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SEO Decay: The Quiet Lever That Moves Revenue Pages
Why smart link placement beats brute-force link building
John Sukowaty
February 07, 2026 • Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes
 | TL;DR: PageRank doesn’t spread evenly. It weakens with every click and gets split across links. When you point backlinks at the right subfolder, more authority reaches pages that actually convert. Same effort, stronger results. |
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Table of Contents
What Does This Mean For SEO?
PageRank doesn’t travel far
Authority from a backlink doesn’t flood your site. It fades with every internal click.
A link that lands directly on a services hub sends far more usable authority to revenue pages than one that starts at the homepage and trickles down.
Internal links split the pie
Every internal link divides the authority on a page. Ten links mean roughly one-tenth of the authority per destination, then decay applies again.
This compounding effect is why “just link everything everywhere” rarely works.
Topical signals ride along
Backlinks pass context, not just strength. Anchor text, surrounding copy, and the theme of the referring page shape what your pages become authoritative for. Generic links waste opportunity.
A clean subfolder structure groups intent. /services/ signals commercial intent. /blog/ signals education. /products/ signals transactions. When authority lands on the folder itself, every child page benefits with less loss.
What Can I Do About It?
Build links to the folder, not the front door
Instead of pointing every backlink at the homepage, target high-intent hubs like:
/services//products//locations/
This shortens the distance between authority and conversions.
Match language to intent
If you want product pages to rank, the backlink language should talk about products.
Services language builds services authority. Mixing intent muddies the signal.
Use internal links with purpose
From a services hub, link clearly and directly to the money pages that matter most. Fewer, stronger paths beat dense navigation blocks.
Final Thoughts on topic
SEO decay isn’t a problem to fix. It’s a rule to use.
When you place backlinks where authority does the least traveling and the least splitting, rankings move faster with fewer links.
Homepages still matter, but subfolders decide where revenue actually shows up.
Less work. Cleaner signals. Better pages winning.
Featured image © webmarketsonline.com