Does The Number Of Links On A Page Affect Ranking?

Lots of research has focused on inbound links to a site, but little has focused on the number of links actually on a page (outbound or to other parts of a site). Many SEO gurus have recently been talking about something they call "PR Leak" which seems to be a theory that the more outbound links you have, the more your page rank on Google "leaks" away. That concept isn't found in the academic papers published by the founders of Google, but does seem to be accepted by a majority of SEOs. I decided it was time to take a look at the number of links present on a page and how that number correlates with ranking.

The methodology: I gathered the results of the queries that were naturally performed last month by myself and three associates using the two leading search engines and analyzed them. I counted the number of links on the page (references to "href") and tabulated the results against the ranking of the URL in the search results. The tabulated results were finally converted into a normalized "ranking correlation." The results for each of the two leading search engines were kept separate so that we could discover any differences between the two leading search engines for this factor.

The resulting graphs show the results for groupings of number of links normalized into a number between -100 and +100 showing the likelihood of being ranked higher/lower. A value of +100 shows that all 10 rankings were in the proper order to show that pages of the studied value ALWAYS rank HIGHER than pages of another value. A value of -100 shows that all 10 rankings were in the proper order to show that pages of the studied value ALWAYS rank LOWER than pages of another value. Numbers in between show the varying likelihood of rankings proportionally between -100 and +100.

That is the number you see on the Y-axis. On the X-axis, we have the number of links found. They are grouped into sets of 10 in order to increase the statistical significance with the amount of data we had available to analyze. Here are the graphs for the two leading search engines:

http://www.SearchEngineGeek.com/graphs/dey01.gif

http://www.SearchEngineGeek.com/graphs/deg01.gif

(Note to webmasters: Feel free to hot link to the above graphs or copy them to your own site if you publish this report. Feel free to remove this note as well.)

The number of links were grouped in this way in order to increase the number of data points available. Unfortunately it also reduces the precision of the results. One is able to see that 91-100 links rank much higher than 1-10 links, but you are unable to see if 77 links rank differently than 79 links (for example).

The result is very conclusive. Both leading search engines rank pages with more links much higher than pages with fewer links! Once again, it appears that the SEOs touting the "PR Leak" theory are simply wrong. If their theory held any weight at all, we should see the exact opposite. Pages with more links should rank lower on average.

Notes:

1. There was no exercise to attempt to isolate different keywords. I merely took a random sampling of the queries performed by myself and three associates during the month.

2. This is merely a correlation study, so it cannot be determined from this study whether the leading search engines purposefully entertain this factor or not. The actual factors used may be far distant from the factor we studied.

Copyright 2004 Jon Ricerca

About The Author

Jon Ricerca is one of the leading researchers and authors of the Search Engine Ranking Factor (SERF) reports at SearchEngineGeek.com. For access to the other SERF reports, please visit: http://www.SearchEngineGeek.com

---

Which SEO Company/Firm to Choose for SEO Services?

In the last 2-3 years many new companies have mushroomed,... Read More

SEO Expert Guide - Paid Site Promotion (Marketing) (part 7/10)

In parts 1 - 6 you learnt how to develop... Read More

Is Something Missing From Your Keywords Research? (Part 1)

As you may already know, keywords are an essential part... Read More

Internet Directory Submission Tips

Internet Directories and their ImportanceThere are two very pertinent reason... Read More

Finding the Right SEO Company

I often talk to people who have lost faith in... Read More

How Search Engines Work

Before anyone can start optimizing a web site, you must... Read More

SEO Expert Guide - Page Optimization (part 5/10)

In parts 1 - 4 you learnt how to develop... Read More

SEO, the Simplified Version

Lets get things straight. SEO is a very competitive market.... Read More

Five Short Quick Tips on Web Page Titles

By Catherine FranzSearch engine spiders read and record page titles... Read More

Blogging, Spamming, and Blog Spam

Email marketing once proved to be immensely effective, but the... Read More

Link Building Services

In today scenario when we talk about Search Engine Optimization,... Read More

HTML and Search Engine Optimization - What You Dont Know Can Kill You

When it comes to search engine optimization there is a... Read More

Making Money with Popular Search Engines

With so many internet and home business opportunities on the... Read More

Optimze Your Web Site on a Shoe String Budget

Let me start off by saying I'm not a marketing... Read More

The First Search Engine Marketing Method: Content That Meets Customers Needs

For your business web site, good search engine rankings and... Read More

Should You Be Linking for Traffic or Rankings?

Just for a change, rather than a technical article, I... Read More

Google Contest - Nigritude Ultramarine

Search engine optimization experts are having fun with Google. Experts,... Read More

Press Release + PRWeb = Top Google Rank... True or False?

I've always been a big time press release aficionado.And up... Read More

Are You Hung-Up on Page Rank and Back Links?

It's unfortunate that many website owners are so hung-up on... Read More

Yahoo Dopey, MSN Goofy, Google is Mickey Mouse Lost in a Sandbox

Seventy-two days ago Googlebot first showed up and crawled over... Read More

Search Engine Optimization SEO Made Easy

SEO is a never ending battle! So is SEO... Read More

SEO Expert Guide - Search Engines Explained (part 1/10)

Before we explore the world of search engine optimization, it... Read More

Absolute Top Five Search Engine Marketing Myths Uncovered!

It's no secret that Search Engine marketing can drive significant... Read More

The Myth of Rankings - Beyond Search Engine Optimization

What follows is a condensed version of a conversation that... Read More

The 3 Essential Components of a Search Engine Optimization Campaign

Everyday, the Search Engines average 300 MILLION searches. In a... Read More

Get More Cosmetic Surgery Patients From The Web

It's no surprise that dominant cosmetic surgery practices also have... Read More

Getting Your Site Seen By Search Engines

Is your website listed on search engines? When people search... Read More

No Cost Search Engine Marketing

As a matter of fact, I recommend NOT wasting money... Read More

Fresh Content Improves Search Engine Optimization

Many search engine optimization companies will sell you a search... Read More

5 Things to Keep an Eye on in the SEO World in 2005...

After the latest PR update at Google and MSN's beta... Read More

How To Become an SEO Expert - 5 Secrets That Will Allow You to Outperform 95% of All Webmasters

Becoming an SEO expert, or a search engine optimization expert,... Read More

Lets Make Your Website #1

Their is simple way of making your website rank top... Read More

Supply & Demand - Stop Attacking Good SEO Companies!

As I read the latest news online about what Google... Read More