What happens if I link to my competitors in my article?

Short Answer: Linking to your competitors within your articles can reduce your own website’s SEO strength, often referred to as ‘website juice.’ Because of this, it is usually advised to avoid giving ‘do follow’ links to competitors in your industry.

Full Explanation

When you include links to other websites in your content, you are essentially sharing some of your website’s SEO value with them. This value, sometimes called ‘website juice,’ helps improve the linked site’s search engine rankings. If you link directly to your competitors, you may inadvertently be strengthening their online presence at your expense.

Because SEO works by passing authority through links, providing ‘do follow’ links to competitors allows search engines to assign part of your site’s credibility to theirs. As a result, your own site might lose some of its potential advantage, which is why it’s generally not recommended to do so.

Step-by-Step Breakdown

1. Identify competitors within your industry.
2. Understand that linking to them transfers some of your site’s SEO value, or ‘website juice.’
3. Recognize that ‘do follow’ links allow search engines to follow the link and give credit to the linked site.
4. Decide carefully whether sharing this value with competitors aligns with your SEO goals.
5. Usually, avoid giving ‘do follow’ links to competitors to maintain your site’s full SEO strength.

Real Examples

If you run a blog about technology, linking directly to a competitor who covers similar topics could result in transferring some of your SEO equity to them. This means that search engines might boost the competitor’s page rankings because of your link, possibly diminishing your site’s relative search position.

Common Mistakes

• Providing ‘do follow’ links to competitors without considering SEO implications.
• Not realizing that linking out passes valuable SEO juice away from your own site.
• Failing to evaluate the impact of outbound links on your site’s overall ranking potential.

FAQs

Is it ever beneficial to link to competitors?
Based on the information, since linking to competitors passes your SEO value to them, it is generally not recommended.

What are ‘do follow’ links?
‘Do follow’ links are standard links that tell search engines to follow them and pass SEO authority to the linked site.

How can I link to competitors without losing SEO value?
The content suggests avoiding ‘do follow’ links to competitors, implying that other link types may not pass SEO juice, though this is outside the provided information.

Key Takeaways

• Linking to competitors can decrease your website’s SEO strength by passing on ‘website juice.’
• ‘Do follow’ links specifically allow search engines to transfer SEO value to the linked competitor sites.
• To protect your SEO benefits, it is advisable to avoid giving ‘do follow’ links to competitors in your industry.