Backllinks to our site but via redirect (still SEO helpful?)

[NicB1]

Hi,

A large website may link to us but via their internal redirect mechanism.  So it would be somthing like this:

[If you select the link, it eventually goes to our site but not from the original page.  These links would be placed on lots of pages, but since they would all "pass through" the "redirect" page, it seems not as beneficial from an SEO perspective.

Is this reasoning correct?  Would google still follow the link and see where it ends up, even though it is via multiple pages?

Ideally I'd prefer direct link but how much better is it than the redirect as listed above?](/redirect/rd?site=www.oursite.com/page&trackingparam=111111)

[Lantec]

I think this will be seen as an internal link, im not 100% sure though.

[dohertyjf]

In short, a direct link is MUCH better than a link that redirects. Links that redirect through an internal URLdon't work like a 301 redirect. A 301 redirect will take you directly to the page. These redirects stall on the intermediary page for a few seconds. I'd bet no link juice is passed.

Google will follow the link, yes. But not in a "passing link equity" sort of following.

If it's a large website, I'd say it's definitely worth it for the referral traffic, but I wouldn't expect it to help your rankings.