Start linking out from your site - Become a trusted source

Websites need to become more trustworthy and less reliant of backlinks.

Something that's always been a contentious issue. In fact I've had clients come back to me wanting to sue the living pants off me for adding outbound links to their sites.

Generally the conversation goes a little something like this:

"Why the hell are you adding a link from my restaurant to other restaurants, I'm loosing business and clients".

Think about that statement. I'm pretty sure one of the first rules in business is "Always know your competition and acknowledge that they exist". Why is this so? Well the fact of the matter is that if you acknowledge your competition, know they exist, you can make it work for both you and your competitor.

I add link to my restaurant site, referring people to you for the best Italian restaurant in New York City. You link to me from your website stating that the best Greek restaurant in Manhattan is Pappas Greek style.

Ok I know for you tecchies and SEO guys out there that constitutes a reciprocal link, but I'm just trying to get a point across as to how a outbound link from your site to a competitor can be turned into something postitive.

Along with that, it's  known fact that if you have no links our from your site to other sites, you're not seen as an authority on a topic. Let me explain it this way. There's now way in hell that every little piece of information on your site is purely and 100% yours! You must have learnt about it at Varsity, or read up about it in a book and heard about it on the radio. That means that the information you're putting up was originally from another source, even if it's not entirely 100%.

So by linking out, you're telling people that you know what you're talking about you know your product what you do what service you offer etc... but at the same time you're saying, listen, you need more information on this, I haven't had the time to rewrite it, Take a look at the information here...AND ADD A LINK.

Google and search engines see this as a good thing. It means you're not only providing information on your site, but you're also giving people other resources (provided they are relevant and on topic) to read up on. This makes your site a worthwhile site to visit.