110 replies to this topic

[pageoneresults]

Weary, Yahoo links are helpful because they’re high PageRank, but that’s the only reason; there’s no special "Yahoo boost" or edu-boost or gov-boost. Those links just tend to be higher quality.

So, what did Matt exactly say in the above statement? He is referring specifically to Yahoo! links and nothing else. He then states that they, the Yahoo! links, are not getting any sort of boost just because they are Yahoo! links. And then he says that "those links tend to be higher quality". I guess there can be a lot of reading there between the lines.

Jill, do you actually think that Matt is going to publicly say that .edu and .gov links have a different weighting factor? If he did, can you imagine the deluge of automated link requests to .edu and .gov TLDs?

No, that is not enough evidence for me to consider that .edu and .gov links don't have an authority equation involved.

[Jill]

So, what did Matt exactly say in the above statement? He is referring specifically to Yahoo! links and nothing else.

He's not talking about just Yahoo links. He used Yahoo links as one example of something that doesn't get a boost. And .gov and .edu links are another example of something that doesn't get a boost.

Come to think of it, I've heard him (or another G engineer) say in person many years ago that dmoz links also don't get a boost (which of course we already knew but many never want to believe either).

So now, not only do we have no evidence to suggest that .gov or .edu links count for more, we actually have evidence suggesting that they don't.

I think this case is closed tightly at this point.

[flame removed]

Edited by Jill, 21 April 2006 - 09:45 PM.

[pageoneresults]

[snip]

Those links just tend to be higher quality.

That last part of his statement leaves the topic wide open for further discussion.

Evidence? What evidence? He clearly states in his closing line that those links tend to be higher quality. If I'm not mistaken, I do believe this whole process is outlined in one of the patents. And no, I'm not going to dig it up just yet.

[ewc21]

Personally I would not consider edu or gov sites having higher precedence over com sites in terms of authority. Just because edu and gov has less number and/or more restriction on registration does not mean what can be done in those two tlds. What about the branding factor? What about the quality of content factor?

[incrediblehelp]

there’s no special “Yahoo boost” or edu-boost or gov-boost. Those links just tend to be higher quality.

OK obviously he says there is no boost and then right afterwards he says they are higher quality links. LOL. OK so why are they higher quality or what makes them higher quality? If a .com and .edu or .gov has the exact same anchor text and within relevant content both, are both links worth the same?

Oops pageone posted the same thing as me, sorry.

[qwerty]

No, that's not the way I read it. There's no boost just for having those TLDs, but the sites with them are generally high quality and authoritative. It's a generalization, and not a rule. They're not high-quality and authoritative because of their TLD, but their TLD, because it's only given to certain types of sites, is often on sites that are authoritative.

Most species of birds can fly. Are they birds because they can fly? No, there are birds that don't fly, and they're still birds. Can they fly because they're birds? There are animals that fly but aren't birds.

[Jill]

There's no boost just for having those TLDs, but the sites with them are generally high quality and authoritative. It's a generalization, and not a rule. They're not high-quality and authoritative because of their TLD, but their TLD, because it's only given to certain types of sites, is often on sites that are authoritative.

Exactly. Same as I said earlier about how their normal algos, specifically their link pop one should work just fine and dandy like it does for any page.

[pageoneresults]

[snip]

So, for everyone following along, it has been proven and confirmed by Matt Cutts himself that .edu and .gov domains have no special meaning in the overall scheme of things.

Thanks everyone for your enlightening information.

FYI, some other things that are evidence and proven by the authorities (directly from Matt Cutts himself)...

"Google does not consider SEO to be spam."

Here's a good one for you Jill...

"Making sure that a site’s architecture is crawlable."

And for the record, Matt is not a Swordsman...

"I’m a swordsman: patently false. I just bought a fake sword for Halloween."

Now we know this next one is absolutely true. This is now confirmed by Matt Cutts.

"When we’re talking about links that Google likes, the best kind are editorial ones where someone chooses to give a link based on the merit of a site or how useful it is, not because someone is paying/trading in some way."

And, all those articles that you guys/gals write and submit to your friends for publication, you know, that Content SEO stuff...

"The danger is that you end up with an article written by someone else, and you have an article that also sits on many other sites."

Ah, in regards to couture, WebmasterWorld T-Shirts are Collector's Items.

"I’ll have you know that that’s a genuine WMW tie-dye T-shirt. It’s a collector’s item!"

And last but not least, it's about time that we have confirmation on this from Matt. I see no reason why McDonald's should benefit any further from our industry...

"I would not recommend bartering Happy Meals for links."

I could probably find all sorts of evidence on Matt's site. I think I'll spend a week or so going through Matt's blog and finding every post he makes and figure out a way to make it look like what he is saying is solid evidence. I'll then write an article relating to those pieces of evidence. I'll then submit it to all the SEO article sites. Of course I'll send all those sites a Happy Meal in the process.

{SNIP A PERSONAL COMMENT THAT ISN'T REQUIRED}

<edit>Removed a bit that isn't relevant,
Mike</edit>

[projectphp]

OK, a recap that helps:

.edu and .gov links help, no doubt, but there is no evidence presented that isn't speculation that links from these TLDs are any better than links from non .edu and .gov domains of similar stature (i.e. a link from NYT is probably as good as one from MIT).

Matt Cutts has said there is no boost associated with TLDs and this is, inspite of Edward's sarcasm, in all honesty not good evidence either (but then, I aint exactly the most trusting of souls when it comes to vested interests).

Edward (pageoneresults) may disagree, but all evidence, on either side of this argument, is not very good.

So, IMHO, in answer to "is there evidence", the answer is an unequivocal "no", because the "evidence" presented isn't evidence, but rather conjecture and speculation.

Of course, this comes with the massive post clause that all links help, and .edu and .gov links are likely, on the whole, the be amonsgt the best types of links without needing a specific boost for simply being .gov and .edu, as these sorts of sites are likely to be well linked to naturally. Having said that, Mary Joe Freshman's student page is probably not well linked to, and is most likely worth little to nothing.

There endeth my wrap up and, in the immortal words of John Lennon "I'd like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves, and I hope we pass the audition."

[Michael Martinez]

Frodo told Gildor Inglorion that it's said: "Do not go to the Elves for advice, for they will tell you both 'yes' and 'no'."

Mike, that post seems to be rather Elvish in its outlook.

It all boils down to:

Q: Do .gov and .edu links help (more than other types of links)?

A: What do you think?

[Jill]

LOL...I like Mike's better...

[projectphp]

The actual question was this:

Are there any evidence that having inbound .edu and .gov links are "better" links and counts more than other links ?

And the answer was in post two:

No.

I'll dumb down my answer a bit for the uninitiated: links help fullstop

[Hank Cowdog]

FWIW, we do SEO for a number of schools, some of which are .coms and some .edus. Based on our experience, we have NOT seen a boost from links from these sites solely because of a .edu TLD.

Any benefit from links from these school pages has been due to the overall quality of the linking pages, not some magic bonus simply for being a .edu.

This has held true for multiple .edu domains we have (and do) assist on.

.edus can be authority sites. However, .edus are not authority sites because of the .edu TLD. They become authorities the same way a .com (or .net, or .co.uk, etc, etc) does - by having other sites consider them to be an authority.

One could argue that a .edu is more likely to be an authority, simply because the restrictions in the creation of the domain. I believe this to be true. This, however, is a correlation, not causality. By its nature, a .edu site is more likely to have resources to develop authoritative content, will be hosted on a quality network, will be persistent for a number of years, have some name recognition out of the gate, etc. All of these characteristics will help a site in aquiring links and becoming an authority.

The fact that the site is also a .edu TLD is an "accident of birth".

[incrediblehelp]

One could argue that a .edu is more likely to be an authority, simply because the restrictions in the creation of the domain.  I believe this to be true.  This, however, is a correlation, not causality.

Such a good point.

[customs]

I'm a frequent reader of this forum, but it's my first post and I want to add my 2c.

I personally think, that links from edu, gov and mil domains help to get a top spot. Also links from trusted, well-interlinked sites (like microsoft.com, ny.com and so on) help too.

My own experience:
Two weeks ago I've registered a domain name and launched a site. Then pointed about 30-50 links from edu, gov and mil domains. Now I've secured few top spot positions for very competetive and high-trafic keywords (15,000,000 and more competing pages in Google).

Such links help. And I've pointed them not from home pages definitely.