SEO Benefits from hosting an open api On your site

Selected answers from the Dumb SEO Questions Facebook & G+ community.

• 
  Nina K: Hi guys! Does anyone know whether there are SEO Benefits from hosting an open api On your site? One that has a lot of rich content? ;
  
  Any negatives? Ie. duplicate content?
  
  Thank you!
  Nina
• 
  Jim Munro: Hi +Nina K. Thank you for your participation here.
  
  Will your publication  ;"add value" or is just a copy of something available elsewhere? If it's just a copy, it is not likely to do well, but if you "add value" there is no reason why the content will not be regarded like any other content. This is just my opinion and others will have other opinions.
• 
  Dave Elliott: Depends how useful it is and if people link to it. I think you are talking about hosting existing apis rather than creating your own? If so why would they use your version of the api rather than the often updated "official" one on say github? If you have a good answer for that(maybe you have created a better interface or written a brilliant guide for its use) then there is a chance you will see some benefit.
  
  But, personally i am paranoid and would never use an api from a site that isnt controlled by the actual developer or from a source i knew and trusted. 
• 
  Dave Elliott: Hmmm actually not sure if that was what you were asking or not +Nina K​. 
• 
  Nina K: Hi Dave, Thanks so much for the feedback. That is what I was asking actually - hosting an existing open API from the NHS on our health site. I was trying to understand whether it's more SEO beneficial to simply create outbound links to this information or host the information within our site with the API. ;
  
  Do you think the rich content from the open API is valued as our own content and keywords on the site? And if so wouldn't it look as it is duplicate content?
  
  Thanks!
  
  Nina
• 
  Dave Elliott: Ahh as i recall the nhs offer a feed of news stories through thier api. If that is what you are talking about then the advantages of using thier feed is that it is constantly updated without you having to do anything. You wont rank for these items so it is more of a usability thing and providing information for your clients.
  
  You wont get any benefit from creating outbound links to this info though and it may be detremental as it will encourage users to leave your site.
  
  My advice would be to use thier api and if there are any articles you feel are important on there rewrite them and provide some extra insight or offer a unique perspective on the subject.
• 
  Nina K: Hi Dave,
  
  Thanks again. Ok makes sense but I think there should be some benefit to linking out to their actual site, no? I was reading this on SEO Moz ;https://moz.com/blog/5-reasons-you-should-link-out-to-others-from-your-website and point #3 even says that it may have algorithmic benefits... otherwise yes, don't want to loose traffic from site. Best,Nina
• 
  Dave Elliott: it is important that your site links out to other sites. But, i haven't seen anything to suggest that linking to nhs rather than a lesser site will give more of a boost. ;
• 
  Nina K: Ok, thanks Dave. Your advice has been much appreciated :) best, Nina
• 
  Edwin Jonk: From the expert panel in this weeks SEO Questions hangout on air on 00:23:42 into the YouTube video: https://dumbseoquestions.com/q/seo_benefits_from_hosting_an_open_api_on_your_site +Nina K
  
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