How Google passes link juice; explained with coffee

There are many colourful terms and expressions used in SEO to paint a more tangible picture of the practice. Some are used to describe principles that should be followed, while others explain how a search mechanism or ranking factor operates. One of those terms that gets thrown around quite often is link equity/link juice.

Without an explanation, it can be hard to know what these phrases refer to. So, if you’re still pondering what they both mean, keep reading and we’ll analyse the underlying meaning of link juice and link equity and explain it all in coffee terms.

What is link juice?

Link juice is a colloquialism of link equity – a term used in SEO to calculate the value of a backlink.

What is link equity?

Link equity is a measure of the value a page passes to another page. Search engines like Google use it to determine page rank, giving more credit to websites that have a series of good-quality backlinks.

Good quality backlinks are usually links to a page from an authoritative site, one that is closely linked with a trusted domain (for example .gov sites), that is topically relevant and doesn’t link to spam.

When one web page links to another, some of the authority or value of the linking page is passed to the linked page. This link equity can have a positive impact on the linked page’s search engine rankings, as it signals to search engines that the page is trustworthy and valuable.

What is a backlink?

Backlinks are simply links that refer ‘back’ to a page on a site with a different domain. Not to be confused with internal links, backlinks are given to other websites as a type of citation to a source that an author has used to give information.

When a site receives links from others, this tells search engines that the content being linked to is of high quality and should be trusted as it is by others.

Read more: The complete guide to quality backlinks.

Link equity influences

Link equity is influenced by several factors, including the relevance of the linking page, the authority and quality of the linking page, and the anchor text used in the link. The more relevant, authoritative, and high-quality the linking page, the more link equity is passed on.

Link equity can be strengthened through various SEO tactics, such as building high-quality backlinks from reputable websites, optimising anchor text, and improving the overall content and user experience of the page being linked to. But in recent years, what denotes a “good quality backlink” has changed, and like ‘short’ and ‘tall’ coffees, the quality of links aren’t equal.  Here are some of the main influences over link equity:

Page popularity

The more popular the linking page, the more link equity it passes on. This is due to the higher authority possessed by the linking page. Pages that have fewer or no links pointing to them pass on less equity.

As you can see above, cup A1 has more links pointing towards it, so it passes on more equity when linking to cup B. A2 has fewer links, meaning less equity.  

Link locations

Compared to headers, sidebars and footers, links contained within unique main content areas on your site tend to pass on the most equity. They are placed in prominent positions, so anything that links outwards is believed to be just as prominent.

Higher up links pass more equity

Of the links contained within unique content areas, those that are higher up in the order will pass on the most link equity. This is due to the higher weighting given to links placed in prominent positions.

Links for unique domains

Google values new, unique links more than additional links from an already-linking domain. This shows that a diverse backlink portfolio from a range of sites is more advantageous compared to a slim backlink profile from just a few select sites.

Topical relevance matters

Relevance is a core part of linking. The more relevant a linking domain is to the domain being linked, the higher the equity passed along. Lesser relevant domains will still pass on equity, but it won’t be as much.

Newer, fresher pages pass on more equity

Compared to pages that haven’t been updated in a while, regularly updated and maintained pages pass on higher equity.

The impact of link growth

Domains that have secured a higher number of links in a shorter timespan can pass on more equity compared to slower growing domains. While Google will assess each domain’s links for quality to ensure link farming isn’t present, more rapid growth indicates higher relevancy and content quality.

Spam devalues websites

Domains that continually link to spammy or extremely low quality websites will have less link equity to pass on. Google has cracked down on this to decrease the effectiveness of link farming – a process where a website buys links to be pointed towards a desired target.

Nofollow links can be useful

Nofollow links, by their nature, are intended to not pass on any link equity. Despite this, there have been studies conducted into the use of nofollow links, with conclusions being drawn around them being just as useful a tool as dofollow links, especially when it comes to driving referral traffic.

With multiple links, the first has priority

When a page is linked to multiple times from one domain, the first occurrence of the link will have a higher priority compared to others. While the links will of course still get picked up, Google will typically use the first link to pass on authority.

Do you need help with your backlink profile?

Backlinks are part of a long-term digital PR approach, which itself supports an ongoing SEO strategy. To get a better understanding of this, check out our blog, how long until I see SEO results, to understand how SEO is the long-term project you never knew you needed.

Speak with a member of our SEO team today! Contact us or find out more about our professional SEO agency, here.

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