this is something that is beneficial to SEO.
John Mueller’s statement demonstrates that there is no basis for the notion that linking to “authority sites” is beneficial to SEO.
However, it is a good user experience practice.
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