diff --git a/src/main/java/org/cyclonedx/maven/DefaultModelConverter.java b/src/main/java/org/cyclonedx/maven/DefaultModelConverter.java
index d462ac67..b8aaa200 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/cyclonedx/maven/DefaultModelConverter.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/cyclonedx/maven/DefaultModelConverter.java
@@ -269,7 +269,7 @@ private MavenProject getEffectiveMavenProject(final Artifact artifact) throws Pr
     }
 
     private void addExternalReference(final ExternalReference.Type referenceType, final String url, final Component component) {
-        if (url == null || doesComponentHaveExternalReference(component, referenceType)) {
+        if (isURLBlank(url) || doesComponentHaveExternalReference(component, referenceType)) {
             return;
         }
         try {
@@ -398,4 +398,8 @@ private Component.Type resolveProjectType(String projectType) {
         }
         return Component.Type.LIBRARY;
     }
+
+    private static boolean isURLBlank(String url) {
+        return url == null || url.isEmpty() || url.trim().length() == 0;
+    }
 }