Link juice is also known as link equity. It is a term used in SEO to determine the authority passed from one website or page to another. It is one of the factors that determine how websites rank.
It is likely you have heard about it. But what is it, and how will it affect your search rankings?
Let’s get started!
Table of Contents:
What Is Link Juice?
Link juice is an SEO term often used to refer to the link value that passes from one website to another.
Link juice helps your website to rank higher on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP).
Also, it can be used to determine the quality of a backlink. When the quality of a backlink is higher, it will pass more link juice to your website.
For example, when a link is from a high-authority website such as New York Times, it will pass more link juice compared to a link from a low authority website.
Types of Link
There are two types of links.Â
- Internal linkÂ
- External linkÂ
1. Internal link – Internal link refers to linking within the same website. It’s a link from one page to another within the same website.
Internal link helps search engines understand your website’s content and structure.
2. External link juice – External link refers to linking to other websites. When you link to another website, there’s a good chance for them to provide a backlink to your website as well.Â
The more quality backlinks a website has, the more powerful it is, and the better it will rank in search engine results.
How Does Link Juice Work?
Link juice is passed on through dofollow links and internal links.
Dofollow Links
Dofollow links allow search engine bots to follow it and pass the link juice to the linked page.
For instance, you have two websites X and Y. Let’s assume other ranking factors remain constant.
Site X receives one dofollow link, and site Y has no dofollow link. In this case, site X will rank higher in search results because it has a backlink.
You may have also heard about the nofollow link. They are the opposite of dofollow links.
Nofollow links tell search engine bots not to follow it. Hence, no link juice is transferred to the linked page. But, Google has hinted that nofollow links still have some SEO value.
Internal Links
Link juice is not only transferred from other website pages to your site page. But, it can also pass from one page to another on your own website.
Therefore, internal links can also pass link authority and be crucial for SEO. This is a good trick to move link equity around your site.
Though Google keeps on updating its algorithms, it’s ideal to tweak and change the tactics regularly to keep up with Google algorithms updates.
How to Get More Link Juice?
You can use the following techniques to get more link juice and improve your rankings.Â
- External links (backlinks)
- Internal links
1. External Links (Backlinks)
The only true way to get link juice is from external links, also known as backlinks. These are links from other websites.
Search engines use backlinks to determine the rankings of a website. So, here are a few ways to get backlinks.Â
- Create relevant, informative content that other authoritative sites will find useful
- Email outreach
- Guest posting
- Broken link building
- Replicate your competitor’s link-building strategyÂ
2. Internal Links
Linking within your website can help pass link value to other pages on your website. So, link your website pages together.
Not to mention, internal links can help boost views for a specific high-value landing page.
How to Maintain Link Juice?
To maintain good link practices, here are certain factors to consider and keep a record.
1. Find and Fix Broken Links
Broken links are links on a page that do not work due to issues such as:
- Domain no longer exists
- 404 errors
- Improper URL
- Firewall restrictions
You should maintain working links for readers and bots to follow because broken links have no benefit. In fact, broken links have a negative impact.
2. Avoid Acquiring Harmful Backlinks
Harmful backlinks negatively affect your page’s performance. The following are some examples of harmful backlinks.Â
- Paying for links or involving in any other link scheme activities
- Links from irrelevant content
- Links from websites that aren’t indexedÂ
- Links from sites set up for just providing a backlink
3. Create a Good Internal Linking Structure
Make sure your pages are well-linked together. A proper internal link structure can help to distribute value to other pages on your website.
4. Create High-Quality Content. Update It When Needed.
When you publish high-quality content that’s beneficial to people, you’ll automatically start getting backlinks to it.Â
If your content covers information that others haven’t, websites will provide a link to your content as it’ll benefit their audience.
When publishing content, ensure it’s relevant to your website’s niche. Avoid publishing content on multiple topics only to attract traffic.
Since your content is high-quality, you can retain backlinks and maintain your link juice.Â
If there’s a need to modify and update the content, do so immediately, as it’s essential to retain the backlink.Â
How to Measure the Power of Link Juice?
Link juice depends on a number of factors. Below are a few factors to determine the power of link juice.
1. Website Linking to the Content
If the link equity is from a trusted website with high-quality content, the link will pass more value than a link from a site with less authority.
Some useful metrics that can help estimate the value of a link are:
- Domain authority:Â This is a metric designed by Moz. It uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure a website’s authority.Â
- Referring domains:Â This is the number of unique domains linking to the site or the page.Â
- Domain age:Â This metric will help to determine the date when the page first went live. Moreover, this metric doesn’t measure the total value of the link, but it can influence things like domain or page authority.
2. Relevance to the Topic
Linking to websites or pages with relevant topics to your website pages can affect the value of link juice.
For example, linking a weight loss page to a budgeting landing page will not be relevant, hence no or less link value.
3. Type of the Link
Nofollow link tells Google bots not to follow that link; hence no link juice is transferred.
Dofollow links tell search engine bots to follow it, thus passing authority between pages.
4. Link Location
The location of the link also determines the power of the link juice being transferred.
Links at the top of a page have more power compared to a link at the bottom.
5. Number of Links
If there are many links on a page, the value of your backlink will be lower.
However, if the page only contains a backlink to your website, the value of the link will be higher.
Benefits of Link Juice to Your Website
When a website or a page has more link juice, it will rank higher in search results. Here are the benefits of high-quality links pointing to your page or website:
- Your website or page can rank higher in search results and attract more traffic. This improves your brand or business’s online visibility.
- Link juice can enhance your website or page authority and credibility. As a result, it increases trust in the eyes of search engines.
- Link juice also contributes to your website’s overall health and quality, which is an important factor in SEO.
Conclusion
Link juice can improve your website or page rankings in search results. The more the links (high-quality ones), the more the link juice.
Implement good SEO practices to maintain good links, and stay at the top of search results.
