Backlinks from .edu and .gov domains are generally considered to be given more value than backlinks from other TLDs. On the other hand, links from blog comments or footers carry less weight than links in the body or header of a webpage. What do you think is the resulting value of a backlink from a comment post on a blog on a .edu domain or perhaps even a .gov domain (assuming that the links are followed)? Are there any other important factors that should be taken into account?
I believe it would count positively to your overall link profile. As always the key is to look natural. Google can tell spam almost as good as the human eye, and they will just get better. None the less, Google places heavy weight on older domains. Plus the fact that it takes many steps to get a .gov or .edu and it has to be legit school or government to get one. Thus they figure they can trust them more. So yes, more or less almost any .edu or .gov link is good. So long as your not on a page full of casino/drug links MAtt
I've heard from quite a few credible sources that .edu, .gov, and .com are all weighted the same and that it's just a peculiar oddity that people desire more .edu and .gov backlinks.
There is a similiar discussion here in this post: http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=885327
In the strictest sense this is true. However, it's more likely that a .edu or .gov site is a "trusted" site due to its back link profile (many other trusted sites link to them). As a result, if you get a related link from them the odds are greater that the link will carry some serious weight.
Google does not treat these extensions any differently. Click here to read why + watch Matt Cutts video.
The URL extension does not give any extra weighting. The thing is, people want links from .edu's and .gov's because they think that the site generally must be better quality if its an edu or gov. Which isn't a bad assumption, because usually there are.
Cheers for the helpful replies, people! So rather than from the domain extension, the increased value of backlinks from .edu and .gov domains derives from the quality content of these websites in combination with a good reputation (no spammy websites) and the age of these websites. And the good quality of these websites increases the tendency of other quality (“trustedâ€) websites to link to .edu and .gov websites. Cheers for referring to Exposed SEO's article about backlinks from .edu and .gov domains, which I found quite helpful. For those interested: David Sneyder's article about .edu link-building is also worth reading for its practical tips on how to get .edu backlinks.
The purpose of "trusted" is to better rank *their* pages, not yours and mine. About three years ago, Google started a trust algo thing and .edus benefited greatly. Didn't you notice all the .edus ranking top ten for "buy viagra"? lol In early 2007, Google adjusted that trust algo and all the .edus fell from the top 50 for "buy viagra" and such. A PR3 .edu is the same as a PR3 .com, etc and always had been. Bompa
I think the only reason .edu and .gov sites carry a little more weight is because generally they are heavily interlinked. The relevance is far more important than the TLD though.
heheh...you overrated Google. If google can caught spam links as good as human's eye, there will be almost no spam sites out there who can get good rank in competitive keywords. The fact is, many websites which only depend on paid links (sitewide links, etc.) still rank highly in moderately-highly competitive keywords. look at this one: store.femnutrition.com/dietenergy.html. If you check his backlinks, you'll agree that this guy bought plenty of in-content links, aboslutely not natural, he also bought many sitewide links but he gets very good rank in "diet pills" keyword which is (of course) a competitive one. There are plenty of other examples. Google obviously is getting better day by day but the process of its algorithm update is very slow. You overrated them.
i get quite a fre edu and gov links and it really helps me I have a friend who is a teacher so she has access to a .gov forum with some very high PR pages
.gov backlinks seems to be great. and its much better if you can get a link from pages which got only few outgoing links as ususal