Let’s first define external and internal links for the uninitiated. External links direct users away from a website. For example, when Entreprenuer.com links to yourdomain.com, or vice versa, that’s an external link. Now, they are important because external links build authority and trust for your website. On the other hand, internal links, also known as inbound links, form the very infrastructure for your website. They direct visitors to other pages on your website. Altogether both of these types of links, in the end, help boost your overall rankings on search engines.
Now let’s break down the myth that external links matter more than internal links. Look, both types of links are important if you want to rank well on search engines. While internal links assist in gluing your visitors to your website longer, external links drive your audience to more trustworthy pieces of information available online. If you add poor quality external links then they might hurt your website. Furthermore, internal links allow bots to crawl your site more effectively, thus enabling proper indexing of your website. All of this allows users to find your website more easily.
In short, internal links improve the visibility of your website and ranking, while external links help in improving the authority of your website through external references from high authority sources. So it’s safe to conclude that both internal and external links are equally important in helping you improve your online presence.
