The Complete Guide to Link Equity and Link Juice for 2025

Table of Contents

I hear you. You want to be among the top 1% of digital marketers, SEO strategists, and business owners building links.

You’ve tried everything from search engine optimization to leveraging your superior’s ideas…

It’s frustrating, isn’t it? Even with a perfect content strategy and significant money for more link equity and external links, you may not be seeing the desired results. 

You’re not alone. 

The top 1% of marketers know a secret that sets them apart: mastering link equity with GrowthOG’s strategies. 

Let’s dive in!

What is Link Equity?

Link equity or link juice measures the relevance of your content. Just as testimonials from people elevate your standing, quality backlinks enhance your site’s authority. 

When external links vouch for your website, your value increases. That is how you get more link equity.

The higher the authority of people who testify for you, the more your value increases. Similarly, when your site is backed with quality links, the more authoritative it gets. Just like your influence in real life, the higher the quality of the connections, the greater the impact.

Forbes Ahrefs overview

You can also check the PageRank of the referring page to figure out how much link equity is being passed down. A great way to do this is by checking the UR of the domain which shows the strength of the back link profile on a 100 point scale.

Partnering with a link-building partner such as GrowthOG gives justice to your link-building efforts. Link juice won’t just connect your web pages but will drive valuable traffic to your website. Your goals become our goals, and together we create a win-win situation. 

Why is Link Equity Important?

Link equity is the backbone of Search Engine Optimization.  You must keep in mind that not all connections carry the same weight. The stronger and more influential the referring page,  the greater its impact. A staggering 79.7% of SEO experts believe in this.

Investing in other strategies won’t yield results unless you prioritize link equity. Organic visibility should be your priority as most users click on the first page.

When you ask any top digital marketer, regarding the Google Page algorithm, they point out the same: You need to pass more link equity.

Each link pointing to a webpage passes a portion of its PageRank, which contributes to the overall link equity of the linked page.

This is how you level up your game. You perhaps may have just started working on your content. Or you post regularly in hopes you get more traffic. Partnering with a partner like GrowthOG will help you 10x your speed! GrowthOG. 

A robust link equity strategy, especially when enhanced by GrowthOG’s targeted link-building services, can elevate brand visibility and lead generation.

How Does Link Equity Work?

Link equity affects the authority and ranking of web pages by transferring from one page to another through both internal and external links. Search engines evaluate the quality of the links pointing to a page to determine how much link juice is passed.

Links from authoritative sources contribute more link equity than those from lower-quality sites. The amount of link juice delivered to a page is determined by various factors, including the relevance and authority of the linking pages.

You might wonder what the term “high authority” means in terms of more link equity. For example, links from sites such as Forbes and Harvard Business Review will carry more importance. But context and relevance play an important role too.

Forbes outgoing links

Take, for instance, a link from a popular website like TechCrunch – it will give more authority to your page if your page is about technology. But a link from Nike will have no or low relevance for your technology website. Thus, the relevance and authority of linking play a crucial role.

Factors that Determine Link Equity

Let’s go deeper into the different factors that determine high link equity.

Anchor text

In networking, how someone introduces you affects others’ perception of you. For example, if someone introduces you with, “This is Caley, she’s our designer,” it doesn’t build a strong lasting impression. Your value won’t be understood.

But if the same person introduces you as, “Meet Caley, an innovative UX designer specializing in user-centered design,” it demonstrates your value and creates a long-lasting impression.

Similarly…

When a page links to your site, the anchor text is important for SEO. Specific and relevant anchor text, like “top SEO tips,” tells search engines exactly what the page is about.

OptiMonk anchors
OptiMonk uses a lot of effective anchors in their blog posts.

The link gains value as a result. Anchor text that is generic, such as “click here” or “read more,” doesn’t give any context. Search engines are unable to detect relevance in the absence of context. These links, therefore, pass less link equity and improve search engine rankings.

Link location

A link placed in the body of a blog post tends to pass more link equity than one in the sidebar. 

For instance, a content marketing link placed in a blog post carries more weight than one kept in the footer. 

The link in the footer often gets less attention and context. 

Number of outgoing links

If you only choose to link a page to higher, relevant, and quality sources, the link equity passed will be higher. 

For example, a high-quality blog post that links to only three authoritative sources, like Nike, Adidas, and Puma, will pass more link equity than one with 50 low-quality links. 

This focused approach ensures your site receives valuable link equity.

Credibility and reputation of the domain

You should be familiar with domains that have more credibility and reputation. 

For example, a link from a reputable site like HubSpot will have more value than a link from a site with low domain authority. Always check the domain authority before anything.

GrowthOG always advises this as search engines consider the entire domain’s credibility when evaluating how much link equity is passed.

Do- follow vs. no-follow links

There are two types of links that you can use to measure link equity: Do-follow links and Nofollow links, which impact SEO in different ways.

Do-follow links enable search engines to transfer link equity between pages. They pass authority and relevance of the linked page.

A nofollow link is a link with a special HTML attribute that tells search engines not to pass link equity to the linked page. They have zero effect on the search engine page.

Let’s get back to the networking example to understand this better.

“You must collaborate with Caley. She’s brilliant and consistently delivers exceptional designs!” This kind of recommendation doesn’t just bring attention—it boosts your credibility and opens doors, just like a do-follow link passing SEO authority.

“I’ve worked with Caley before. You might want to explore her ideas.” While this doesn’t pass authority, it still creates awareness and visibility—similar to how a no-follow link can still generate traffic, even though it doesn’t affect SEO rankings directly.

What’s the difference? These links are like valuable business recommendations that transfer trust and authority. If Yahoo links your page with a do-follow link, your page authority will increase. This is because SEO links will be considered high authority due to their relevance. These are typically used in editorial content or natural backlinks.

No-follow links won’t directly impact your SEO rankings, but they still bring traffic and visibility, which can be beneficial, especially if placed on high-traffic sites. When links are placed in the comment section, below the blog, they are often no-follow. This is because they don’t want to pass link equity. You can use them to prevent spammy content.

Pro-tip: At GrowthOG, we carefully vet linking sites to ensure high relevance and authority. This attention to detail is what makes our approach different.

How Link Equity is Distributed Among Pages

Link equity flows in different ways mainly through link diversity, internal linking, link depth and link placement. Every one of them plays a critical role in ensuring how authority must be passed across a site. 

Link diversity

Link diversity is the power of a well-connected network. For instance, travel sites will have more credibility if it is mentioned on Trivago, National Geographic, and more.

But if it is only mentioned in one blog it wont have that much of an impact. Having backlinks from various reputable sources boosts your site’s authority and reach. 

Similarly, relying on backlinks from just one source, like a single blog limits your site’s authority.

Link diversity is crucial for building a strong, credible online presence. Here you can have diverse links from a wide -variety of high-quality sources. 

For example, a product page linked from different pages of a website gains more equity than a page with only one link from a single section. And that’s what GrowthOG does! It maximizes distribution by ensuring your links from various relevant sources.

Internal linking

Internal linking ensures search engines pass link equity so that search engines can crawl effectively. 

For example, if you have a high-authority homepage that links to a blog post. A part of the link equity is passed to the blog. 

Linking pages such as comprehensive guides, or top-performing pages ensures they receive more authority. GrowthOG is a master in maximizing these equity flows through internal links.

Link depth

The link depth of any website means the number of clicks it takes to reach a specific page from the home page. The page closer to the home page will receive more equity. 

For example, your service page linked from the homepage will get more equity than a blog post which is hidden under multiple sources of navigation. 

Hence, you need to remember to keep important pages closer to the homepage.

This will also increase your domain authority.

Link placement

Did you know that where you place your link affects its value? 

Links within your main content carry more weight than those in your sidebar. For example, a link put in a blog post about comprehensive guides will have more equity than one in the footer.

GrowthOG helps businesses by ensuring all these factors get optimized. We leave no stone unturned to ensure maximum link equity on your top-priority pages.

Can I Pass Link Equity to Other Websites?

Let’s take a closer look at how you can pass that valuable link equity to other websites. 

You can do this through several methods such as outbound links, relevant anchor text, avoiding no follow tags, and linking the website’s quality and relevance. 

Let us show you how this works.

Outbound links to reputable sites

Links that are passed on to external sites from your site are called as outbound links. They can transfer link equity boosting their credibility. 

For example, if your blog is linked to a highly authoritative site like Harvard Business Review some of your other links quickly flow to their site. 

It demonstrates trust and relevance to the linking website.

Using relevant anchor text

To pass link equity, the anchor text of the link can play a very important role. For example, when you link an article about SEO marketing with the same anchor text. The search engine then gets more context which makes equity transfer better.

Avoiding no-follow tags

No-follow links do not pass equity, while do follow links pass equity. When you link it to the other site with a no follow tag, search engines will not pass link equity to that site. For example, more paid ads or affiliate links use no-follow to comply with search engine guidelines.

Linking website’s quality and relevance

Linking high-authority websites that are relevant to your topic will pass on more value. For example, a link from a fashion blog to a fashion guide for 2025 will have more relevance on a fashion website than on a health website.

How to Get More Link Equity for Your Web Pages

If you want  Google’s search engine to show your website link equity, you have to play it smart. The answer to more link equity does not lie in spending more money on other tools. Spending thousands of dollars on ads will go to waste, as you can do it organically too. 

Here’s how you make your link juice stronger.

  1. Optimize for link equity factors as mentioned above.
  2. Avoid using link equity during domain changes. To give you a better understanding of this, let’s say you have a website called healthyfood.com then move it to healthyfood.org.Now, you must set up all 301 redirects for all pages. This will maintain your link equity, and the search engine won’t see your content as a fresh website that just started.
  3. Choose a strong and reliable domain name. For instance, a name like healthymeals.com signals credibility. However, a name like a website with numerals can signal no credibility.
  4. Allocate your internal link equity throughout your website in a fair and efficient manner. This entails tying other websites to your home page. 
  5. Leverage tailored link building support from GrowthOG. If you manage an online store, GrowthOG can connect your site with reputable blogs that review your products in your niche. 

How to Track and Measure Link Equity

Once you’ve done all the main important things to build link juice, how do you know whether your link building strategies are working? You measure them! 

There are several ways to track and measure link equity. You can do this by:

  • Analyzing internal link structures, monitoring relevant backlink quality, evaluating anchor text usage and more.
  • Examining your internal links. If you have a blog post that is usually linked to other articles but your contact page isn’t, then your link equity is distributed unequally. 
  • Monitoring link placement and diversity. Keep track of the link placement and you must make sure they come from diverse sources.
GrowthOG link tracking dashboard
  • Partner with us to use our custom link-tracking dashboard. It allows you to refine your performance and measure it accurately.

Best Practices for Boosting Link Juice

Here are some of the best practices to know to boost your link juice: 

  • Focus on more high-quality links than low-quality links. To maximize the value of link equity and improve your website’s ranking, follow these best practices with actionable examples.
  • Avoid link schemes. Remember if you buy links that violate search engine guidelines, you will have to pay a heavy penalty from Google. Focus on earning links instead. This can be done through valuable and shareable content.
  • Leverage content marketing and social media. By creating top-notch content and sharing it widely, you can attract the natural value of  backlinks.
  • Collaborate with influencers. Working with influencers can help you gain exposure and authoritative backlinks.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Building Links

You’ve got the best do’s of link building. But when you get the best do’s, you need to be aware of common pitfalls too. Here’s what to look out for.

Link stuffing

Adding too many irrelevant links can do more harm than good. Check out the example below.

link stuffing example

Adding links without purpose

Stuffing internal and external links when not necessary can distract the reader. Sometimes the reader may even stop surfing on your site. Add links only when they genuinely add value to the user. Incorporate internal and external links only when they genuinely add value to the user.

Misusing the Nofollow Tag

Avoid using the no-follow tag if your goal is to pass or receive link equity. For example, when you try to link a high authority website to yours using the no-follow link, you prevent collaboration.

Over to You

While you network, the company you keep matters. Similarly in SEO, to level up your game,  the quality and relevance of your backlinks dictate how far your site climbs.

With GrowthOG, you’re not just building link, you’re building a web of trust and authority..

Partner with us today and beat your competitors in the SEO game!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Want Us to go over your Link Building Strategy?

We’ll review your current state, go over your goals and identify low-hanging fruits to, and set you up with an actionable plan to get more sales! Learn how we work with clients…

We write a ton of content, and just about links!