There was a time in the “old” days of internet marketing where people worried about having outbound links taking away their link juice and sending people to other sites. But, today, this is not a problem. In fact, the more you can link out to authority sites the higher your own site will be ranked because it will be good information for your readers.

The Benefits of Linking to Authority Sites are:

You Can Attract Valuable Eyes – If you are sending a lot of traffic to a source they may notice you and link back to you if you also offer a lot of good information.

They Make Your Site More Valuable – When you link to authority sites it signals to search engines and your audience that you are a valuable source of information.

Search Engines Reward Your Efforts – The search engines will note that you are linking to authority sites about your topic which will help them know what your topic is.

Increases Engagement – When you link out to people within your community who are authorities in your niche you can increase engagement with the community.

The trick is to link out in a natural way based on the interest of your audience. Let’s look at some ideas so that you can develop authority links that really help you and your audience.

Link to A Relevant Resource – Anyone you link to should not only be an authority site, but it should be relevant to your audience. You don’t want to send them to your competition, but a link to a research study from a college about a point you’re making is an excellent idea.

Use In-Content Links – A good way to expand on an idea that you’re proposing to your audience is to use links in content that gives a little more information about the topic. Again, the link needs to be an authority site, such as a reference site, University, or another expert.

Link to Valuable Resources – Let’s say you have a site about depression. You can link to the suicide hotlines for every single country if you want to. That turns your site into a valuable resource on its own if it combines all the important information about the topic on one site.

Link to High-Value Content – Don’t link to other bloggers or your competition with one exception. Link to valuable content that is scholarly, relevant, and considered high value on its own. One exception is if a blogger is known as a high-value resource in your circle but isn’t your competition then linking to them can help build a powerful community.

When you find good information for your audience you should link to it and share it. You cannot be everything to everyone even within your own niche. For example, even if you are a tax professional who sells your tax services you may want to link out to well-known authors and specialists who can back up your facts such as Tax Mama and Tax Girl. This furthers your connection in the search engines eyes to your topic and helps everyone know your subject without a doubt.