No external links on the page: when to add them and when not to

What it looks like in the HTML

Before

<p>Google says structured data is not a ranking factor by itself.</p>

After

<p>Google's
<a href="https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/intro-structured-data">structured data documentation</a>
explains how markup makes pages eligible for rich results.</p>

Why it can matter

Links to good sources help readers check what you say and go deeper. They also make your content more credible to people evaluating it, which is part of what Google describes when it talks about trustworthy, experienced content. A how-to guide that references a manufacturer's spec sheet, or an article that links to the study it quotes, is simply more useful than one that asks you to take its word for it.

What external links do not do is boost rankings mechanically. There is no rule that every page needs one, and adding links to random high-authority sites for SEO reasons adds nothing.

Common reasons a page has none

• The page does not need them. Service pages, product pages, contact and legal pages rarely cite anything.
• Writers avoid linking out out of worry about "leaking" visitors or ranking value. For most content that worry is misplaced; a reader who gets what they need is more likely to trust you.
• Sources were removed during editing, or links were stripped when content was pasted from a document.
• Links point to your own subdomains. Links to shop.example.com from example.com count as external to this check, so a page with only those would not be flagged. A page flagged here truly has no links off its own hostname.

How to add external links in WordPress

1. Cite claims that need support. Statistics, quotes, technical specifications, legal or medical statements. Link to the primary source where you can, not to someone else's summary.
2. Add the link in the editor. Select the text, press Ctrl+K or Cmd+K, and paste the URL. Use anchor text that names the source.
3. Mark paid or untrusted links. Sponsored and affiliate links should carry rel="sponsored"; links in user-generated content, rel="ugc". You can set nofollow in the block editor's link settings.
4. Know Hydrogen SEO's link settings. Under Hydrogen SEO → General → Links, Nofollow External Links adds rel="nofollow" to every external link in your content, and Open External Links in New Tab/Window adds target="_blank". Most sites leave site-wide nofollow off and mark individual sponsored links instead, since nofollowing every citation also tells search engines you do not vouch for your own sources.
5. The SEO score counts them. The Links part of Hydrogen SEO's per-post score gives full points for three or more internal links and at least one external link in the content.

When you can ignore this warning

Ignore it on pages where linking out would not help anyone: product and category pages, pricing, contact, about, checkout and account pages. Ignore it on short announcements and pages that make no factual claims. Add links on guides, research, comparisons and anything that states facts a reader might want to verify.

How to check the fix

Hover or inspect the links you added to make sure they point to the right pages and open correctly. Check that each external site is still live; a link to a dead source is worse than none. The free SEO audit reports the external link count for any URL.