Recently, John Mueller from Google addressed the topic of whether the value of inbound links goes down or up with time. As a site owner asked on Google Webmaster Central Hangout, asked does link value depreciate with age?
Theoretically, that would mean that the longer a link exists, the less valuable it becomes. Well, that's not the case. It is also incorrect to say that a new link is inherently not as valuable as an old one. It all comes down to how relevant the content on the link is.
The value of a link over time
Google does not precisely keep track of the age of a link, and so it does not assign its value with age. The value of a link can and does change, but it is not because of its age but because of how a site evolves.
For instance, a link that was built today could be more significant if it is featured in a highly relevant news article. However, the value of that link will go down as the news article become less and less relevant.
Does link value always depreciate?
If a link appears on an article that retains its relevancy with time, the link will always be relevant. So, logically, the value of a link could also increase over time, depending on how the content evolves over time.
For example, if a link were placed within a piece of article that does not gain attention when it is first published, that link would have small value at the beginning, but if the value of the link could rise if the content becomes more important with time.
With that in mind, there is no hard and fast rule which is used to determine the value of links based on how new or old they are.
Hear the full question and answer in the video below:
