Link juice is a colloquial SEO term for the ranking authority or equity passed from one page to another through hyperlinks, functionally equivalent to link equity — the informal name reflects how authority "flows" through a site's link structure like liquid.
Quick Answer
Link juice is a colloquial SEO term for the ranking authority or equity passed from one page to another through hyperlinks, functionally equivalent to link equity — the informal name reflects how authority "flows" through a site's link structure like liquid.
Link juice is diluted across all outbound links — a page with 5 links passes more juice per link than one with 500
Dofollow links pass juice; nofollow links do not reliably transfer ranking authority
Internal link juice optimization is a zero-cost ranking lever — redistribute authority to key pages through smart linking
Key Takeaways
Link juice is diluted across all outbound links — a page with 5 links passes more juice per link than one with 500
Dofollow links pass juice; nofollow links do not reliably transfer ranking authority
Internal link juice optimization is a zero-cost ranking lever — redistribute authority to key pages through smart linking
How Link Juice Works
Link juice is the SEO community's colloquial term for the PageRank-derived authority that flows between pages via hyperlinks. When a high-authority page links to another page, it shares a portion of its ranking power — or "juice" — with the linked page. The concept derives from Google's original PageRank algorithm, which treated links as votes and distributed authority proportionally across all outbound links on a page.
Why Link Juice Matters for B2B Marketing
The amount of link juice passed depends on: the linking page's overall authority, how many links that page has (juice is diluted across all of them), whether the link is followed, and the contextual relevance of the link. A single dofollow link from a DR 90 page with 5 outbound links can be worth more than 100 links from DR 20 sites.
Link Juice: Best Practices & Strategic Application
Optimizing link juice flow involves both external and internal strategies. Externally, focus on earning links from pages with few outbound links (resource pages, author bios, editorial articles). Internally, use your highest-authority pages as internal linking hubs that funnel juice to your most commercially valuable service or product pages.
Agency Perspective: Link Juice in Practice
Agency perspective: "Link juice sculpting" — using nofollow on internal links to redirect authority — was once a common tactic but became less effective after Google's 2009 PageRank sculpting update. Today, the best internal link juice strategy is simply ensuring your most important pages receive internal links from your highest-authority pages, without over-engineering the structure.
Frequently Asked Questions: Link Juice
Link juice is a colloquial SEO term for the ranking authority or equity passed from one page to another through hyperlinks, functionally equivalent to link equity — the informal name reflects how authority "flows" through a site's link structure like liquid.
Yes, functionally. Link juice is the informal term used by SEO practitioners to describe the same concept as link equity and the underlying Google PageRank algorithm. All three terms refer to the authority or ranking value that passes between pages through hyperlinks. PageRank is the technical term; link equity is the formal SEO term; link juice is the colloquial version.
Yes. Link juice leaks occur when high-authority pages link out to many external sites, when important pages are orphaned without internal links pointing to them, or when followed links point to 404 pages. Regular internal link audits and fixing broken internal links are simple ways to stop link juice from leaking.
Linking to external sites does dilute the juice available per link on that page, but this is a minor concern. Quality outbound links to authoritative sources are a positive trust signal and should not be avoided. The practice of adding nofollow to all external links to "hoard" juice is outdated and can look manipulative to Google.
MV3 Marketing helps B2B companies apply these strategies to drive measurable pipeline growth. Our team executes digital pr for technology, SaaS, and professional services companies.
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