What Is Link Equity? – A Comprehensive Guide to Enhancing Your SEO Strategy
Link equity or link juice is an interesting and vital SEO factor that Google uses as an algorithm to rank sites or pages.
It is the process or idea of channeling the authority and value of one page to another via links. While you may find it similar to another concept called PageRank, there are differences (that we will discuss in this article).
Having ample knowledge of this factor will help you strengthen your site’s SEO. It may also help you pick websites for link-building, among many options.
In this article, we will explore the various ins and outs of link equity and explain everything in detail. Additionally, we discussed the factors that determine link equity and how well it will work.
Table of Contents
Understanding Page Authority
Link equity has a direct connection to page authority since the latter is what passes during the former.
In case you didn’t know, page authority is the numerical value of a page’s ability to rank on Google search engine results. It can be anywhere between 0 and 100; a higher score means it is better for the page.
This score can pass between pages during link-building, causing the link equity process.
We should clarify that Google doesn’t necessarily use PA as one of its algorithms when ranking a page. However, they do use the same factors that give a page a higher authority.
So, a page with a high authority is likely to rank higher in search engines; it doesn’t do it itself. PA is a collateral factor to a high rank, not casual.
Explanation of Link Equity in a Metaphorical Manner
We understand that the concept of link equity may seem vague for any start-up. After all, it is intertwined with some other factors of SEO. So, let us show you a quick metaphorical explanation of link equity here.
Suppose you own page A, which doesn’t have much authority yet. Meanwhile, page B is a high-profile website with a high PA score.
Now, imagine the two pages as two water tanks, where one is almost filled with water (page B), and the other only has a small amount (page A). This water represents the authority of the pages.
When we build a link between them, like a thin pipeline, we can expect some water to go from page B to page A. This way, some value or authority is transferred from one to the other.
Because link equity works this way, it is also called link juice. Did you notice that the water here doesn’t really represent the popularity or reach of the pages but their authority?
Yes, that is a crucial factor because link equity doesn’t directly talk about the transfer of organic traffic but authority. In our previous example, we can think of these visitors and other factors as something mixed in the water. The authority of the page depends on these factors.
You can expect your site’s visitors to increase because of the links, but it is not necessarily the same as authority transfer.
How much value a link can transfer may depend on the potential number of visitors it can pass. But that is not the case for no-followed links.
Because of this, even link equity is also not always guaranteed. It depends on some factors.
Let us explain them to you next.
Link Equity Determining Factors
When thinking of link equity, we expect it to pass value between different pages. However, this transfer can get blocked or slowed by several underlying factors. We listed them below-
Relevance of the Link
In order for Link Juice to work, the backlink to the site must be relevant.
For example, let’s say that your pages contain blogs on different features of a compact digital camera. This page got an incoming link from a page about DIY gazebo-building tips. As we can see here, the topics are very dissimilar, and the link is not relevant at all.
Google can tell when the links are irrelevant. These types of links don’t usually pass that much authority.
Position of the Link on the Linking Page
When ranking or checking our pages, Google crawlers inspect their structure, aside from various other factors. This information gives Google the necessary data of where they should rank on SERP.
Since the link’s position on the page is a part of its architecture, it also plays a crucial role in determining the authority of the said page.
So, let’s say that the link is in the footer. In that case, crawlers may deem it of less value (except for certain pages) than links placed on the article’s main body. Basically, Google wants the link to actually help the audience. They want it to be somewhere easily noticeable.
As such, links positioned perfectly on a page will allow more link equity.
Number of Links on the Linking Page
Let’s say that a linking page has hundreds of links on it, one of which is linked to your page. Now, when Google inspects the former page, they will take in the fact that more links mean individual links are less helpful for an audience.
The backlink to your page can be lost among all the links on the linking page. So, you may not get many visitors to your page. Google will hold this fact when determining the value of that backlink in helping your page rank.
In turn, you will get less value or authority passed by that link.
HTTP Status of the Linked Page
According to Google, all redirects pass PageRank (their old link equity measurement). That includes not only 200s or 301 permanent redirects but also temporary 302s.
You may wonder why it is relevant to link equity. Well, among the redirects we mentioned above, the former two can smoothly allow link equity in all search engines. Moreover, they also provide other advantages. But let’s not digress ourselves.
Meanwhile, the temporary 302s may not work in other search engines outside Google and not work as well in retaining link juice.
PA of the Linking Site
Remember our earlier example of two water tanks? Think about it- more water can pass from page B to page A if the former has a higher amount.
Similarly, if a page has a high page authority, then an incoming link from this page to yours will generate more link equity. Thus, your page can benefit more from this.
That’s why you should focus more on pages with high authority and visitors while link-building.
Crawlable or Not
In case you didn’t know, crawlers can be blocked from certain pages. You can do it with the robots.txt file. It is a command that tells the link to avert that page when inspecting a site.
As you can expect, the crawlers won’t take that page into account. So, any link from that page won’t provide any page authority or value to yours. It can still pass visitors, though.
No-follow or Do-follow
Similar to the previous point, the no-followed links get ignored by crawlers. Unlike the robot.txt file, which blocks crawlers from a page, the no-follow command blocks crawlers from inspecting a link.
Link equity can only happen via a link if it is do-followed. But this sentence is yet to be confirmed, and many believe no-followed links still pass some authority. But it definitely doesn’t do it as much as do-followed ones.
Not to mention, no-followed links have other benefits, and you need some of them for your backlink profile to be natural.
Importance and Benefits of Link Equality
Since you have followed this blog so far, you may already have a rough idea of how link equity can benefit a page.
However, while we used terms like pass or transfer here, they don’t quite explain link juice well. This process doesn’t necessarily decrease the value of the linking site while increasing the value of the linked one.
Moreover, link equity can also happen through internal linking. We can increase the authority of one of our pages by getting links from another of our pages with high PA. It can also keep the links relevant.
We know that backlinks have many advantages, like generating leads and crowds. Link equity is one of them.
Let us also clarify to you that aside from page authority, link equity can also increase your domain authority. After all, the latter is also calculated using the number and quality of backlinks.
Finally, link equity can also increase the trustworthiness of your pages to Google, especially when the links come from a renowned website.
How to Measure Link Equity
There is no definitive unit of measurement for link equity. However, you can still get a rough idea of your site’s link juice by inspecting its backlink profile.
We mostly try the following steps-
Checking Your Site’s PageRank
PageRank is almost irrelevant now since Google no longer counts it when ranking sites. It is still useful, though. The more PageRank a site has, the higher link authority it will pass to your page.
PageRank scales from 0 to 10. Note that this measurement is not that accurate nowadays.
Checking the Domain Rating or Authority
If you want a more accurate result than PageRank, the DA or DR can help. But again, neither of these is used by Google, so the units are still not absolute.
Domain authority and domain rating are measurements of the authority of a domain created by Moz and Ahrefs in accordance. They both scale from 0 to 100.
Check the DA of your linking sites. Ones with higher DA or DR can cause more link equity to your pages.
Utilizing Google Search Console
Since you probably already know how to use Google Search Console, we won’t go into too much detail. Our point here is that you can understand your site’s link equity using this tool, too. Let us give you a short rundown of the process-
- Visit Google Search Console and verify your domain following their instruction.
- Go to its ‘Search Traffic’ then ‘Links to Your Site’.
- You can see all the sites linking to your page in order and all your top linked pages (both external and internal linking).
Now you have an idea of your pages with high link equity as well as sites that are passing more link juice.
Utilizing Paid Tools
If you want, you can also use paid tools like Ahrefs, Moz, or Semrush. All of them will require you to create an account first. Afterwards-
- For Semrush, click on the ‘Backlink Analytics’ in the sidebar.
- For Ahrefs, click on ‘Backlink.’
- For Moz, click on the ‘Inbound Link’ tab.
They will then show you a detailed analysis of your pages’ backlinks, indicating their link equity. Also, they show better results than free tools.
How to Build and Maximize Link Equity
In this section, we explain in-depth the various processes of increasing the link equity to your pages and domain. Don’t worry, as they will be simpler than they sound.
Creating a Diverse Backlink Profile
During link equity to your page, the process transfers authority from the linking page as well as the domain.
Getting more than one backlink from the same site may increase the link equity of your page. However, too many links from the same site may not provide as much link juice as you expect.
Google will deem your page more authoritative when you get links from a high-profile site, but many links from that site won’t contribute much to this.
As such, you should diversify your backlink profile. Try going for several high-profile websites to get backlinks from.
In that way, you can expect a steady link equity from multiple websites since Google will see that many high-profile sites are linking to your page or domain simultaneously.
Check the picture below for example-
It showcases the page having (the number of high-quality referring domains in the picture) websites providing backlinks to it. As you can expect, the page has a high link equity and PageRank.
Staying within Your Industry
During one of our previous sections, we explained how it is important for backlinks to be relevant to your page.
You must get backlinks from websites or pages within your industry or niche. Otherwise, we are afraid the link equity won’t work as intended.
Internal Linking
You probably already know what internal linking is or how to use it best, so we won’t go there. Our point here is that if you want to increase your page’s link equity, you must also focus on internal linking.
Try putting backlinks on your high-authoritative pages to your low-value ones to elevate the link juice of the latter. Needless to say, utilizing proper anchor texts is also a good step here.
Do note that internal linking may only share authority from one page to another within your domain. So, it won’t directly increase your overall domain’s authority.
How to Manage Link Equity
Getting backlinks from spammy or low-profile sites will do the opposite of getting them from reputable sites. If Google notices that you are getting lots of backlinks from such a website, it will deem your pages less trustworthy.
Thus, the process will reduce the link equity of your site. In order to manage a steady link equity, we suggest you try the following-
First Step: Beware of Negative SEO Attacks
Targeted SEO attacks can be a common practice in many industries. One of their common variations is to create various backlinks to your page on a spammy website.
Once Google’s crawlers notice that your website is getting a sudden increase in backlinks, they get suspicious. If they find out that the links are from such low-quality or spammy sites, Google can lower your page authority or, even worse, penalize your site.
In order to avoid decreasing your link equity, we suggest occasionally checking your backlink profile. If there are backlinks from spammy websites, you can disavow or no-follow them.
However, if you can remove the links by contacting that site’s owners, then try that before taking other options. We must mention to you that disavowing without careful consideration can have negative consequences for your site.
How to Identify Spammy Websites
Identifying spammy websites in your backlink profile is key to keeping your link equity from going down. The process is simple. Let me explain-
Backlink Inspection to Check for Spammy Sites
The first method is simple, where we only need to use any SEO tool like Ahrefs or Google Search Console.
When inspecting your site’s backlink profile, you may notice that some sites linking you have a really lower DR or DA than others. These are most probably spammy websites or low-quality ones.
We won’t recommend you start no-following every backlink from the listed domains. Some of them can be legitimate good sites, but they are just starting. That is when our second point below comes into play.
Traffic Observation
A link to your site can provide sufficient value, mostly if it can provide referral traffic. So, if it can’t manage to do that steadily, then don’t expect the link to allow much link equity either.
Needless to say, spammy or low-quality sites won’t send much organic traffic your way.
After you check for such websites through backlink analysis, you can check each of them manually. Keep them only if the page actually-
- Has helpful and informative content
- Is within the same industry or niche as yours
This goes without saying: Don’t spam links.
Second Step: Balancing No-follow and Do-follow Links
While it may seem like no-follow links are useless due to them not passing authorities, they still have their merits.
We all want a steady link equity and to make our backlink profile seem natural to Google. For that, a balance between no-follow and do-follow links is necessary.
Conclusion
We hope our blog gives you a proper idea of link equity and its relevance to your site’s ranking. Its condition depends on the effective link-building of your site. Meanwhile, content is important for link-building.
