Webometric Analysis of Central Agricultural Universities in India: A Study of Web Impact Factor and Link Structure

Abstract

In the contemporary knowledge society, an academic institution\'s web portal functions as its primary digital gateway, reflecting its scholarly productivity, institutional visibility, and public communication efficacy. For agricultural universities, this digital presence is of paramount importance, as web platforms are mandated to bridge the gap between scientific researchers and agricultural stakeholders by disseminating critical agronomic data, weather advisories, and farming innovations. This study conducts an empirical webometric investigation into the official web portals of all three Central Agricultural Universities (CAUs) in India: Central Agricultural University (CAU, Imphal), Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University (RLBCAU, Jhansi), and Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University (RPCAU, Pusa). The primary objective is to evaluate their digital presence, web visibility, hyperlink architecture, and website health. Quantitative data were gathered using Google Search engine queries for indexed web pages, Small SEO Tools Website Link Analyzer for link classification, and Dead Link Checker for detecting broken links. Key evaluative indicators analysed include the Simple Web Impact Factor (SWIF), Self-Link Web Impact Factor (SLWIF), External Link Web Impact Factor (ELWIF), and Broken Link (BL) percentages. The empirical findings reveal that all three universities operate under the standard.ac.in domain extension. While Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University exhibits the largest indexed web presence (65,300 pages), Central Agricultural University (Imphal) performed best on WIF ratios, with a SWIF of 0.1231, an SLWIF of 0.1019, and an ELWIF of 0.0212. Link health analysis identified an average broken link rate of 36.97% across the portals, with RLBCAU recording the lowest broken link density (27.38%) and CAU Imphal recording the highest (52.08%). The study underscores the necessity of continuous technical maintenance, link-repair strategies, and enhanced external scholarly collaborations to improve search engine discoverability and digital information dissemination for India\'s agricultural academic community.

Introduction

The text presents a webometric evaluation of the official websites of India’s three Central Agricultural Universities (CAUs): Central Agricultural University (Imphal), Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University (Jhansi), and Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University (Pusa).

The study argues that university websites are now essential platforms for academic communication, research dissemination, administration, student services, and agricultural information for farmers. Therefore, their visibility, hyperlink structure, accessibility, and technical health are important for institutional credibility and digital reach.

Objectives

The study aims to:

• Evaluate the web presence and domain structure of the three CAUs.
• Measure Google-indexed web pages.
• Analyze internal and external hyperlink structures.
• Calculate Simple Web Impact Factor (SWIF), Self-Link Web Impact Factor (SLWIF), and External Link Web Impact Factor (ELWIF).
• Identify broken links and assess website health.
• Provide recommendations for improving SEO, navigation, and digital content delivery.

Methodology

A quantitative webometric approach was used. Data were collected on 19 August 2026 using Google Search, SmallSEOTools Website Link Analyzer, and Dead Link Checker.

The main indicators were:

• NWP: Number of indexed web pages.
• LWP: Total links.
• SLWP: Internal/self-links.
• ELWP: External links.
• SWIF: LWP ÷ NWP.
• SLWIF: SLWP ÷ NWP.
• ELWIF: ELWP ÷ NWP.
• Broken Link %: Broken links ÷ total links × 100.

Major Findings

RPCAU Pusa had the largest number of indexed pages, with 65,300, followed by RLBCAU with 39,000 and CAU Imphal with 1,560.

However, when link density was considered through Web Impact Factors, CAU Imphal ranked first:

• CAU: SWIF 0.1231, SLWIF 0.1019, ELWIF 0.0212.
• RLBCAU: SWIF 0.0086, SLWIF 0.0075, ELWIF 0.0011.
• RPCAU: SWIF 0.0049, SLWIF 0.0046, ELWIF 0.0003.

This demonstrates that having more indexed pages does not necessarily mean having a higher Web Impact Factor. CAU's smaller number of indexed pages resulted in a higher link-to-page ratio.

Website Health

Broken links were a major concern across all three institutions:

• RLBCAU: 92 broken links — 27.38%.
• RPCAU: 100 broken links — 31.45%.
• CAU: 100 broken links — 52.08%.
• Overall average: 36.97% broken links.

Thus, RLBCAU had the best link health, while CAU had the poorest, with more than half of its detected links reported as broken.

Key Recommendations

The study recommends:

• Conducting regular automated broken-link audits and repairing or redirecting dead links.
• Increasing external academic and institutional links to organizations such as ICAR, DARE, UGC, FAO, CGIAR, and other universities.
• Improving internal navigation, sitemaps, menus, and breadcrumbs.
• Publishing dynamic agricultural information such as weather updates, crop advisories, farming schedules, and extension information.
• Adopting modern SEO and Web 2.0 technologies, including mobile-friendly design, multimedia resources, interactive search tools, and mobile agricultural advisories.

Conclusion

This webometric study evaluated the digital visibility, hyperlink architecture, Web Impact Factors, and link integrity of the three Central Agricultural Universities in India: Central Agricultural University (Imphal), Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University (Jhansi), and Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University (Pusa). The empirical analysis revealed noticeable variations among the universities. Central Agricultural University (CAU, Imphal) performed best on WIF ratios (SWIF: 0.1231, SLWIF: 0.1019, ELWIF: 0.0212), driven by a high link-to-page ratio, whereas RPCAU demonstrated the largest volume of indexed content with 65,300 Google-indexed pages. However, link health diagnostics indicated significant deficiencies, with an average broken link density of 36.97% across the portals, led by CAU Imphal (52.08% broken links) and RPCAU (31.45% broken links). It is important to emphasize the strictly descriptive scope of these findings. Due to the intrinsically small sample size of Central Agricultural Universities in India (n=3), interpretations should be viewed as an exploratory baseline rather than definitive sector-wide generalizations. Addressing these technical bottlenecks through continuous link maintenance, active external networking, and dynamic agricultural content publishing will strengthen the web presence of India\'s Central Agricultural Universities, supporting their mission of advancing agricultural education, research, and grassroots extension services.

References

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Copyright

Copyright © 2026 Ananthu Bp . This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.