Former Googler: Links That Change Are Trusted Less By Google’s Algorithms

A former member of the Google search quality and web spam team, Pedro Dias, said publicly on Twitter yesterday that “Google is less likely to trust a link once it has changed from the first time it was seen.”

So if you changed the anchor text or URL path of the link, the value and trust of that link will be less than it was before you made any changes.

Here is Pedro’s tweet:

Did you know Google is less likely to trust a link once it has changed from the 1st time it was seen?

— Pedro Dias (@pedrodias) July 1, 2014

Is This True?

As I covered, I asked Pedro what his source of the information was and he didn’t really want to disclose if it came from his previous work as a Google search quality member or if it was through his work and tests as an SEO consultant, which he is now. He did imply to me that if he said, it may get him in trouble with his previous employer, i.e. Google.

@rustybrick Yes, but I’d rather protect myself from being sued :)

— Pedro Dias (@pedrodias) July 1, 2014

I followed up with Google, but Google refused to comment on the topic.

So it is hard to know if this is indeed fact, although it would make sense.

Is Changing Links A Bad Signal?

Pedro says it isn’t a negative thing, that people do change links and it won’t necessarily hurt you. Pedro wrote on Twitter, “I wouldn’t fret too much about this, it’s not necessarily bad.” He added, “less trust doesn’t mean it’s bad or negative. Specially if it’s on a reputable site.”

@ThomasLenting Depends if it was crawled before or not. I wouldn’t fret too much about this, it’s not necessarily bad.

— Pedro Dias (@pedrodias) July 1, 2014

@DaveNaylor Like I said, “less trust” doesn’t mean it’s bad or negative. Specially if it’s on a reputable site.

— Pedro Dias (@pedrodias) July 1, 2014

Again, we do not know if this is indeed correct. He did work for Google for several years and he now is an SEO consultant. Google would not comment on if what Pedro said is true or not. Like I said, it would make sense for Google to trust the link less if it was changed.