Do removed links still have weight?

[franchiseshop]

Google keeps a nice database of all links pointing to your website, it then goes on to analyse these links in some fairly complicated ways and kinda gives each one merits depending on a number of factors. So what happens when a link is removed?

This happens naturally through a site re-organisation or simply because a domain and company expires but surely a deleted link still has merits because it means that at some point another website has "voted " for you.

So what's your thoughts on deleted links, do you think Google still values the fact that at one point a site did link to you? Or do you think that a removed link loses all merit and it is a lost vote?

[crossdaz]

No they don't carry any weight. Matt Cutts has done a video answer to this one.

[franchiseshop]

And do you have a link to said video? ;-)

[crossdaz]

And do you have a link to said video? ;-)

Just been looking and can't find it :)

I'm fairly sure I didn't imagine it - although I'm starting to wonder :|

[franchiseshop]

hehe yeah i'm looking too and not finding it. Plenty on paid links and the nofollow algo change for PR sculpting but nothing on the value of deleted links.

[crossdaz]

tada!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fia_1b07jCQ&feature=PlayList&p=841CB8F9F31BF5D5&index=129

[franchiseshop]

Puuurfect thanks, that answers the question and solves that one for me!

"We tend to use the current link graph rather than the link graph of all of time."

Nice one thanks.

[OldWelshGuy]

one thing though is that even if the site has gone, you wil get link beneft until google next crawls the page with your link on and find it no longer available.

[Codefixer]

Hi,

I tested this a couple of years ago, added a strong link to a site (that would never have got any other links otherwise as to corrupt the test) and the sites ranking went up significantly.

I removed the link and ranking overtime dipped slightly, but was in a much higher place than it started off at.

This was in a fairly low competition market.

[DayTrader]

I think it would make sense to keep the vote of the links that are gone. It's like a food critic - he cannot repeat everyday that this or that restaurant is good.

Although, it's quite debatable and many would abuse it.

[OldWelshGuy]

Sorry guys, you can want it to be that way as much as you like, but the complete opposite is true. Once a link has gone, all benefit from that link goes with it . When 'gone' means the page without the link has propagated across all datacentres.

[I, Brian]

"We tend to use the current link graph rather than the link graph of all of time."

In plain English: "current data is used most of the time, but that historical data will apply in certain circumstances."

[Codefixer]

Just looking over the test that I did, the ranking has slipped back to essentially where it was prior to the link but after removing the link the site ranked higher for the best part of a year before slipping down.