A nofollow link is a type of hyperlink where an HTML attribute (rel=”nofollow”) is added to instruct search engines not to follow the link in question. This means that search engines should not pass link value from the linked website to the other.
What is a Nofollow link?
When a link is created on a website, it usually transfers a certain amount of “link value” to the page it’s linking to. This is one of the primary ways search engines like Google evaluate which pages are more or less important. A nofollow link tells search engines not to include the link in question in this evaluation, meaning it has no positive effect on the linked page’s ranking in search results. (It also doesn’t have a negative value by default.)
The HTML syntax for a nofollow link looks like this:
<a href=”https://eksempel.dk” rel=”nofollow”>Example</a>
Adding rel=”nofollow” prevents search engines from following the link and transferring value from your page to the linked page.
Why use Nofollow links?
There are several situations where it makes sense to use nofollow links. Here are some of the most common:
Paid links
According to Google’s guidelines, all links that are purchased or sponsored must be marked as nofollow. This is to prevent companies from being able to influence search results through paid links and thus gain an advantage. Sponsored links typically include:
- Affiliate links
- Links in paid articles or sponsored content
- Links in advertising banners
By using nofollow on paid links, you avoid being penalized by Google for violating their link building guidelines.
Comments and user-generated content
Nofollow is often used for links in comment sections or forums where users can insert their own links. This prevents spammy or malicious links from affecting your site’s SEO or passing value to questionable or unreliable sources. Platforms like WordPress use nofollow in comment boxes by default to combat link spam.
How do Nofollow links affect SEO?
Nofollow links don’t directly affect SEO because search engines ignore them when evaluating rankings. However, they can still have some indirect benefits:
Traffic from Nofollow links
Although nofollow links don’t transfer link value, they can still send traffic to your website. If you get a link from a popular website or blog, even with nofollow, you can still receive valuable visitors who click on the link. This can help increase traffic and conversions, even though the link doesn’t directly affect your ranking in Google.
Increased visibility
Nofollow links can also give you exposure to new audiences, which can result in other websites that don’t use nofollow linking to you. This can improve your SEO strategy and your visibility in search results in the long run.
Link profile diversity
A healthy link profile consists of both dofollow and nofollow links. If all of your backlinks are dofollow, it can look unnatural to search engines, potentially triggering a penalty. Having a mix of both types of links can signal a more natural link profile.
Protection against Google penalties
The nofollow attribute can help protect your website from being penalized by Google for linking to malicious or spammy pages. If you link to third-party sites that you don’t vouch for or that have questionable content, you can use nofollow to prevent search engines from seeing it as an endorsement of your site.
Nofollow vs. Dofollow
A dofollow link is a regular hyperlink without the nofollow attribute. Dofollow links pass link value to the linked page. Nofollow links do the opposite by telling search engines not to pass any value through the link.
To summarize the differences:
- Dofollow links transfer link value and affect your rankings in Google.
- Nofollow links do not transfer link value and do not affect your rankings in Google.
It is important to note that the default for a link is dofollow unless otherwise specified with rel=”nofollow”.
When should you use Dofollow links?
Dofollow links should be used when linking to credible, relevant sources that you want to recommend or provide value to.
Examples could be:
- Linking to authoritative sources in your industry.
- Internal links to other pages on your own website to promote internal link structure.
- Links in guest blog posts where you would like to transfer value to a collaborator.
How to check Nofollow links
There are several methods to check if a link is nofollow:
Check the source code
You can manually check a link by right-clicking on it and selecting “Inspect” or “View Source” in your browser. You can then see if the link contains rel=”nofollow”.
SEO tools
There are many SEO tools like Ahrefs, Moz, and Screaming Frog that can analyze a page’s backlinks and tell whether they are nofollow or dofollow.
Browser extensions
There are browser extensions, such as NoFollow Simple or SEOquake, that will mark nofollow links when you visit a web page. This makes it easy to see which links are nofollow without having to check the source code.
Nofollow links are an important tool in SEO strategy as they help control how search engines treat links and can protect against potential penalties from Google. While they don’t directly contribute to SEO in terms of link value, they can still be valuable in terms of traffic and link profile diversity.
Our SEO consultants are experts in link building and SEO, where we can help build a natural and effective link profile that includes both dofollow and nofollow links.
