„Linkjuice“, also known as „link power“ or „link juice“, is a central concept in the Search engine optimization (SEO). It describes the value and authority that is transferred from a linking website to a linked website via a hyperlink. Search engines such as Google interpret links as recommendations or „votes“ for the linked page. The higher the quality and relevance of the linking source, the more „linkjuice“ is transferred, which has a positive effect on the Ranking of the target page.
The mechanics of Linkjuice
The transfer of linkjuice takes place both through external Backlinks, This includes links from other domains to your own website, as well as internal links that are set within a domain. The homepage of a website usually receives the largest share of external link juice, which should then be passed on to the subpages via the internal link structure in order to optimize their Visibility to increase.
Several factors influence the strength of the transferred linkjuice:
- Authority and relevance of the linking page: A link from a thematically relevant page that is classified as authoritative by search engines is more valuable.
- Number of outgoing links: A page with few outgoing links passes on more linkjuice per link than a page with many external links.
- Position of the link: Links that are placed in the main content area of a page tend to transfer more link juice than links in the footer or sidebar.
- Anchor text: A descriptive and relevant anchor text signals the content of the target page to the search engines.
Traditionally, linkjuice was only transferred via so-called „DoFollow“ links. Links with the attribute rel="nofollow" signaled search engines not to follow the link and not to transfer any value. Treated since 2019 Google nofollow, and the newer attributes rel="sponsored" for paid links and rel="ugc" for user-generated content (e.g. comments), as references and no longer as strict instructions. Search engines can now still include these links in their evaluation, even if they do not usually pass on any direct linkjuice.
Practical significance for the SEO strategy
Strategic management of linkjuice is essential for successful Search engine optimization essential. This includes the targeted development of high-quality Backlinks of external, relevant and authoritative domains (off-page SEO) as well as the conscious control of the internal link flow (On-page SEO).
Through optimized internal linking, the link juice can be distributed within your own website in such a way that important pages receive more link power and their Ranking opportunities rise. Pages that are not primarily in the Search results should rank, such as Imprint or Privacy policy, do not usually require high link power. A well thought out Content strategy, which aims to create link-worthy content, is the basis for obtaining natural and high-quality link juice.
