URL: /rules/links/external-links

---
title: "External Links"
description: "Reports on external link count"
---

Reports on external link count

| | |
|---|---|
| **Rule ID** | `links/external-links` |
| **Category** | [Links](/rules/links) |
| **Scope** | Per-page |
| **Severity** | info |
| **Weight** | 2/10 |

## Solution

External links provide additional resources for users and signal content relevance to search engines. They're normal and healthy for most content pages. This check is informational: external links aren't inherently problematic. Ensure external links go to reputable sources and open in new tabs when appropriate. Use rel="nofollow" for untrusted or paid links. Avoid excessive external links that distract from your content.

## Enable / Disable

### Disable this rule

```toml squirrel.toml
[rules]
disable = ["links/external-links"]
```

### Disable all Links rules

```toml squirrel.toml
[rules]
disable = ["links/*"]
```

### Enable only this rule

```toml squirrel.toml
[rules]
enable = ["links/external-links"]
disable = ["*"]
```