18 Mar 2009

According to a post on the SEOmoz blog by Rand Fishkin, some companies worry outbound links can cost PageRank, damaging reputation and search engine rankings in the process.

However, these are "largely unfounded" worries that can actually end up benefiting the website owner, because as long as URLs do not link to anything suspicious such as malware installations, they can create positive relationships and enhance trust on a domain-wide level.

"It makes great sense to leverage the power of the web - the power of links - to create an easy, scalable path to making your site's experience better and more rewarding for those who visit," the SEOmoz blog stated.

Although the writer said it can affect PageRank, this is not necessarily a bad thing given the potentially positive outcomes of the above.

Google's official blog also discussed the topic of linking out in recent months.

It said this "natural" process is nothing to worry about and can help readers to access a "unique commentary".

Clickthrough Marketing