What is External Linking?
Understanding External Linking in E-commerce
Quick Definition
External linking is the practice of adding hyperlinks from your website to other credible, relevant websites. In e-commerce, strategic external links can improve SEO, provide additional value to customers, build domain authority, and enhance content credibility by referencing authoritative sources or providing supplementary information.
Understanding External Linking in E-commerce
What Constitutes External Linking?
External links are hyperlinks that point from your website to a different domain. Unlike internal links that connect pages within your own site, external links connect your content to other websites, serving multiple strategic purposes in digital marketing and SEO.
Key Benefits of External Linking
- •SEO Enhancement: Signals to search engines that your content is well-researched and connected to authoritative sources
- •Credibility Building: Demonstrates transparency and willingness to reference external expertise
- •User Experience: Provides additional context and resources for visitors seeking deeper information
- •Relationship Development: Can potentially attract reciprocal links from referenced websites
Best Practices for External Linking
Link to Authoritative Sources
Choose websites with high domain authority, credible information, and relevant content.
Use Descriptive Anchor Text
Create links that clearly describe the destination, improving user understanding and SEO.
Open Links in New Tabs
Prevent users from navigating away from your site by using target='_blank' attribute.
Maintain Relevance
Ensure external links directly support or enhance the surrounding content.
External Linking Mistakes to Avoid
- ⚠️Over-Linking: Too many external links can appear spammy and dilute content quality
- ⚠️Low-Quality Sources: Linking to irrelevant or non-credible websites damages your reputation
- ⚠️Broken Links: Regularly check and update external links to maintain user experience
- ⚠️Competing Domains: Avoid linking to direct competitors or sites that might divert customer attention
External Linking in E-commerce Context
For e-commerce sites, external linking can serve strategic purposes beyond traditional content marketing. Product pages can link to manufacturer specifications, independent reviews, or complementary resources that enhance customer confidence.
Tools like Growth Suite help merchants track user engagement with external links, providing insights into how supplementary information influences purchase decisions. By understanding which external resources drive trust and conversion, businesses can refine their linking strategies to support customer journey optimization.
Strategic external linking transforms your website from a mere sales platform to a comprehensive, trustworthy information hub that adds genuine value to customer experiences.
Put External Linking into Practice
Ready to apply these concepts to your store? Growth Suite provides the tools you need to implement effective external linking strategies.
Other Terms in "E"
- EAN (European Article Number)
- E-commerce
- EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)
- Elastic Search
- Email Automation
- Email List
- Email Marketing
- Email Service Provider (ESP)