Moz Q&A is closed.
After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.
More than one link on an external website
-
Just wanted to clarify my understanding of this...
I'm of the understanding that if an external site has more than one link going to your site, then it is only the one link that passes value. If this is the case....
-
Which is the link that passes value (i.e the first link established or the link that, all factors being considered, is the most valuable for passing authority?)
-
If a second link established on an external website comes from and goes to a different webpage than the first (and is done for the purposes of targeting and boosting a different keyword category/theme), is this then a beneficial practice?
-
If multiple links on an external website all serve to generate solid referral traffic, will this boost rankings, and thereby be a sound practice?
Thanks in advance for your help in clarifying this for me!
-
-
No, you're absolutely right Patrick. The answer is, an external site (emphasis on "site") can pass link equity to more than one page on your site. An external page can too, provided those links are pointing to different pages on the recipient site.
If, for example, Site A has a footer link that points to Site B's home page, those links will be devalued or penalized by Google because they're unnatural and rarely viewed or clicked on by users. If Site A feels compelled to use them, they should be nofollowed, effectively telling Google you're not trying to game the system.
If, on the other hand, Site A has a unique link on Page X that points to Site B, AND it adds value, AND it's a follow link, then it will pass value. If Site A has two identical outgoing links on the same page or if one of those links is identifical except for the anchor text, then only the first will pass value.
If site A has unique links on Page X that point to different pages on Site B, AND they add value, AND they are follow links, then they will pass value.
-
Hi Donna
Thanks for sharing the link to the Q+A about this question - my confusion was in the language of "site" vs "page".
"I'm of the understanding that if an external site has more than one link going to your site, then it is only the one link that passes value."
If we are talking about one "page" with multiple links, then I can understand Google's counting one link from that page (although again, this is the first time I am hearing about it), but "site" is a harder pill to swallow for me in only counting one link - hence my confusion.
I would also ask why do you need multiple links from one page pointed to your site? To me, if that's happening multiple times across different websites, this could potentially trigger spam filters and look like a link scheme or manipulative link building, especially if linking pages are irrelevant to your content or website, or over-optimized anchor text.
Just my thoughts - good luck!
-
Edited now that I've seen Patrick's response which I agree with and want to elaborate on a bit.
"... if an external site has more than one link going to your site, then it is only the one link that passes value. " There has been some discussion of that point in the past. This is the most recent I found and I believe it is still accurate.
Moz best practices for anchor text also touch on your point.
- Yes, but it the anchor text of the first link that will count most.
_2) _Yes, because the link destinations are different.
3) It's possible those links will boost rankings indirectly IF they provide sticky traffic, not not by virtual of the links themselves. Sticky traffic is traffic that doesn't bounce.
-
Hi there
I am not entirely sure I have ever heard that rule before - can you source that?
-
First, you have to figure out if the links are follow or nofollow. Follow meaning they pass value or nofollow meaning that more often than not, they don't. There's a common misconception that you only want follow links - this is simply not true. Even if a link is a nofollow link or not passing any equity, it's still potentially valuable from multiple standpoints. All links can provide value, by the way, it's not limited to just one link.
-
Yes, if where the backlink is pointing to is relevant to the content on your website. For instance, if the link is linking from a page about lawn mowers to a page on your site about toaster ovens, I wouldn't consider that a valuable link because it's not relevant. Does that make sense?
-
I suggest you read Google's stance on link schemes, as paid links are something that they have heavily cracked down on. I would suggest that you nofollow the link pointing to your website to avoid any unintended repercussions. I would also suggest you take a look at this Whiteboard Friday post to learn more about how paid media investments can have SEO value - you just have to be smart about it!
I have to say this though - don't "link build" with the intention of boosting rankings. I know that's an odd thought but you have to remember that any link you acquire should be done with the intention of adding value to that link and the user that is arriving because of it. Stay away from heavy anchor text or site-wide backlinks as you could obtain a manual action for attempting to manipulate Google's algorithm.
I also suggest you read Moz's The Beginner's Guide to Link Building - there are a ton of great resources and tactics in there that can help you stay on the right side of the track.
Hope this all helps! Good luck!
-
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
What are the SEO implications of high quality backlinks from US-based websites to UK-based websites?
Hi everyone, quick question I hope someone could help me with: We're representing a client based in the UK. As part of their overall strategy we've been linkbuilding. At the moment, about 80/90% of the links we've gained come from UK-based sites, with 10/20% coming from US-based websites. The US based websites are very good (think New York Times and genuine, relevant blogs with good readerships). An external search analyst/consultant has contacted the client to say that the US links will be harming the site, because the links are from websites in the US and not the UK. We believe that if 80/90% of the links were from the US this could indeed cause harm as it could indicate to search engines that our client is in the US when it's not (which might compromise their chance of ranking in .co.uk versions of search engines) however because it's only 10/20%, and because the linking sites are very good, we believe that they will getting all of the benefits of the positive metrics without any meaningful negatives. We just wanted to get a few opinions on this to see if people think that we're mistaken, and would be glad to hear any opinions contrary to our own.
Link Building | | GoUp0 -
What are he benefits of getting 200+ links from DA 40+ non-relevant websites?
I have a client who has an opportunity to sponsor a prestigious national organisation. In return, they will get 200+ links from the websites of the organisation's members. Most of which are DA 40+.None of the linking sites have any relevance to my client's industry.1) How likely do you think it is that Google will view these as paid links?2) Do you feel that there is potential harm in gaining this many non-relevant links in a short time-frame?3) The client wants me to quantify the ranking benefits of gaining these links and calculate a potential ROI. If that's even possible, how would you go about that?Thanks in advance
Link Building | | richdan2 -
Nasty links
Hi My first q on here (hoorah!), and it's about links (boo!). I've got what appears to be a handful (but worryingly, increasing in number) of links pointing to my site like this: http://condos.mrgulffront.com/florida-condos-for-sale/320-scenic-gulf-drive-miramar-beach-fl-32550-mls-567591/ I've made contact with the sites concerned, and had only one positive response who flatly denied all knowledge of it. The issue (as far as I can see) is that as in the above example the links (on the bottom right in the grey box) are forever changing so not always visible. Can anyone offer any guidance as to these kinds of nasty links.... I'm right at the v beginning on this "path of seo understanding" so please don't assume prior knowledge! Thanks in advance.... tom
Link Building | | T-J-I0 -
Do links to my website improve all pages?
I'm currently building links to my home page (through directories) and blog pages. However, none of these pages are actually targeted pages for main keywords. In SEO, do links to any webpage of a site contribute to the improved rank of other pages?
Link Building | | Gavo0 -
Linking to sites that link to porn or casinos, my site getting penalized?
I have some link exchanges with some sites to get web traffic but when i ran the bad neighborhood link checker, i found that one site links to some casinos and another site has one link to a porn site. Is this getting me penalized? should i remove the links to these sites? Thanks, Ron
Link Building | | Ron100 -
How to save links from an old website when building a new website even if the site map changes?
I have a client that needs a new website with better navigation, etc. The site has been up for a number of years and has backlinks that I would like to keep when building the new site in WordPress.
Link Building | | Doug_Hay0 -
Do links within imbeddable widgets carry link juice?
I'm dipping my toes into infographic design. On of my desired outcomes is to gain links by having other sites embed my graphic. I'm considering using Tableau's interactive data visualization software to do so; thus creating a widget, embedding it on my blog, and including the embed code for others to post. Is it possible to include a juice passing link in such an infographic? I know its possible to include links inside the tableau graphic but not sure if they have straight SEO value. If these links are not juice passing would it be better to go with a simple image link that passes value?
Link Building | | JesseCWalker1