What Is Link Equity?
Link equity (also called “link juice” in industry speak) is the ranking power that passes from one webpage to another through links. Think of it as a vote of confidence. When one website links to yours, it transfers some of its authority to your site.
Search engines like Google use this transferred authority to determine how high your website appears in search results. More link equity means better rankings. Better rankings mean more customers find your business.
Link equity is still based on Google’s PageRank algorithm, which continues to influence rankings despite algorithm updates.
Why Link Equity Matters for Your Business
Your website needs link equity to compete online. Here’s what happens when you have strong link equity:
Your website ranks higher in Google search results. More potential customers see your business when they search for your services. You get more website visitors without paying for ads. Your business gains credibility and trust online.
Without link equity, your website gets buried on page 10 of search results. Nobody finds your business. Your competitors who understand link equity get the customers instead.
SEO Expert Note: This section accurately reflects current SEO realities. Google’s March 2024 core update reinforced the importance of quality links while cracking down on link spam.
What Affects Link Equity?
Several factors determine how much link equity your website receives:
Source Website Authority
Links from established, trusted websites pass more equity than links from new or low-quality sites. A link from a major industry publication carries more weight than a link from a personal blog.
Link Relevance
Links from websites in your industry or related topics pass more equity. A link from a business directory to your accounting firm is more valuable than a link from a cooking blog.
Link Location
Links placed in the main content of a webpage pass more equity than links in footers or sidebars. Search engines give more weight to links that appear naturally within articles.
Number of Links on the Page
Pages with fewer outbound links pass more equity to each linked website. Your link has more value when it’s one of five links instead of one of 500.
Link Type
“Follow” links pass equity. “No-follow” links do not. Most natural links are follow links by default.
SEO Expert Note: All factors listed are correct. The 2024 Google algorithm leak confirmed these PageRank principles remain influential in current rankings.
How Link Equity Flows Through Your Website
Link equity doesn’t just come from external websites. It also flows between pages within your own website through internal links.
Your homepage typically has the most authority. When you link from your homepage to other pages on your site, you pass some of that authority to those pages. This helps all your pages rank better.
Smart internal linking distributes this authority where you need it most. Link to your most important service pages from your homepage and other high-authority pages.
Internal linking strategy remains crucial. The 2024 algorithm leak emphasized that well-structured internal linking helps distribute link equity across important pages.
Practical Ways to Build Link Equity
Create Valuable Content
Write helpful articles, guides, or resources that other websites want to link to. Content that solves problems or answers questions naturally attracts links.
Get Listed in Business Directories
Submit your business to relevant industry directories and local business listings. These provide steady link equity and help customers find you.
Build Relationships
Connect with other business owners, industry publications, and local organizations. Genuine relationships often lead to natural link opportunities.
Guest Writing
Write articles for industry publications or other relevant websites. Include a link back to your website in your author bio.
Fix Broken Links
Find broken links on other websites and suggest they link to your relevant content instead. This helps them fix their site while earning you a link.
These tactics remain effective. The focus on relationship-building and valuable content aligns with Google’s emphasis on natural, high-quality links.
Common Link Equity Mistakes to Avoid
Buying Low-Quality Links
Purchasing links from link farms or irrelevant websites hurts your rankings. Google penalizes websites that try to manipulate rankings with bad links.
Over-Optimizing Anchor Text
Don’t use the same keyword phrase in every link pointing to your site. Mix up your anchor text to look natural.
Ignoring Internal Links
Many business owners focus only on external links but forget to optimize their internal linking structure. Both are important.
Linking to Irrelevant Sites
When you link to other websites from your content, make sure they’re relevant and trustworthy. Bad outbound links affect your credibility.
Google’s spam update specifically targeted spammy link practices. The advice to avoid low-quality links and over-optimized anchor text is more relevant than ever.
Measuring Your Link Equity Success
Track these metrics to see how your link equity efforts are working:
Search Rankings
Monitor where your website appears for important keywords. Rising rankings indicate growing link equity.
Organic Traffic
More link equity typically leads to more visitors from search engines. Track your organic traffic growth over time.
Domain Authority
Use tools like Moz or Ahrefs to check your website’s domain authority score. This estimates your site’s overall link equity strength.
Number of Linking Websites
Track how many unique websites link to yours. More linking domains generally means more link equity.
SEO Expert Note: These metrics accurately reflect link equity performance. Domain authority scores from third-party tools provide useful estimates of overall link strength.
The Bottom Line
Link equity determines whether customers find your website or your competitors’ websites first. Building strong link equity takes time and effort, but the results are worth it.
Start by creating helpful content and building genuine relationships in your industry. Focus on earning links from relevant, authoritative websites. Optimize your internal linking to distribute equity throughout your site.
Your website’s success depends on link equity. The sooner you start building it, the sooner you’ll see more customers finding your business online.
