Link equity isn't distributed equally by every link — a page with many outbound links passes proportionally less equity through each individual link than a page with very few outbound links, which is part of why a link from a page with hundreds of outbound links (a link directory, a sitewide footer) is generally weaker than a link from a page with just a handful of carefully chosen outbound links. Nofollow and sponsored/UGC link attributes were historically treated as blocking equity transfer entirely; Google has since described them as 'hints' it may still consider in some contexts, though the safest assumption for planning purposes is still that a followed, contextual link passes meaningfully more equity than a tagged one. Internal linking is the area where a site has full control over equity flow, making it a deliberate lever for funneling authority from strong pages toward pages that need support.
Example
A site's homepage, its highest-authority page, adds a dedicated internal link to a new but strategically important comparison page — deliberately funneling link equity toward it rather than leaving it to earn authority purely from external links.
Related terms
Related terms
Related Reading
404 Error
A 404 error is the standard HTTP status code returned when a requested page doesn't exist on the server — the classic 'page not found' response.
A/B Testing (SEO)
A/B testing in SEO is the practice of showing two versions of a page element — usually a title tag, meta description, or on-page element — to see which one earns a better click-through rate or ranking outcome.
AI Citation
An AI citation happens when an AI assistant like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, or Gemini references or links to a specific page as the source for part of its answer.
