WOW! Outbound Links

[corporateface]

http://www.cybertelecom.org/voip/

This isn't my site, and I'm just posing a curious question.

Scroll to the bottom of the page and tell me how this helps the site.

Any thoughts?
How important are outbound links?
How do you compete with a site like this for ranking besides praying real hard?

Thanks,
Keith Barnett
Free Custom Website Design
www.corporateface.com

[cbp]

It dosen't help...

1. Less PR to pass to internal pages due to all the outgoing links to external sites
2. It not good for the user

It is possible that SE's *may* show the site for some odd keyword combinations because its a big page (assuming they index all the page).

The anchor text of outbound links *may* play a small role in helping SE's determine relevance, but given all the links are news stories they may not be getting any benefit from his.

CBP

[corporateface]

This page is front page in google for
Voice Over IP

(That is a very difficult phrase).

[fathom]

It dosen't help...

1. Less PR to pass to internal pages due to all the outgoing links to external sites

But since it is a "bottom level" page it isn't hurting either.

2. It not good for the user

News sources isn't good for users?

While there are better ways to deliver vast quantities of sources - I doubt if any visitors says - screw this site -- way too many out going links! :-)

It is possible that SE's *may* show the site for some odd keyword combinations because its a big page (assuming they index all the page).

The anchor text of outbound links *may* play a small role in helping SE's determine relevance, but given all the links are news stories they may not be getting any benefit from his.

CBP

Ya - I don't think the site adminstrator or the "link to sites" give much thought to "what's in it for me"!

Their #1 simply because of the vast amount of content on the subject matter and not because any thought was given to SEO.

[sudhani]

This page is front page in google for
Voice Over IP

I cant see it in top 100: http://www.google.com/search?num=100...IP&btnG=Search

[corporateface]

My mistake. It was yahoo. #15 now.
In that case it makes sense. Yahoo, MSN, Altavista, have been cake for me. Its google that has continues to be a thorn in my side.

[Peter (IMC)]

Linking out can help in Google if you stay right on topic. This is the reason why directories tend to rank pretty good in Google. These types of pages can be considered authority pages and authority pages generally rank well.

So is the answer to all your ranking problems just to link out?

Well,.. that depends. As you see you need more than a couple of links out. Another disadvantage is that you may be diverting a lot of visitors away from your website.

However, if you are in an industry that is very dependent on location, (real estate for instance) then you can benefit by linking out to lots of real estate companies in other areas... :) A directory of real estate companies.

They´re not competitors so it doesn't hurt to link to them. A visitor that was looking for real estate in another area will just be thankful for your website as the right location was easily found.