Is there anyway for redirected links to still provide SEO value?
-
I help a site that helps spread word by getting links on peoples social media pages. These links are truncated ie website.com/XyUE for the purposes of tracking clicks, referrals and so forth. I have heard that when a link is in a redirect form like that it loses close to all, if not completely all of its link value. The links themselves are technically 301's. Do these still maintain value?
For example, the stopped.at links on this person's twitter. http://twitter.com/#!/Melewis18
Is there any way to make links of this type maintain SEO value? Is there a workaround to truncating for tracking purposes?
-
Hi Spencer - I think there's some awkward phrasing combined with the challenge of parsing the true meaning/intent of your question on this one. I'll do my best to answer what I think you're asking.
A shortened link, by default, does not lose its ability to pass link juice, PageRank, trust metrics, anchor text signals or anything else an engine might associate with a link. If it did, all these years, our TinyURL links (which existed long before any social stuff) and all those 301 redirects (which are essentially how shortened URLs function) would have failed. Clearly, they didn't, nor do bit.ly, j.mp, t.co, etc. type links today.
If you're asking if, by placing a shortened URL on a normal webpage and linking to it, the target of the 301 redirect loses out compared to a direct link, the answer is no. If you're asking whether nofollowed links in Twitter tweets or profiles that contain shortened URLs (or that exist elsewhere in the social web and may not be followed or even crawlable by engines) lose value, the answer is "it depends," but also "probably."
All that said, at one point in time, a Google representative did note that 301 redirects and rel=canonical tags do lose a small amount of the PageRank they pass to another page compared to a non-redirect/canonical. We're of the strong opinion this is between 1-10% of the PageRank value, though we also suspect that other link signals, many of which are often more important than PageRank nowadays, are unaffected. This is my opinion only, and we can't know for sure whether Google still puts this slight dampening on redirects/canonicals.
Hope that helps!
-
Exactly Joe, although I'm focusing on the SEO value derived from social media. As was stated above social media sites have no-follows that don't pass link juice, but still affect rankings. I am basically trying to ascertain if anyone on here knows "if a link is in a redirected truncated form, does it lose most or all of it's link value, including ANY value a link can have?" with an emphasis on the social media pass through value.
Does it still count as a like or a share when the link is truncated and redirected?
-
Do you have any evidence to back up this claim? Any reasoning behind assuming a 301 passes link juice, but it wont pass through any social media ranking signals?
-
Either you guys don't understand Spenser or I'm pretty confused. It's obvious that no follow links don't pass link juice, and if Andres is correct, do follow passes 90-99%. BUT... I have links on pages that are no follow and are from high DA sites, and "link value" to me isn't just link juice, it's any value of having the link. I am led to believe from reading that these links add depth or breath (whatever) to my linking structure. Spenser is asking specifically if a link is in a redirected truncated form, does it lose most or all of it's link value, including ANY value a link can have? Not to mention the effects of truncating!
-
I Agree with Aaron, these links are nofollow, just the regular follow site-to-site redirect maintain most of the link value.
But within a social media environment, these are some signals that carry value for SEO:
Q.Does anyone know if a 301 redirect link on a social media page still sends ranking signals?
R/ 301 from a Nofollow? Social media or not, the answer is no.
-
I am aware that social media has its own signal as I stated above.
Let me try to refine the question once more.
Does anyone know if a 301 redirect link on a social media page still sends ranking signals?
-
These links will be nofollowed so will carry no link juice. Twitter links have recently been throught to carry the largest of all social signals however, so although they do not carry juice, they can send a signal to ranking factors for a short period of time.
-
Thanks. I wonder how this works in a social media context though? Since twitter and facebook don't count for direct link juice, how would a 301 link affect the social media power?
Also does anyone have any idea what the anchor text counts as in that scenario? probably just stopped.at/SAuadh
-
Hi Spencer, this will make you feel better:
"A 301 Redirect is a permanent redirect which passes between 90-99% of link juice (ranking power) to the redirected page."
Here is the source: http://www.seomoz.org/learn-seo/redirection
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
-
Like .vs Share Button - for SEO which is better?
I personally from what I have read believe the share button to be more powerful when it comes to SEO but I don't know for a fact so anyone have any input on this subject? One thing I do know, is it's a lot harder to gain a 'Share' then a 'Like' and im talking about these buttons being onsite maybe in a blog post. If you gained 100 shares and 100 likes which one would generate the best signals? Thanks
Social Media | | activitysuper0 -
Personal & Business Google+ Pages - which gives SEO juice?
Hi i set up a personal Google+ page and added a business page for my website www.over50choices.co.uk. The business page is linked to my site, but my personal profile "James Price" has the authorship and my blog, youtube, twitter accounts for over50choices linked to it - do i need to link all these accounts to my Google+ business page to get maximum SEO juice or will my personal page get picked up? Do i need to transfer all the social accounts to my business profille - help!? Thanks James
Social Media | | AshShep11 -
How do I maximize my Twitter account for SEO?
What should I be doing to maximize my Twitter account to contribute to the SEO of my website? I have 30,000 followers and want to get some SEO out of Twitter.
Social Media | | bigeyecreative0 -
SEO relevance of Google+. Should we bother getting Google+?
I've read mixed results about the SEO benefit of having Google+ for your company. I'm sure that a very small % of my sites user base has Google+ so if we did implement Google+ into our site I don't think we would really have anyone following us...or in our circle or whatever they call it. So are you guys using Google+ for your business and if so, do you think it's worth it for me to if I know barely any of my users have Google+? Google really seems to be trying to plush Google+ for business, with replacing Google places with Google+ Business and requiring people to log into Google+ to rate businesses. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Social Media | | SheffieldMarketing1 -
For better SEO I understand I should be using Google+, but under what identity?
It appears one way to rank more highly is by using Google+. But should I start to build a community myself or as my company? I have a good Twitter following under my own name, which links to my company page and a facebook page (for my business). I much prefer to be a face on social media than hide behing a logo, but am faced with a dilemma and not sure where to begin: Will Google recognise the relationship between me and my business if I set up an account under my own name? Primarily it's my business I want to promote, so from an seo perspective it seems should I use Google+ as my business, but I really dislike 'corporate' social media?
Social Media | | lindsayjhopkins0 -
Anyway to have a 'like' button for main page?
I have a Facebook like button on each of my individual posts and a box on my home page where people can 'like' my Facebook fan page..but is there any way to have a Facebook 'like' button on my home page so people can actually like the home page?
Social Media | | NoahsDad0 -
4 months continuous Link Building, still not getting up!
Hi.. Our page URL is : http://www.qubesys.com/psd-to-joomla-template/ And our keywords are : PSD to Joomla PSD to Joomla Template We need to get to the 1st position, and thats why, we have been doing a lot of social bookmarking and blog posting since 4 months. It was on 9th Page, but for this 4 months work, it now in the 1st or 2nd page. We need to get the #1 position, since from all of our competitors, we have the best website and everything in order . All others are either incomplete or doesnt look and work in a professional way. So, what are we lacking behind ? Got any recommendations, like what should be the plan and how to go about it ?
Social Media | | qubesys0 -
Social Media effects SEO
Looking for Tips on how to improve our Social Media. How to get more people to LIKE US on Facebook and or Share. My understanding is that Facebook Likes are starting to play a big role in Organic Search Results. Any Ideas on how to to receive more LIkes and Shares. Anyone know of any Facebook Tools? If we run a contest, how can we set it up on Facebook for people to Like us prior to entering the contest. Can we track who Liked Us When?
Social Media | | hfranz0