Link Equity – Definition, Importance and SEO Impact

Link equity is the value passed through hyperlinks from one page to another. In SEO, this value acts like a signal of trust or importance. Pages with more quality backlinks often rank higher. Both internal links and external links help share this value across a website or between websites. Search engines also use link equity to decide which pages to crawl and index more often. This is why building a strong link structure helps improve both rankings and crawl priority. The term link juice is commonly used to describe this flow of value from one page to another.

Early development of link equity through PageRank

The idea of link equity comes from Google’s early PageRank algorithm, developed by Larry Page and Sergey Brin in the 1990s. This system changed how search engines ranked websites. Each backlink was treated like a vote of trust, and pages with more links from other trusted sites were seen as more important.

PageRank calculated a score for each page by looking at the number and quality of incoming links. A strong backlink from a known site could help the target page appear higher in search results. This created the idea that some part of a page’s value flows to another page through links. That value became known as link equity.

Over time, the term link juice became common in the SEO world. It described this passing of value from one page to another, like a liquid flowing through links. Though popular, Google later advised against using the term in serious SEO talks. In 2019, Google’s John Mueller said most tips focused on “link juice” were outdated or misleading. He encouraged SEOs to focus on clear, tested concepts like PageRank.

Early misuse and spam links

As link equity became a known ranking factor, some website owners tried to take advantage of it. They made link farms and used reciprocal linking schemes to boost their rankings. These artificial methods led to problems in search quality.

To stop this, Google launched new features. In 2005, the nofollow attribute was introduced. This allowed website owners to link without passing value. A link with rel=”nofollow” would not transfer PageRank or link equity. It helped limit spam, especially in blog comments.

Later, Google released the Penguin algorithm in 2012. It directly targeted spammy link-building tactics and stopped giving ranking benefits to low-quality or fake backlinks. This shift forced websites to focus more on earning relevant and high-quality backlinks instead of trying to gain value through large numbers of poor links.

How link equity is calculated and what influences it

The idea of link equity comes from how PageRank flows through hyperlinks. Each link from one page to another passes a part of its value. If the linking page has high authority and only a few outgoing links, it sends more value to each target. When many links are present, the link equity is divided and shared more thinly.

The early PageRank formula is:

PR(A) = (1–d)/N + d × ∑ (PR(T)/L(T))

PR(A): the PageRank of the target page
d: damping factor (around 0.85)
N: total number of pages
PR(T): PageRank of the linking page
L(T): number of links on the linking page

Though Google has moved past this exact method, the core idea still holds. Pages give weighted votes through links, and those weights depend on several signals.

Key factors affecting link equity

Several elements decide how much link equity a link can pass. These include both technical and content-based signals.

Source page authority: A link from a page that has many strong backlinks sends more equity. Since Google no longer shares PageRank data, SEO experts use metrics like page authority to guess link value.
Referring domain authority: The overall trust level of the domain also matters. A link from a respected domain like a news site or university usually carries more value than one from a new or untrusted domain. This is called domain authority, though it is not a Google metric.
Topical relevance: A link from a page on a similar topic adds more SEO value. If a plant blog links to a plant shop, it counts more than a random link from an unrelated site.
Anchor text and context: The anchor text is the clickable part of a link. A good anchor text helps search engines understand the topic of the linked page. Links inside meaningful content are stronger than links in sidebars or footers.
Number of outbound links: The more links on a page, the less value each link sends. A link from a page with just two other links passes more link equity than one from a page linking to 50 other sites.
Indexability and crawl status: Search engines can only count a link if they can crawl and index the page it comes from. Pages blocked by robots.txt, marked as noindex, or hidden behind logins do not pass equity.
Link type (follow vs nofollow): A normal or “follow” link passes value. A nofollow link, marked with rel=”nofollow”, usually does not. This tag tells search engines not to count the link as a vote.
Link placement: A link in the main text of a page carries more value than one in a footer or comment section. Links inside well-written content are seen as real endorsements.

Link equity is not zero-sum

A page does not lose its own strength by linking to others. It shares value but keeps its authority. This is like lighting another candle—it gives light without going dim. However, excessive linking, or linking to spammy sites, can trigger penalties. Linking to good sources can actually help, not harm, a page’s SEO.

How link attributes affect link equity

Not every link passes value in search. The nofollow attribute, launched in 2005, lets site owners block a link from sending link equity. Adding rel=”nofollow” tells Google not to treat the link as a vote of trust. This was first used to stop comment spam and flag paid links.

In its early form, Google completely ignored nofollow links for ranking. Pages marked this way passed no PageRank and no link authority. But in 2019, Google changed how it reads these tags. It now treats nofollow, along with new tags like rel=”sponsored” and rel=”ugc”, as hints. This means Google may choose to count them, or not, depending on the case.

The new hint system helps Google better understand link patterns across the web. It also gives the algorithm more flexibility. For example, if a nofollow link is highly relevant or placed in trusted content, Google might still use parts of its signal, such as the anchor text.

Despite this update, most nofollow, sponsored, or UGC links still do not transfer link equity. For SEO, followed links remain the goal, especially when building backlinks from trusted sources.

Use in SEO and link policies

Website owners use rel=”nofollow” or rel=”sponsored” to follow Google’s rules on link schemes. This includes:

Marking paid links or ads so they do not affect rankings
Flagging user-generated content, such as forum posts or comment sections
Avoiding penalties by not endorsing links to untrusted pages

If a site adds a nofollow link to your page, it may still bring referral traffic, but it likely won’t improve your rankings.

PageRank sculpting and internal links

A past strategy called PageRank sculpting used nofollow on internal links to control link flow. The goal was to boost other pages by blocking equity to lower-priority links. But around 2009, Google updated how nofollow works. Now, blocked link equity is simply dropped—not shared with other links. This stopped sculpting from being effective.

Current best practice is to use nofollow only when needed, not to control internal SEO. Regular editorial links within a site should stay followed so equity flows naturally.

How Google’s treatment of link equity has changed over time

Google’s rules for link equity have changed over time to stop link spam. In the early days, PageRank was a top ranking signal. This made link building very common, but also led to abuse. People built link farms, traded links, and used low-quality directories to gain PageRank.

The Penguin update in 2012 marked a shift. It lowered rankings for sites with unnatural link profiles and reduced the value passed by spammy links. After Penguin, getting a few high-quality backlinks became more useful than collecting many poor ones.

In 2016, Penguin became part of Google’s core algorithm. It now works in real time and usually just ignores bad links instead of dropping site rankings. This means if a site has spam backlinks, those links pass no value, but the site is not always punished. Google also offers the Disavow Tool, allowing site owners to ask Google not to count specific links.

SpamBrain and AI-powered link evaluation

From 2022 to 2025, Google improved its link checking systems using SpamBrain, an AI tool that finds and neutralizes spam links. This system was used in the December 2022 Link Spam Update, where Google stated that links from paid posts or link networks would now pass zero equity. That ranking boost is “lost” and cannot be recovered.

More spam updates followed in 2023 and 2024. Google confirmed that unnatural links found by these systems are simply not counted. The updated rules aim to remove any reason to use black-hat link building.

Google also warns about link schemes in its Search Essentials guidelines. Paid links or fake partnerships made for SEO still break its spam policies. As a result, site owners are advised to focus on natural backlinks and editorial trust rather than tricks.

Content and context now play a larger role

As search engines use more natural language processing (like BERT), they now check the context around each link, not just the link itself. This means that content quality and site relevance are often more important than just collecting links.

Google’s John Mueller has said that links are no longer the most important ranking factor. He advises that building useful content and improving user experience can be more powerful than chasing link juice.

Still, PageRank is part of Google’s algorithm today. It now works with many other signals, and filters out low-quality or untrusted links. High-quality, genuine backlinks continue to help websites, but manipulating link equity no longer works as it once did.

How link equity creates ranking challenges

Link equity is a key part of SEO, but it is hard to measure directly. Google stopped showing PageRank scores in 2013 and removed them fully in 2016. Today, there is no official way to check how much link value a page holds.

Instead, SEO tools like Ahrefs and Moz provide metrics such as Domain Authority, Domain Rating, or Page Authority. These are only estimates based on their own link data. Google has confirmed that it does not use a public authority score, and these tools are not exact matches to Google’s systems.

Limits of accuracy and link quality

A major issue is that not all links are equal. A link from a trusted site might still pass no value if it is placed in spammy content or added out of context. At the same time, a smaller but highly relevant site might pass more link equity than expected.

Google does not reveal how it scores these links. SEO experts often rely on their own judgment and correlation data to guess which backlinks will help. This makes planning harder, especially when link outcomes vary.

Link equity also changes over time. If a linking page removes your link, or if it gets deleted or penalised, you may lose the equity that link gave you. If the linking site grows stronger, the value passed to your page may increase too.

Algorithm updates and shifting link value

Google often updates how it ranks links. For example, major algorithm updates may lower the value of some backlinks or stop counting certain link types. This creates ranking changes that are difficult to track or predict.

In very competitive areas, most top-ranking sites already have thousands of links. For new websites, getting visibility through link building alone becomes difficult. This forces SEO professionals to focus on high-quality backlinks, often earned through original content or digital PR.

Risk from spam links and link decay

Another challenge is link spam and negative SEO. Sometimes, bad links appear pointing to a website. These may come from spammers or even rivals trying to hurt rankings. While Google often ignores such links, it does not always share if those links are fully neutralised.

In serious cases, site owners must use the Disavow Tool to stop risky links from affecting their rankings. Deciding which links to disavow is a complex task and requires frequent backlink audits.

Uncertainty in link equity scoring

There is no perfect way to measure link equity. SEO tools offer guidance, but the true impact of a link depends on many unseen factors: content quality, link position, page context, and Google’s current rules. As a result, SEO professionals follow basic rules:

Aim for natural, relevant backlinks
Avoid spam tactics or low-quality link exchanges
Use nofollow or disavow for untrusted links
Focus on content that earns editorial links

How link equity shapes SEO strategy

Link equity plays a major role in how websites plan for SEO. Since backlinks are still one of the strongest ranking signals, building a good link profile is a common goal. SEO teams work to earn links from authoritative and relevant websites, as these links pass the most value.

Some common tactics used to build link equity include:

Publishing useful content that attracts organic backlinks
Using digital PR or outreach to ask for links
Writing guest posts on trusted sites
Earning links through partnerships or community pages

The focus is always on quality over quantity. One good link from a trusted site can help more than many weak ones.

Avoiding risky link building

Modern SEO avoids manipulative tactics. Google now ignores or penalises spammy link schemes, like paid links, link farms, or random link exchanges. Google’s algorithms are designed to favour natural links – links that are added by editors or users because they find the content useful.

Because of this, SEO plans now give more value to a few relevant backlinks rather than trying to collect as many as possible.

Internal link equity and site structure

Internal linking also affects how link equity flows within a site. SEO teams ensure that important pages, like product or service pages, are not buried deep in the site. Instead, they are linked from high-level pages like the homepage or main menu.

This helps the PageRank earned from external links spread across the site. For example, if a blog post gains strong backlinks, it can pass some of that link equity to product pages through internal links.

SEO also uses structures like:

Siloing: linking related articles or pages together
Hub pages: central pages that link to a group of related content

These methods help guide both users and search engines to important parts of the site.

Outbound links and nofollow strategy

Some pages link to other websites. If the link goes to untrusted content, webmasters can add a rel=”nofollow” tag. This tells search engines not to pass link equity to that target. It also protects the site from being linked with low-quality or paid content. This is part of risk management in SEO.

Building domain-level authority

Over time, if a site keeps earning good backlinks, it gains strong overall domain authority. Even though this is not a Google metric, it shows that a site is widely trusted. As a result, new pages on such a domain often rank faster, even if they have no direct links. This helps explain why sites like Wikipedia.org or .gov domains rank easily—they already have a powerful link equity base.

New websites, on the other hand, must earn trust slowly. SEO plans for such sites often begin with link-building campaigns to improve visibility.

Competitor analysis and strategic link building

SEO teams also study which sites link to their competitors. This can reveal backlink opportunities, like trade publications or industry blogs that regularly link out. If many competitors are linked from the same source, it may be a valuable backlink target to approach.

Content creation for backlinks

Creating link-worthy content is another way to build equity. This includes:

Research reports
Interactive tools
Infographics
How-to guides

Such content has a better chance of earning links naturally. Another method is broken link building, where SEOs find dead links on other websites and suggest their own content as a replacement.

References

https://www.seroundtable.com/google-december-2024-spam-update-done-38641.html

Category: SEO