Since a patent describing “link churn” surfaced in 2006, the stability of links and their relationship to search rankings has been called into question.
Some believe that the stability of a website’s links or the length of time links remain live on a page without being edited, generates signals that Google’s algorithms use.
Let’s examine the claims about link stability as a ranking factor, where they come from, and whether there’s any evidence to back them up.
Link Stability Is a Ranking Factor, According to the Claim
A link is described as stable when it remains on a webpage for an extended period of time with no changes – changes that could disrupt a link’s stability include changing the URL and adjusting the anchor text.
When a website’s outbound links on its web pages are frequently changed, it is said to have high “link churn.”
In 2005, Google filed a patent describing a potential update to its search algorithm in which link churn would be used as a ranking factor.
Here are some excerpts from the patent, which was discovered in 2006:
- “The method of claim 54, further comprising: determining an indication of link churn for a linking document providing the linkage data; and adjusting the ranking of the linked document based on the link churn.”
- The method of claim 61, in which the indication of link churn is computed as a function of how much one or more links provided by the linking document change over time.
- The method of claim 62, wherein adjusting the ranking includes penalizing the ranking if link churn exceeds a certain threshold.
The following are simplified versions of the three points raised above:
- The algorithm update will assess the churn of links on a website. This evaluation will be used to adjust the weighting of outbound links.
- The frequency with which links and/or anchor text change on a specific website is used to calculate link churn.
- If a website’s link churn exceeds a certain threshold, Google may penalize it.
- Since the publication of this patent, there have been claims that maintaining link stability is a factor in search rankings.
Should you be hesitant to adjust outbound links because of this alleged negative signal, based on these claims?
Is there cause for concern about link churn and link stability?
Here is what the evidence indicates.
Link Stability as a Ranking Factor: Evidence
Google filed a patent referencing link churn in 2005. An archive is still available on the web, but it has been revised numerous times since then.
The current version of the patent makes no mention of link churn or anything similar. That is a strong indication that, if link stability was ever a ranking factor, it hasn’t have been relevant in years.
A patent, after all, is just a patent. Companies constantly file patents for ideas that never make it to market.
Google has to remind us from time to time that not everything it patents is used in search results.
Our Opinion on Link Stability as a Ranking Factor
There is no conclusive evidence that Google tracks the frequency with which websites change their outbound links.
Furthermore, there is no evidence that changing outbound links causes a negative signal known as link churn.
Based on the evidence, we can confidently state that link stability is an unlikely ranking factor.
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