Links and the resulting incoming recommendation are still one of the most important ranking factors on Google. In the last few weeks, Google has put two oft-discussed points into concrete terms.
In the Office Hours from 17.09. John Müller confirms that neither the traffic that flows via a specific link nor the theoretical click probability (i.e. the positioning of the link on the page) plays a role for Google when evaluating links.
Both are factors that SEOs have often seen as relevant for evaluating links in the past. The statement from Google now brings clarity, and also less complexity to the topic.
About a year ago, John Müller also confirmed that referral traffic has no effect on the rating of links. Google is being clear and stringent when it comes to communication on this matter.
