SEO GLOSSARY · LINK BUILDING
What Is Link Equity?
The value passed from one webpage to another through a hyperlink — and one of the oldest, most reliable signals search engines use to judge trust and authority.
Link Equity
PageRank
Nofollow & Sponsored Links
Internal Linking
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Internal Linking & Anchor Text
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How Search Engines Work
Understand crawling and how pages get discovered.
White Hat vs Black Hat SEO
Know which link tactics are safe and which risk penalties.
Ultimate Guide to On-Page SEO
Optimize every element on a page for rankings.
Link Equity, Defined
Link equity is the value that passes from one webpage to another through a hyperlink. Search engines use this passed value as one signal among many. It helps them judge how trustworthy, authoritative, or relevant a page is. In simple terms, when a page links to another page, it shares a portion of its own credibility. That credibility passes on to the page it links to.
SEOs sometimes call this concept "link juice," though that term is informal. Link equity is the more useful term, but it's still an SEO industry concept rather than a metric Google publishes. Google calls its own link-analysis system PageRank. PageRank is closely related to what SEOs mean by link equity, but the two terms aren't identical: PageRank refers to a specific Google system, while link equity describes the broader idea of value passing through links.
Why Link Equity Matters
Search engines cannot judge trust the way people do. They rely on signals, and links are one of the oldest and most reliable signals available. Search engines treat a page that receives links from well-regarded sources as more credible. A page with no links pointing to it at all carries far less weight.
This matters for two main reasons:
It affects rankings.
Pages with stronger link equity often have an easier time ranking for competitive terms. This assumes the content itself is also relevant and well-optimized.
It affects discovery.
Search engines find new pages by following links. A page with no incoming links may take longer to get crawled and indexed. There's no path leading to it.
Link equity is not the only ranking factor. It remains a meaningful part of how search engines evaluate a page's standing.
How Link Equity Works
Every page on a website holds a certain amount of authority. It builds that authority over time through its own backlinks, age, and relevance. When that page links out to another page, it passes along a share of that authority through the hyperlink.
A few core mechanics shape how this transfer happens:
1
The Number of Outbound Links on a Page
The number of links on a page can influence how those links come across. Google doesn't publish a fixed formula that divides a set amount of link equity equally among every outbound link. That idea comes from an older, simplified explanation of PageRank. It isn't a precise description of how modern Google Search actually works. What's still true, and useful in practice, is this: a page packed with dozens of unrelated outbound links sends a weaker, more diluted signal. A page with a small number of carefully chosen, relevant links sends a stronger one.
2
Link Attributes: Nofollow, Sponsored, and UGC
SEOs often call a standard crawlable link with no qualifying rel attribute a "dofollow" link. This is common SEO shorthand, not an official Google term, and it isn't a guarantee of ranking credit.
Google also supports specific rel attributes for certain link types:
- rel="nofollow" signals that the linking site doesn't want to vouch for the destination page.
- rel="sponsored" should be used for paid or advertising links.
- rel="ugc" should be used for links inside user-generated content, such as comments or forum posts.
Since 2019, Google has treated these attributes as hints rather than absolute directives. In most cases they still won't pass typical ranking credit. Google's systems do retain the discretion to consider them when evaluating the overall link graph. Nofollow, sponsored, and UGC links can still bring referral traffic and visibility, even without passing traditional link equity.
3
Relevance Between the Linking and Linked Pages
Search engines consider whether the linking page is topically related to the page it links to. A link from a page about SEO strategy to another SEO-related page carries more contextual weight. A random, unrelated link carries far less.
4
The Authority of the Linking Page
A link from a page that itself holds strong authority and a solid backlink profile generally carries more weight. A link from a weak or low-authority page carries less. Third-party tools like Page Authority and Domain Authority attempt to estimate this kind of strength. It's worth remembering those are proprietary scores, not figures Google itself publishes or uses directly.
5
Link Placement and Context
Search engines generally treat links placed within the main body of a page, surrounded by relevant content, as more meaningful. Links buried in a footer, sidebar, or unrelated section carry less weight.
Internal Links Also Carry Link Equity
Link equity doesn't come only from backlinks from other websites. Internal links, meaning links between pages on the same site, also distribute link equity. A well-structured internal linking strategy helps spread authority from strong, well-linked pages. That authority flows to newer or less visible pages on the same site. This is one reason SEOs treat internal linking as a core part of on-page SEO, alongside technical SEO efforts like clean site architecture.
What Reduces or Blocks Link Equity
Certain situations prevent link equity from passing normally:
- Nofollow, sponsored, and UGC attributes, which signal that a link isn't a typical editorial endorsement, even though Google may still consider them as hints.
- Redirect chains, where a link passes through several redirects before reaching its destination. These create unnecessary hops, so avoid them where possible. Links and redirects should point as directly as possible to the final destination.
- Broken links, which can't provide a useful signal to the intended page, since the destination can't actually be reached.
- Excessive outbound links on a single page, which spreads a page's signal too thin to meaningfully benefit any one destination.
Auditing a site for these issues is a common part of a broader SEO audit. Fixing them helps preserve the authority a site has already earned.
Common Misconceptions About Link Equity
Myth
"More links always means more equity."
Not necessarily. A single link from a highly relevant, authoritative page can pass more value. That's true even compared to dozens of links from weak or unrelated sites.
Myth
"Nofollow links are worthless."
Nofollow links do not pass traditional link equity. They can still drive referral traffic, build brand visibility, and contribute to a natural-looking link profile.
Myth
"Link equity is the same as Domain Authority or Page Authority."
Moz developed Domain Authority and Page Authority as third-party, proprietary metrics. They use link-related signals to estimate the relative strength of a domain or page. But they aren't Google metrics, and you shouldn't treat them as direct measurements of Google's actual ranking systems or link equity. Google itself does not publish a public link-equity score for any page or link.
Best Practices for Preserving Link Equity
Fix broken internal and external links regularly.
Avoid unnecessary redirect chains.
Link to relevant, related pages rather than linking for the sake of volume.
Use internal links intentionally to guide equity toward important pages.
Keep outbound links on any given page reasonably focused rather than excessive.
Summary
Link equity is the value passed between pages through hyperlinks. It remains one of the foundational signals search engines use to evaluate authority and relevance. It flows through both external backlinks and internal links. Its strength depends on factors like the authority of the linking page, topical relevance, link placement, and whether the link is set to follow or nofollow. Understanding how link equity works makes it easier to build a website structure. It also helps build a backlink profile that supports long-term search visibility.
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