What is an external link?
An external link is a reference to another website. This page is located outside of your own website and is regarded as a recommendation from the website operator.
What significance do external links have for SEO?
With good external links, website operators create added value for the user as they point to further information. Users do not need to search for important information themselves. Search engines recognize good external links as a sign of quality and rank websites higher.
External links with a lot of added value are among the most important optimization components. Above all, SEO specialists should rely on trustworthy sites for links. This includes Wikipedia, among others. However, website operators should also know that good external links do not result in a higher ranking directly. Instead, it is there so that Google has more trust in the website, which means that the page is ranked better.
It can also result in external websites becoming aware of your own project. If everything fits and the other website operator likes the website, they may link back to it (backlinks). Backlinks have a positive effect on the ranking.
What are external links for?
External links are usually placed if reference is to be made to further information and sources. However, the external links should be relevant to the topic in order to be of real interest to users.