”The first link counts” - Questions and Opinions

I have some questions on how "the first link counts" rule applies:
1. Are the rest of the links on the same page indexed by Google?
2. Do the rest of the links transfer anchor text?
3. Do the rest of the links transfer PR?
4. What are the main differences between a regular outbound link and a 2nd, 3rd etc link?

I haven't been able to test these and this is why I want to ask you guys.

 

All links will transfer PageRank. (Even nofollow links might, at Google's discretion!) There is more emphasis put on the links higher on the page. If you have too many links, Google may stop crawling before it gets to them. The first link is likely the same as the first 10 or so. There is just more importance placed on the first links.

 

From what I know only the first link is count by Google in case there are several others who point to the same page as the first one. This is what I'm talking about.

Here is a link to the original source .

 

Oh, I see. You mean if you have multiple links to the same URL?

 

Yep. That's what I was talking about

 

If a page contains more than one link to a specific target page, then the first link that the crawler encounters is the most important. Others may count, but their effect would be minor.

You should check the page in question with a web crawler simulator because what *you* think is the first link may not be so, especially since most sites use CSS for div placement. Lynx viewer (http://www.delorie.com/web/lynxview.html) will show you what is coming down to the browser, in exactly what order.

Anchor text in this first link should be well constructed.

 

I know this kind of theory but I'm interested in more details about the other links: do they transfer PR and anchor text (for example)?

 

Again, yes. . . . but their effect would be minor... very small... almost non-existent... almost worthless... and impossible to measure exactly, so no one knows for certain exactly how much...... just that it is very, very small and almost nothing, nada, zip, near zero, hardly anything, and very minor.

 

All links counts and will transfer Page Rank.

 

OK I got it. Sorry for repeating myself. Didn't intend to drive you mad or anything. Just wanted to have a clear image on my mind on this issue.

 

A first link in HTML code is weight higher than others
A link in <strong> html code is weight higher than others
A link in <h1><h2... html code is weight higher than others
A link has longer anchor is weight higher than others

And how to compare the above 4 situation, Google knows

 

Didn't know that. Do you have any sources you can cite or is this based your own experience?

 

Matt Cutts said, If I remember correctly, if there were 2 links in a page pointing to the same URL, the better-positioned link (for example, anchor text link rather than regular link, will count, NOT the first one.

PS: This quetion was asked and explained in one of Matt Cutts' youtube videos.

 

I watch the videos a lot but I've never heard about this. Most of the people that do tests including me agree that only the first link is important. By the way a better positioned link means a link placed as high on the page as possible. So this concludes to: the first link counts.

 

I am positive. It was asked and answered. Maybe my wording "better-positioned" could be wrong. But my understanding is "better link" counts.