link equity
Link equity is the ranking value that flows from one page to another through hyperlinks, influencing search engine rankings.
Link equity (sometimes called “link juice”) is the ranking value or authority that flows from one page to another through hyperlinks. When a page with high authority links to another page, it passes a portion of that authority to the linked page, helping it rank higher in search results.
How link equity works
Search engines treat links as votes of confidence. A page that receives many links from authoritative pages accumulates more link equity and tends to rank higher. The value passed through a link depends on several factors:
- Authority of the linking page - Links from high-authority pages pass more equity
- Number of links on the page - Equity is divided among all outgoing links
- Relevance - Links from topically related pages carry more weight
- Link position - Links in main content may carry more value than footer links
- Follow status - Nofollow links do not pass link equity
Internal link equity
Internal links distribute equity across your own site. A well-structured internal linking strategy ensures important pages receive enough link equity to rank. Pages with few internal links pointing to them receive less equity and may struggle to rank, even with good content.
What disrupts link equity
- Redirect chains - Each redirect hop can lose a small amount of equity
- Nofollow directives - Page-level nofollow blocks equity flow to all linked pages
- Broken links - Dead links waste the equity that would otherwise flow to useful pages
- Orphan pages - Pages with no internal links receive no internal equity
How crawler.sh helps
Run crawler seo to identify redirect chains, broken links, and nofollow directives that may be disrupting your link equity flow. A healthy internal linking structure is essential for distributing ranking power across your site.
