What is Link Equity? and How Does It Work? [+Examples] 

by Venchito Tampon Jr | Last Updated on December 22, 2022

It’s 2022 and link building has become more complex than ever before. In order to rank, you need not only great content, but also be strategical about the links you’re building to that content.

It’s no longer enough to create great content and hope people will link to it; you need to actively seek out links, and ensure that they’re of the highest quality. With these backlinks, you need to make sure that you are maximizing your link equity.

Link equity is the term used to describe the value that a backlink passes on to your website. This value is directly related to the quality of the linking website, as well as a few other factors.

In this post, we’ll explain everything you need to know about link equity: what it is, how to calculate it, and how to use it to improve your link building strategy.

 

What is link equity in SEO?

Link equity or mostly referred to as “link juice” is the value that a website passes on to another site through a link. This value is then used by search engines as a ranking factor when determining where a website should rank in search results.

Link equity is determined by many factors, but the most important factor is the quality of the linking website. A high-quality website will pass more link equity than a low-quality website.

The purpose of link equity is to help search engines determine the quality of websites. By looking at the link equity that a website has, search engines can tell if a website is worth ranking highly in search results.

 

How does link equity work? 

Link equity can be calculated using many different methods. The most common method is to use the PageRank algorithm.

The PageRank algorithm was created by Google and is used to determine the quality of a website. The algorithm looks at the number and quality of links pointing to a website to determine its PageRank score.

The higher the PageRank score, the more link equity a website has.

Another method for calculating link equity is Moz’s Domain Authority (DA) metric. Domain Authority is similar to PageRank in that it looks at the number and quality of links pointing to a website.

However, Domain Authority also takes into account other factors, such as the age of the domain and the quality of the linking websites.

Domain Authority is a good metric to use when comparing the link equity of two websites.

 

How do you increase link equity?

There are a few ways to increase the link equity of your website:

1. Publish high-quality content.

This is the most important way to increase the link equity of your website. By publishing great content, you will naturally attract links from other websites. Remember, external links provide more ranking value compared to internal links. With that being said, focus on publishing great content that other websites will want to link to.

2. Determine the quality of the linking website.

Not all links are created equal. A link from a high-quality website will pass more link equity than a link from a low-quality website.

Therefore, it’s important to determine the quality of the linking website before you build a link. You can do this by looking at the PageRank or Domain Authority score of the website.

3. Don’t forget your internal links.

Internal links are also important for passing link equity. Make sure to include internal links in your content to other pages on your website. This will help increase the link equity of those pages.

Conduct a google site search of your website by using the following query on google: site:[yourdomain.com] + “keyword” to see what pages are being linked to the most, or to find content relevant to your target keyword that you can add internal links to.

4. Reclaim your broken links.

A broken link is a link that points to a page that no longer exists. These links are often the result of a change in website structure or a URL change.

If you find broken links on other websites, you can contact the website owner and ask them to replace the link with a link to your website. This is an easy way to get high-quality links from websites.

5. Delete or disavow low-quality links.

Low-quality links are links from spammy or low-quality websites. These links can hurt your website’s ranking in search results.

If you find low-quality links pointing to your website, you can either contact the website owner and ask them to remove the link or use Google’s disavow tool to disavow the link.

 

How do I get link juice?

In the past, getting link juice could simply be done by buying links from other websites. However, this is no longer the case.

Today, the best way to get link juice is to publish great content and build high-quality links naturally. By doing this, you will increase the link equity of your website, which will help improve your website’s ranking in search results.

There are a few things to keep in mind when trying to get link juice:

1. Quality over quantity: It’s better to have a few high-quality links than a bunch of low-quality links.
2. Avoid link farms: Link farms are websites that exist solely for the purpose of selling links. These websites often sell links for very low prices, which can hurt your website’s ranking.
3. Publish great content: As mentioned before, the best way to get link juice is to publish high-quality content that other websites will want to link to.
4. Monitor your links: It’s important to monitor the links pointing to your website. This will help you identify any low-quality links that could be hurting your website’s ranking.
5. Use different types of content: In addition to writing great blog posts, you can also get link juice by creating infographics, videos, podcasts, or other types of content that other websites will want to link to.
6. Reach out to unlinked brand mentions: If you find that other websites are mentioning your brand but not linking to your website, you can reach out to them and ask them to link to your website. Check out this link reclamation guide.
7. Broken link building: If you found a good page that is no longer available, you can reach out to the website owner and ask them to link to your website or content instead. Further reading on broken link building.
8. Guest blogging: One of the best ways to get high-quality links is to guest blog on other websites. This is a great way to build relationships with other bloggers in your industry while also getting your name and website in front of a new audience. Learn more about guest post service.
9. Infographics: People love visual content, and infographics are a great way to get link juice. Not only do they get shared a lot on social media, but they also tend to be linked to from other websites.
10. The Skyscraper Technique: The Skyscraper Technique is a method of link building that involves finding content that is already popular and creating something even better. This is a great way to get links from other websites because you are offering something new and valuable.
11. Resource Page Link Building: Resource pages are pages on a website that lists all of the resources related to a certain topic. If you have a piece of content that would be a good fit for a resource page, you can reach out to the website owner and ask them to link to your content.
12. Wikipedia link building: Wikipedia is one of the most popular websites in the world, and it’s also a great way to get high-quality links. If you have a piece of content that would be a good fit for Wikipedia, you can submit it to the site. Wikipedia will add links in the footnotes and references section, which will help improve your website’s ranking.
13. Local link building: If you have a local business, you can get links from other local businesses in your area. This is a great way to build relationships with other businesses while also getting your website in front of a new audience.
14. Profile link building: Profile link building is a great way to get links from other websites. You can create profiles on social media sites, directory sites, and forums, and include a link to your website in your profile.
15. Directory link building: Directory link building is a great way to get links from other websites. You can submit your website to online directories, and include a link to your website in your profile.
16. Forum link building: Forum link building is a great way to get links from other websites. You can participate in forums related to your industry, and include a link to your website in your signature.
17. Reach out to links will no-follow tags: If you find a link to your website that has a no-follow tag, you can reach out to the website owner and ask them to remove the tag and make a follow attribute.

Generally, website owners are happy to do this if you provide them with value such as a link back to their website from an equally good website.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take link equity to affect a site? 

There is no definitive answer to this question, as it can vary depending on a number of factors. However, it is generally agreed that it can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months for link equity to have an impact on a website’s ranking.

 

How to find out which blog posts have the most link equity? 

There are a number of ways to find out which blog posts have the most link equity. One way is to use a tool like Moz’s Open Site Explorer, which allows you to see how many links each page on your website has.

Another way is to use a tool like BuzzSumo, which allows you to see how popular each piece of content on your website is.

Finally, you can also ask Google which pages on your website have the most link equity by using the “link:” operator.

 

How to maintain link equity when updating taxonomy? 

When updating your website’s taxonomy, it is important to maintain the link equity of your existing pages. One way to do this is to use a tool like Screaming Frog, which allows you to find all of the links on your website and redirect them to the new pages.

Another way to maintain link equity is to use a 301 redirect, which permanently redirects visitors from one page to another.

Finally, you can also use a rel=”canonical” tag, which tells search engines that a certain page is the preferred version of a page with duplicate content.

 

How do links to your site help you?

 Links to your website can help improve your website’s ranking in search engines, as well as increase traffic to your website.

Links can also help build relationships with other websites, which can lead to opportunities for guest posting, joint ventures, and other partnerships.

 

How is link equity determined?

Link equity is determined by a number of factors, including the number of links pointing to a page, the quality of the links, and the anchor text of the links.

Here’s a quick checklist on determining the value of a link:

1) Is it relevant?

2) Is it coming from a high-quality, authoritative website?

3) Is the link a follow link?

4) Is the link surrounded by other links?

5) Does the status code of the page return a 200 OK?

6) Is the link an exact match to the keyword you’re targeting?

7) Is the link surrounded by other links with the same anchor text?

8) Is the link from a website that is in the same country as your target audience?

9) Is the link from a website that is in the same language as your target audience?

10) Does the website linking to you have a similar theme as your website?

If you answered “yes” to all of these questions, then the link is likely to be valuable.

 

Which types of links are the most valuable?

The most valuable links are those that come from high-quality websites that are relevant to your website.

Links from directories and forums are also valuable, as they can help increase the visibility of your website.

 

Can I lose link equity if a linking website goes down or removes the link?

Yes, if a linking website goes down or removes the link to your website, you may lose some of the link equity that you gained from that link. Link equity is a measure of the strength or value of a webpage based on the number and quality of the links pointing to it. When a linking website goes down or removes the link, it can negatively impact the link equity of the linked webpage.

This is because the inbound link is no longer available to pass value to the webpage. It is important to monitor the health and quality of your inbound links to ensure that they are helping rather than hindering your search rankings.

 

Can I transfer link equity from one webpage to another on my website?

Yes, you can transfer link equity from one webpage to another within your website through the use of internal linking. Internal linking is the process of linking from one webpage on your website to another webpage on the same website. This can help to distribute link equity and authority throughout your website, and can also help search engines to better understand the structure and content of your website.

To transfer link equity through internal linking, you can use hyperlinks to link from one webpage to another within your website. The link equity of the linking webpage will be passed to the linked webpage, helping to improve its ranking in search results. It is important to use relevant and high-quality internal links to ensure that the link equity is being passed effectively and to avoid diluting the link equity of your website.

In addition to transferring link equity, internal linking can also help to improve the user experience by making it easier for visitors to navigate your website and find the content they are looking for. It can also help to increase the crawlability of your website by providing search engines with more pathways to discover and index your content.

 

Can I lose link equity if I change the URL of a webpage?

Yes, if you change the URL of a webpage, you may lose some of the link equity that the page had previously accumulated. Link equity is a measure of the strength or value of a webpage based on the number and quality of the links pointing to it. When you change the URL of a webpage, the inbound links that were pointing to the old URL will no longer be pointing to the page, and the page will need to start building link equity from scratch.

To minimize the loss of link equity when changing the URL of a webpage, it is important to use a 301 redirect. A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect that tells search engines that the old URL has been permanently moved to the new URL. This helps to preserve the link equity of the page by transferring the value of the inbound links from the old URL to the new URL.

It is important to note that changing the URL of a webpage can also have an impact on the ranking of the page in search results. This is because search engines use the URL of a webpage as one of the factors in determining its ranking. As a result, it is important to carefully consider the impact of changing the URL on both the link equity and the ranking of the page.

 

Can I gain link equity from a nofollow link?

A nofollow link is a type of hyperlink that tells search engines not to follow or count the link as a vote of endorsement for the linked webpage. While nofollow links do not pass link equity in the same way as dofollow links, they can still be valuable for a number of reasons.

One reason is that nofollow links can help to drive traffic to your website. When a user clicks on a nofollow link, they will be directed to your website, which can help to increase your traffic and visibility.

Another reason is that nofollow links can indicate to search engines that your website is being mentioned or referenced by other websites. This can help to improve the credibility and authority of your website, which can in turn help to improve its ranking in search results.

It is important to note that while nofollow links may not directly contribute to link equity, they can still be valuable for other aspects of search engine optimization. As a result, it is important to consider the value of nofollow links in the context of your overall SEO strategy.