Link Equity Calculator

The core idea behind PageRank, simplified

Google's original PageRank algorithm distributes a page's authority among its outbound links, discounted by a damping factor representing the probability a random surfer continues clicking links rather than stopping. This calculator applies that same core concept in simplified form.

Worked example

For a page with an authority score of 50, 10 outbound links, and the standard 0.85 damping factor:

Equity Per Link = (50 x (1 - 0.85)) / 10 = 0.75 per link

Frequently asked questions

Why 0.85 specifically? This is the damping factor value published in the original 1998 PageRank paper by Google's founders - it is not necessarily the exact value used in Google's current, far more complex ranking systems, but it remains the standard reference figure used in simplified SEO models.

What does this mean practically? A page with fewer, more selectively chosen outbound links passes more equity through each individual link than a page linking out broadly to many destinations - this is why some SEO practitioners are selective about how many outbound and internal links they place on high-authority pages.