Glossary

What is link equity?

Link equity is the informal name for the ranking value a link passes from one page to another. Links from strong, relevant pages pass more; nofollow, sponsored and ugc links usually pass little or none. "Link juice" means the same thing. Google doesn't publish a link equity number.

By the AgentLaunch team · Updated November 2026 · Also called link juice, link authority

Where the idea comes from

The original PageRank paper modelled the web as pages passing a share of their importance through each outgoing link. Link equity is the SEO shorthand for that flow. Modern ranking is far more complex, but the basic idea holds: a link from an important, relevant page helps more than one from an obscure, unrelated page.

What affects how much passes

  • Authority of the linking page, not only the domain.
  • Relevance between the two pages.
  • Link type: followed links pass equity; nofollow, sponsored and ugc are hints and usually pass little.
  • Placement: links in the main content tend to count more than footer or sidebar links.
  • Number of other links on the page.

Equity also flows inside your site. Pages linked from your homepage and main navigation get more of it; orphan pages get none. Linking important pages from strong ones, like a new feature page from a popular blog post, spreads equity where it's needed.

Myths

"Linking out leaks equity": outbound links to good sources don't hurt you. "Nofollowing internal links sculpts PageRank": Google stopped that working years ago.

Example

A blog post with 200 referring domains links to a new pricing page. The pricing page starts ranking for its brand searches within weeks, while a similar page linked only from the footer takes months.

FAQ

Is link juice the same as link equity?

Yes. Both are informal names for the value a link passes.

Do nofollow links pass link equity?

Usually little or none. Google treats nofollow as a hint and may use some.

Does linking out lose equity?

No meaningful amount. Linking to good sources is normal and helpful.

Sources

  1. The Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Web Search Engine (PageRank)
  2. Google Search Central: Qualify your outbound links

All glossary terms · Backlink and authority terms