What Is Link Equity? Link Juice Explained

Link equity, also known as link value, is the ranking value passed from one page to another through a link. The more valuable links point to a page, the more authority that page builds and the better it can perform in Google. You will often hear the informal term “link juice” as well: it means exactly the same thing. In this article you will learn what link equity is, how it flows through your site and how to deliberately steer that value to the pages that generate revenue.

What is link equity exactly?

In the eyes of a search engine, every link is a kind of recommendation. When one page links to another, it passes on part of the value it has built up. That transferred ranking value is link equity.

The term “link juice” emerged in the early SEO world as a metaphor: value that “flows” like juice from page to page. It is the same thing as link equity, just more informal. Both describe the same principle: authority moves through links, both between websites and within your own site.

Link equity is one of the building blocks behind your domain authority and your page authority. It is not a standalone number that Google publishes, but a concept that helps explain why some pages rank more strongly than others. If you want the broader foundation first, read our explanation of what SEO is.

How does link equity flow?

Link equity moves along two routes: from the outside into your site, and within your site itself.

From the outside: backlinks. When an authoritative, relevant site links to you through a backlink, it passes part of its value on to you. A link from a strong, topically relevant source weighs far more than ten links from weak, random sites. That is how link building works: you earn links that pass on authority.

Within your site: internal links. The same logic applies between your own pages. Through internal links you distribute the value you have built across your site. A blog article that attracts a lot of backlinks can channel its equity to the service page where you want to generate leads. That makes internal links one of the few levers you fully control yourself.

What influences how much value flows through?

Not every link passes on the same amount. The most important factors:

• The authority of the linking page. A strong page has more to give than a weak one.
• The number of links on that page. A page with a hundred outgoing links spreads its value far more thinly than a page with a handful. Think of a pie cut into more or fewer slices.
• The relevance of the connection. A link between two topically related pages counts for more than a random one.
• The type of link. A rel="nofollow" link passes on little or no equity. Google treats such attributes as a hint these days, but the rule of thumb still holds: nofollow links transfer little ranking value.
• The anchor text. The clickable words of the link provide context about what the destination page is about.

Where link equity often leaks away

Many B2B sites waste their link equity without realising it. A few common leaks:

• Dead-end pages. Valuable content that links out to nothing holds on to its equity instead of passing it to pages that matter.
• Too many links to unimportant destinations. If your strongest page mainly links to footer or support pages, valuable equity heads in the wrong direction.
• Broken links. A link to a page that no longer exists passes its value to nobody.
• Orphan pages. A page without a single internal link receives almost no equity and will struggle to rank.

These leaks surface in a structured SEO audit, where we map out your internal link structure.

The Customer Impact view: steer your authority towards revenue

We treat link equity as a scarce asset you steer deliberately, not as something that lands in the right place by itself. The question we always ask: does the value your content and backlinks build actually reach the pages that bring in customers?

For a B2B company, that means your strongest signals should push your commercial pages up: your SEO specialist, your most important landing pages, your strongest knowledge articles. That is not a trick, but smart housekeeping with the authority you earn. A mountain of backlinks that flows nowhere pays no bills. So we steer on leads and revenue, and use your internal links to concentrate the strength you have earned exactly where it counts. You will also find a short definition in our wiki on link equity.

Frequently asked questions about link equity

What is link equity? Link equity, or link value, is the ranking value passed from one page to another through a link. The more valuable links point to a page, the more authority it builds and the better it can perform.

Is link juice the same as link equity? Yes. Link juice is the informal, older term for the same principle: the value that flows from page to page through links. Link equity is the more common, professional name.

Does a nofollow link pass on link equity? Little to none. A rel="nofollow" link generally transfers no or hardly any ranking value. Google treats such attributes as a hint, but do not count on equity from nofollow links.

How do I steer link equity to my most important pages? Mainly through internal links. Have your strongest pages, such as heavily linked articles, point to the commercial pages you want to rank. That way you concentrate your earned authority where it generates revenue.

Want to make your authority pay off?

Building link equity is only half the work. The real win lies in steering it to the pages that bring in customers. We map out your link structure and make sure the authority you have earned does not leak away but pushes your revenue pages up. We are a small team that moves fast and steers on leads. Book your free intake