Are .edu links more important?

[Disco1Stu]

I was reading a blog post (can't find the URL now) where they were kind of making fun of ppl who still thought .edu links were more important than other links. It's true that many .edu sites have strong link profiles and therefore are great links to get, but is there anything inherent in the .edu extension vs. a .com? I.e. all else being equal, is an .edu link better than a .com link? (and what about .org?)

[dailypress]

hi Disco1Stu and welcome to WebmasterWorld.

I personally believe their backlinks are more valuable. I run a .edu website for a school and personally believe .edu or .gov extensions are more valuable than .com's .net's and other extensions which their registration is open to public.

[pageoneresults]

Trusted TLDs
.EDU and .GOV - Trusted Top Level Domains
[webmasterworld.com...]

I tend to believe that .gov and .edu TLDs have additional power out of the box. ;)

[dailypress]

and that link was exactly what I was looking for.

[tedster]

I would add that what matters is the fact that these TLDs tend to be developed in a way that naturally builds trust with Google.

I'm not a fan of the "out of the box" theory. I think the algo itself accounts for everything we notice in the SERPs without attributing any special magic to the TLD itself. Google has always maintained that the TLD on its own is not part of the algo. In fact there are some "grandfathered" .edu domains (from before the restrictions were tightened up) and they are NOT highly trusted places to get links.

I also think that subdirectories and subdomains can get nailed even on a .edu, if Google sees evidence of either link selling or parasite hosting.