What Is A Nofollow Link? (with examples!)
A nofollow link is a hyperlink that includes the attribute rel=”nofollow” in its HTML code. This attribute tells search engines not to follow the link or consider it when evaluating the credibility or authority of the linked page.
Here’s how it appears in HTML:
<a href=”https://example.com” rel=”nofollow”>Visit site</a>
Google introduced the nofollow attribute in 2005 to help reduce spam, particularly in blog comments. Today, it’s widely used for sponsored content, user-generated links, or any situation where the linking site chooses not to endorse the destination.
In short, a nofollow link is a way of saying to search engines: “You can see this link, but please don’t treat it as a vote of confidence.”
What Is A Follow Link? And, What Is The Difference Between A Nofollow Link And A Dofollow Link?
The main difference between a nofollow link and a dofollow link lies in how search engines respond to them.
A dofollow link is the standard type of link. It tells search engines to follow the link and consider it when evaluating the credibility and relevance of the linked page. As these links actively pass on their “link juice” to external websites, they can contribute to a site’s visibility in search results.
A nofollow link, on the other hand, includes a specific instruction (rel=”nofollow”) that tells search engines not to follow the link or factor it into ranking decisions.
To a regular website visitor, there’s no visible difference. Both types of links work the same when clicked. But behind the scenes, they play very different roles in how websites are assessed and ranked by search engines.
While dofollow links can help boost search performance, nofollow links are still valuable. They’re often used for transparency, to cite sources, or to link to content that a website doesn’t necessarily endorse, without directly passing authority to it.
What Happens If I Receive A Nofollow Link?
While nofollow links don’t influence search rankings directly, they still play a meaningful role in a well-rounded SEO strategy. Here’s why they matter:
1. They Can Drive Valuable Referral Traffic
If your site has received an external nofollow link, you may be fretting at this point. But even if search engines don’t follow a nofollow link, real people still can. If a nofollow link appears on a high-traffic site (such as a news outlet, forum, or industry blog) it can lead to a significant number of visitors discovering your brand and exploring your website.
2. They Help Build Brand Visibility
Being mentioned or linked to by authoritative sites, even with a nofollow tag, increases your exposure. That visibility can lead to further brand recognition and potentially earn natural (dofollow) backlinks from others who discover your content and choose to link to it.
3. They Contribute to a Natural Backlink Profile
Search engines look for balance. A healthy link profile usually includes a mix of dofollow and nofollow links. If a website has only dofollow links pointing to it, it may appear manipulative or unnatural – something search engines aim to penalise. Nofollow links add credibility by showing that links to your site are occurring in a realistic, organic way.
4. They Support Compliance and Help Avoid Penalties
Using the nofollow attribute for sponsored content or paid placements helps ensure compliance with Google’s guidelines. Failing to do so could result in penalties that harm both your rankings and reputation.
When Are Nofollow Links Used?
Nofollow links are most appropriate in situations where you want to reference a page without endorsing it or passing SEO value. Here are the most common cases:
1. Linking to Untrusted or Controversial Sources
If you need to link to a website but don’t want to imply endorsement.
2. Sponsored or Paid Content
As per Google’s guidelines, any link that is paid for, whether it’s part of a sponsorship, advertorial, or affiliate arrangement, should include the appropriate attribute. As of 2019, Google recommends using rel=”sponsored” for these links. If a paid link uses rel=”nofollow” instead, it still prevents authority from being passed, but rel=”sponsored” is preferred for clarity.
3. Affiliate Links
Affiliate links, which typically lead to partner sites in exchange for commissions, also fall under the sponsored category. These should be marked with rel=”sponsored” to signal that the link exists as part of a commercial relationship.
4. User-Generated Content
Links added by users (such as those in blog comments, forum posts, or profile bios) should not automatically be trusted. Using rel=”ugc” (user-generated content) or rel=”nofollow” on these links can help prevent link spam and signal to search engines that the content was not created by the site owner.
Should You Use Nofollow Links On Your Site?
Short answer: It depends, but there are definitely instances where you should. In the right context, using nofollow links on your site is both appropriate and advisable.
Apologies, that wasn’t that short. We’ll press on.
Nofollow links help you manage how your site interacts with search engines. They’re especially useful when linking to content you don’t want to endorse, marking sponsored placements, or managing user-generated content. By applying the correct link attributes (like rel=”nofollow”, rel=”sponsored”, or rel=”ugc”), you can maintain transparency, reduce the risk of spam, and stay compliant with Google’s guidelines.
Using nofollow links strategically won’t harm your SEO – in fact, it signals to search engines that your site is taking a thoughtful, policy-aligned approach to outbound linking.
And that’s just factoring external links, for internal links there are also use cases for nofollow links to be used when you don’t want Google to enter certain pages on the site – but that’s a blog topic for another day.
