Are .Edu Links REALLY that Important?

For a long time, people considered backlinks from .edu domains one of the most powerful SEO tools.  Google, they argued, trusted the .edu extension more than the .com, .net, etc.  That made links from an .edu domain more powerful in terms of improving a site’s SEO performance.   

After awhile, however, some folks started doubting that assessment.  It doesn’t seem as though their newfound suspicion had much to do with actual results, however.  Those who believed .edu links were working for them didn’t start experiencing drops in the SERPs or less traffic.  The perspective changed when Matt Cutts of Google weighed in on the topic.

Here’s what Cutts said:

But, certainly, all of the things that have good qualities of a link from a .edu or a .gov site, as well as the fact that we hard-code and say: .edu or .gov links are good - and when there are good links, .edu links tend to be a little better on average; they tend to have a little higher PageRank, and they do have this sort of characteristic that we would trust a little more. There is nothing in the algorithm itself, though, that says: oh, .edu - give that link more weight…  Well, you would be surprised how many are like: “Oh, I have to get .edu links because they are better.” You can have a useless .edu link just like you can have a great .com link.

Many interpret that as cutting against the power of .edu links.  A closer reading, however, doesn’t necessarily support that conclusion.  First, Cutts almost concedes that, generally speaking, a .edu link is probably at least a little better than an equivalent .com link.  He also concedes that the .edu extension brings with it a higher degree of trust.  

The algorithm may not say “value .edu links higher”, but we all know that it certainly values trusted links over questionable ones and we also know that .edu’s are perceived as being more trustworthy.

As another observer has noted, there are a few things we know about .edu’s that we should keep in mind when assessing their value.

1. EDUs are typically older domains, well established, respected sites.

2. Because not anyone can just start an EDU domain, they are hard to come by.

3. EDUs tend to have loads of inbound links and very high page rank of 7 or 8 or 9.

4. Content on .edu domains tends to be worthwhile and respected inherently.

When you read between Cutts’ lines and consider those other factors, it makes sense to actively pursue .edu links as part of your SEO strategy.