The question of outbound links on real estate websites comes up from time to time.  So, what’s the verdict. . .  do they help or hurt?  There are a few issues to be considered.  As usual with SEO, there’s never a simple answer.

Will Outbound Links Drain Authority?

It is true that if you display live links to other websites, you will be passing along a bit of your website’s authority to each of the sites you link to.  And, I think it’s important to be aware of that fact.

Linking to other authority sites isn’t always bad for SEO, though.  The search engines do like it when they see relevant outbound links to authority websites.  How much that practice contributes to getting ranked – I’m not sure.  But, it isn’t a bad practice in and of itself.

My advice is always to look at your own situation.  If you are just adding some information-rich community pages to your website, now isn’t the time to pepper that page with lots of links – even if they are to relevant authority websites like the city site, the chamber site, etc.

Your first goal should be to get your new page noticed by the search engines.  A outbound link or two won’t hurt, but don’t go overboard.

Will People Ever Return to My Site?

If you are providing good information, outbound links shouldn’t take people off your site never to return.  But, I think it’s something to consider.  For one thing, you’d want to open links to other websites in a new window to make it easy for your visitors to return to your website.

And, I would often prefer to see a page called “Local Resources”, or something similar, that contains links to attractions, schools, cities, chambers, etc.  I think your main pages should be focused on moving the visitor toward a desired outcome.  For example, providing information, then adding a call to action for a special offer relating to that information.  On those types of pages, I don’t think outbound links are useful.

Those main pages should be landing pages that have a specific purpose.  You don’t want to interrupt someone in the middle of starting to decide that they should contact you for more information, and shoot them over to another website.

So, my bottom line is this:  outbound links do help put your site in context in the search engines, and used wisely, they help both your site and your visitors.