LINKS · SEO GLOSSARY
Link Equity (PageRank)
The ranking value passed from one page to another through hyperlinks — derived from Google\'s original PageRank algorithm. Pages with more or higher-quality inbound links have more link equity and pass more equity to pages they link to. Also called "link juice."
Definition
Link equity (commonly called "link juice") refers to the ranking value transferred through hyperlinks. It originates from Google\'s PageRank algorithm, which models the web as a graph where a link from page A to page B is a vote for B\'s quality, weighted by A\'s own authority. Key principles: **External links build equity** — backlinks from high-authority external domains add link equity to the linked page. A single link from a high-authority site (major news outlet, university, government) can add more equity than hundreds of links from low-authority domains. **Internal links distribute equity** — once a domain has accumulated equity through external backlinks, it is distributed internally via internal links. A page linked from the homepage gets more internal equity than one buried 5 clicks deep. **`rel="nofollow"` reduces transfer** — links with `rel="nofollow"` (or the more specific `rel="sponsored"` / `rel="ugc"`) don\'t pass full link equity. Google treats them as hints, not directives — some equity may pass, but less reliably. **Redirect chains dilute equity** — each redirect hop in a chain loses a portion of the equity it\'s passing; resolve chains to preserve full equity transfer. **Link placement matters** — links in the main content body pass more equity than footer or sidebar links, which are considered less editorially significant. Internal link architecture is the mechanism for distributing acquired link equity to the pages that most need ranking support.
Why it matters for SEO
Link equity is the underlying mechanism of how backlinks affect rankings. Understanding it guides both link building strategy (acquire links from high-authority, topically relevant pages — not from link farms) and internal linking strategy (distribute equity to pages that rank for commercial queries, not just to the homepage). Redirect chains, nofollow overuse on internal links, and deeply buried high-value pages are common technical causes of pages not receiving the link equity they should — all detectable in a technical audit.
How DeepSEOAnalysis checks this
The audit analyses the internal link graph to identify pages receiving disproportionately few internal links relative to their commercial importance (measured by whether they are referenced in the sitemap as high-priority), orphan pages receiving no internal links, and redirect chains that dilute link equity transfer. External link equity data (backlink profiles) requires a third-party backlink index.
Useful tools and resources
GLOSSARY
Related terms
links
Internal Linking
Links between pages on the same domain that distribute PageRank, establish site hierarchy, and guide crawlers to important content.
Read definition →links
Backlink
A link from an external website to a page on your site — the primary off-page ranking signal in Google\'s algorithm.
Read definition →links
Anchor Text
The visible, clickable text of a hyperlink — a relevance signal that tells search engines what the linked page is about.
Read definition →technical
Redirect Chain
A series of redirects where URL A → URL B → URL C instead of directly to the final destination — wastes crawl budget and dilutes link equity.
Read definition →links
Orphan Page
A page with no inbound internal links from other pages on the same site — making it invisible to both crawlers and users navigating through internal links.
Read definition →See how your site scores on Link Equity (PageRank).
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