Is craze for .edu and .gov backlinks is just a myth?

[rafiseo]

Most recently one warrior has said me extra value of .edu and .gov backlinks as we hear is just a Myth. .edu and .gov backlinks Carrie the same value as .com, .org, .net etc. Is it true? If it is then why all expert SEO guys are running behind .edu and .gov websites? I also red about the extra value of .edu and .gov backlinks in some SEO ebooks. So I am confused a lot. What experienced warriors think about it?

Thanks for replies...

[dburk]

Hi rafiseo,

Yes, it is a myth. There is no "extra" value in .edu or .gov TLDs. It is a classic example of Cargo Cult Science.

There are many folks that just repeat what they hear without regard to the reliability of the information or the source. This is how myths get created and the field of SEO is full of them.

Watch this video to hear specific information from Google about this particular issue:

YouTube - How do you rate links from sites like...

[Jackson Soo]

Most .edu backlinks are more powerful than usual backlinks-- most being the operative word here. This is definitely NOT a myth. But the value of a .edu backlink is not because it's from a .edu domain. In fact, it has nothing to do with it. If somehow you manage to create a .edu domain website, the backlinks from that will just be an ordinary backlink.

The reason why most .edu backlinks are more valuable is because educational institute websites naturally will have a TON of backlinks pointing back to their sites. People talk about them on the internet and therefore will backlink to them time to time. They get covered in news all the time, and students discuss / b1tch about their school on their blogs, websites etc etc.

A backlink from these institution websites will therefore pass more link juice to your sites. The backlinks to these .edu websites can be seen as a 2nd tier backlink for your site if you manage to get a link from them. That's the reason why they're more powerful and worthwhile for SEO purposes.

Definitely not just because "Google loves .EDU links".

[iAmNameLess]

The reason people say to go after .edu and .gov links is because they are usually more trusted sites with higher trust rank than others. They are usually an authority site. That doesn't mean the links are more valuable 100% of the time. For example, a .edu website that has 500 spammed links on the blog, is not worth even posting a comment! Your link value will go down, but if you can find a .edu blog where you can get an approved comment, and there isn't high link saturation then you will see the power!

To answer your question.... Yes, it is a myth... and... No it isn't a myth. Get it? LOL

Not every .edu site will be a golden nugget, but most are! It isn't that the TLD has some kind of mystical powers, it is because those sites typically have high authority and trust rank.

[timpears]

Originally Posted by jacksonsoo

Most .edu backlinks are more powerful than usual backlinks-- most being the operative word here. This is definitely NOT a myth.

If you watched the video, you saw Matt tell us that they are no more valuable then any other link. And then you go and tell us that they are more valuable due to the fact that they have lots of links pointing to them.

What you are saying is that because they have a lot of links, they have high PR, and so they are more valuable. So it is exactly what Matt said, it doesn't matter what the extension is, the juice is based on the PR, it has nothing to do with whether it is a .edu or .gov.

This is how myths are created or perpetuated. You hear the authority tell us that they are not worth any more than any other link, given PR, and yet you argue with him. If it is a PR8, it is worth more than a PR2, and has nothing to do with the extension.

[christopher jon]

You're all wrong!

.mobi is worth 1,000 .com's!

Just kidding.

I agree with all of the above, it's an over-rated myth. The value of a backlinks is based on the value of the page it's coming from, no more, no less.

Most of the people hyping certain kinds of backlinks are also selling backlinks. The rest are just repeating something they read to make themselves look smart... kinda like what I'm doing

When in doubt, do your own testing.

[rafiseo]

Okay I will give priority to Mats video. I think .edu and .gov is important not for its top level domain but for some other reasons. And I have to discover whats these other reasons.

Well here i have a related question. I also hear PR of home page will not give link juice to my website if there I build backlinks using another page that has PR0 or N/A. For an example a forum home page has PR8. But if I create a profile in this forum and Place my backlink on my profile page that has PR n/a or PR0 then it is useless. My site will not get any link juice. Is it true?

[AlexSafie]

It’s more about the Page Rank than the extension.

Don’t worry if it's .edu, .gov, .cc, .com or whatever just look at the PR because that's what counts

[christopher jon]

But if I create a profile in this forum and Place my backlink on my profile page that has PR n/a or PR0 then it is useless.

I wouldn't say useless but it's not a PR8 backlink. This is another myth promoted by backlink sellers.

The value of your backlink is based on the value of the page it is coming from.

Domain authority does help pages on that domain rank a little easier but I haven't seen any definitive results suggesting that a domains authority effects the backlink value for all pages on that site. If it does, it's not a significant difference.

So, it's not something worth worrying about. Focus on getting quality backlinks from quality pages on quality sites.

[iAmNameLess]

Originally Posted by timpears

If you watched the video, you saw Matt tell us that they are no more valuable then any other link. And then you go and tell us that they are more valuable due to the fact that they have lots of links pointing to them.

What you are saying is that because they have a lot of links, they have high PR, and so they are more valuable. So it is exactly what Matt said, it doesn't matter what the extension is, the juice is based on the PR, it has nothing to do with whether it is a .edu or .gov.

This is how myths are created or perpetuated. You hear the authority tell us that they are not worth any more than any other link, given PR, and yet you argue with him. If it is a PR8, it is worth more than a PR2, and has nothing to do with the extension.

You have nearly 2,000 posts.... I'm amazed by your response that you really believe matt cutts is the authority on this and not just providing misinformation like 99% of the time. The PR isn't really what matters anymore, that stopped being as effective last year... the trust rank is what matters.

Originally Posted by AlexSafie

It’s more about the Page Rank than the extension.

Don’t worry if it's .edu, .gov, .cc, .com or whatever just look at the PR because that's what counts

A PR 8 page with 1,000 links is worthless. Page Rank doesn't always matter as much as people believe. Trust rank is the biggest key here, and that isn't visible to us.

[paulgl]

Originally Posted by jacksonsoo

Most .edu backlinks are more powerful than usual backlinks-- most being the operative word here. This is definitely NOT a myth. But the value of a .edu backlink is not because it's from a .edu domain. In fact, it has nothing to do with it. If somehow you manage to create a .edu domain website, the backlinks from that will just be an ordinary backlink.

The reason why most .edu backlinks are more valuable is because educational institute websites naturally will have a TON of backlinks pointing back to their sites. People talk about them on the internet and therefore will backlink to them time to time. They get covered in news all the time, and students discuss / b1tch about their school on their blogs, websites etc etc.

A backlink from these institution websites will therefore pass more link juice to your sites. The backlinks to these .edu websites can be seen as a 2nd tier backlink for your site if you manage to get a link from them. That's the reason why they're more powerful and worthwhile for SEO purposes.

Definitely not just because "Google loves .EDU links".

You argue both sides and contradict yourself.

Any .edu page that has zero PR is as good as any other.
Any .edu page that has PR as any other domain, is just as good as
any other domain.

Domains and webpages are 2 different things. Because a main .edu might
have high PR, in no way means the subpages do. Just like any old
domain.

Claiming .edu backlinks are powerful due to the same reasons others are,
in no way makes them more valuable. It makes them the same.

What makes this myth grow bigger, is that overall, there are most likely
more higher PR . edu sites, .edu authoritative sites, on average for the total number
of .edu domains out there. It does not make them more valuable.



Paul