If all links on my site open in new tabs, will it affect analytics or SEO?

Question

I'm working on a site where all links in the body of the pages open to a new tab. Generally I see external links open to a new tab but internal in the same tab. Wondering if this can still fall within a best practice.

Seems like it shouldn't affect Analytics (new session), but wondering if there are SEO ramifications. Do you see higher bounce rates on sites that do this? If someone is opening multiple tabs, does looking at a user's path through your site become muddied?

Could use some feedback on the pros/cons. Thanks!

Answer 1

These days, most of the traffic is from mobile. When links open on new tabs, a user has to switch tabs to come back to the original page. Switching between tabs annoys most users.

SEO or not, annoyed users aren't good for any website. Some even remember the poor experiences that a website offered in the past. In the future, they may turn to competitors in SERPs. After all, the ultimate goal of SEO is traffic and repeat traffic.

Note: There could be genuine reasons for some links to open in new tabs. Even then, explicitly informing users that a link will open in a new tab is a good practice.