Backlink shows in SEMrush, the backlinking page is not-indexed by Google - what happens next?

[cfazio]

I am curious if the ranking benefit of a follow backlink, on a high DA site that gets actual traffic, site topic and page the backlink is on being relevant to the clients business - is diminished if the page becomes no-index by Google?

I am investigating some client backlink profiles and found some great links in SEMrush, but when checking out the page the backlink is coming from, Google has no-indexed the page.

Once this happens, is it like the link never existed in Google's eyes? Does the site still get a partial benefit because Google was at one point aware of the link, regardless of the future decision to no-index? Does the link still have the same benefits as if it were indexed?

I am making the assumption it is like the link never existed, but not 100% sure.

Thanks for any clarification on this... can't seem to find solid information on this.

 

[ElizabethRule]

I think your assumption is spot on, if the page isn't indexed the links on it don't count. Perhaps Google still has a record of those pages linking to your site, but if Google is no longer indexing those pages then you can assume the backlinks are not benefiting you.

 

[cfazio]

I think your assumption is spot on, if the page isn't indexed the links on it don't count. Perhaps Google still has a record of those pages linking to your site, but if Google is no longer indexing those pages then you can assume the backlinks are not benefiting you.

That's what I figured.

What do you think about directory citations? Yext claims that even though a citation is not indexed, Google still refers to data on it which builds trust signals to your business.

I know its off-topic of a high DA industry-relevant backlink, but similar still ha.

 

[ElizabethRule]

@cfazio I'm not sure I agree with YEXT on that one. If the page is not indexed by Google, then Google is not aware of the content and links on that page. So I don't see how (or why) Google would still refer to non-indexed pages to build any "trust signals" for a business. For full benefit, I would try to get any citation pages indexed if they aren't.