Link juice is an informal term for link equity, referring to the ranking value and authority that backlinks pass from one page to another through hyperlinks. While widely used in SEO discussions, this colloquial expression describes the same concept as link equity—how links distribute ranking power throughout websites and across the internet.
Flows Through Hyperlinks
When one page links to another, it passes a portion of its authority and ranking power through that link, helping the destination page perform better in search results.
Distributes Based on Page Strength
Pages with strong backlink profiles and high authority pass more link juice than weak pages, making links from established authoritative sites more valuable for rankings.
Gets Divided Among Multiple Links
A page splits its total link juice among all outbound links, meaning pages with fewer outbound links pass more value per link than pages linking to dozens of destinations.
Applies to Internal Links Too
Internal linking architecture distributes link juice throughout your site, letting you strategically direct authority from strong pages to important pages that need ranking boosts.
Can Be Controlled With Link Attributes
Standard followed links pass full link juice, while nofollow, sponsored, and UGC attributes significantly reduce or eliminate the ranking value passed through those links.
Represents Simplified Technical Concept
While "link juice" is informal slang, it effectively describes the complex algorithms search engines use to evaluate link authority and distribute ranking signals across the web.
Is link juice a real ranking factor?
The concept it describes is real—search engines do pass authority through links. However, "link juice" is informal industry terminology, not an official search engine term or metric.
How do you maximize link juice flow?
Build quality backlinks to key pages, use strategic internal linking to distribute authority efficiently, remove unnecessary redirects that dilute value, and fix broken links that waste equity.
Does link juice flow through redirect chains?
Yes, but each redirect slightly dilutes the passed authority. Use direct 301 redirects when possible and avoid chains of multiple redirects that unnecessarily weaken link value.
Should you nofollow internal links to save link juice?
No, this outdated "PageRank sculpting" tactic no longer works. Search engines treat nofollowed internal links differently now, so focus on natural helpful linking rather than manipulation attempts.RetryW
Link Equity
The ranking value or authority passed from one page to another through hyperlinks. Link equity flows through dofollow links and is influenced by the linking page's authority, relevance, and the number of outgoing links.
PageRank
Google's foundational algorithm for evaluating page importance based on the quantity and quality of incoming links. While the public PageRank score was retired, the underlying link-based authority concept remains central to Google's ranking system.
Internal Link
A hyperlink connecting one page of a website to another page on the same domain. Strategic internal linking distributes page authority, establishes content hierarchy, and helps search engines discover and understand relationships between pages.
Related Glossary Terms
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