Yes, external links are good for your website's SEO performance. External links are important contributors to higher rankings. External links pass on link juice, authority and trust, which are metrics Google uses to rank web pages. As an SEO expert or webmaster, you should work to build your backlinks and engage in SEO external linking initiatives. This can include, guest posts, releasing PR, looking to 'steal' external links from your competitors, as well as other link building tactics.