37. Link Valuation Metrics

In order to do a proper valuation of backlinks, it’s recommended to use some kind of backlink research tool. There are many backlink tools to choose from and it’s not always easy to know which to use. Our SEO guide covers some of the most important link valuation metrics and our preferred backlink tool.

Why use a backlink tool?

As a webmaster, you are often approached by other webmasters or website owners who want to do a link exchange, some kind of link bait or simply get a link from you. If you make it a habit to always analyse websites before giving a link, you are in a better position to be successful with your search engine optimisation. But what is there to look out for in backlinks? Continue below to find out.

8 Link valuation metrics

There are many metrics to look at in order to valuate incoming links. Below you will find some of important inbound link valuation metrics:

• Domain age: When was the domains first seen indexed in major search engines?
• Amount of unique backlinks: How many unique incoming links point to your website?
• Link quality: The quality of backlinks is obviously a very important factor.
• Amount of c-classes: Getting links from a wide range of various c-classes is another factor you can measure.
• Backlink trust: How credible is your backlinks? Which other high profile sites is linking to you?
• Content quality: How would you value the content around backlinks pointing to your site?
• Percentage of link from directories: A very high percentage of total link juice from directories is often an indication of poor backlink quality.
• Pagerank: It can be worth it to find out which Pagerank the site has. But focus on relevance rather than high Pagerank.

Links without value in search engines

There are a few types of links with more or less no SEO value. Here they are:

• Backlinks from password protected websites: Search engines are simply unable to type passwords and cannot find it.
• Links inside flash elements: Even though search engines try to count those links, it’s usually not as efficient as normal text links.
• Backlinks executed by java script: These links can simply not be found by Google and other search engines.
• No follow links: This is a type of link that’s not giving the usual link juice, often used in ads.
• Backlinks from web pages not included in search engines: If the site you get a link from is not indexed in search engines, don’t expect to get any ranking benefits either.

Links with only little value for improving search engine rankings

Some other types of links do give some SEO value, but usually very little. Here they are:

• Links from websites on the same IP: Getting several links from sites located on the same IP give very little effect.
• Backlinks from unrelated website: If you get links from sites not related to your topic, it’s unlikely to bring in a lot of link juice.
• Links from sites with 100′s of links: Beware of sites having 100′s of outbound links on a single webpage. They seldom give much value.
• Backlinks from sites with only a handful of incoming links: If you get links from a website which only has 2-3 links, it’s not likely to give have much of an effect.

SEO Specialist recommend using Open Site Explorer from SEO Moz, one of the best backlink tools around.