Do Follow vs No Follow Links: What’s the Difference and Why It Matters for SEO | Manage Link Equity, Dofollow vs Nofollow | SEOShareLink
There’s nothing like the thrill of building your first backlinks, only to discover weeks later that half of them aren’t actually helping your rankings.
Understanding the Link Types That Shape Your SEO Strategy
If you’ve spent any time learning about search engine optimization, you’ve probably heard the terms “dofollow” and “nofollow” thrown around like everyone already knows what they mean. But here’s the thing: understanding these link types is absolutely crucial for building an effective link building strategy that actually moves the needle on your rankings.
Links are the currency of the internet. They tell search engines which websites are trustworthy, authoritative, and worth showing to users. But not all links carry the same weight, and that’s where the dofollow versus nofollow distinction becomes critical for your digital marketing efforts.
What Exactly Are Dofollow Links?
Dofollow links are the standard, default type of hyperlink. When you create a regular link without any special attributes, it’s automatically a dofollow link. These links pass what SEO professionals call “link equity” or “link juice” from one website to another.
Think of dofollow links as votes of confidence. When a reputable website links to your content with a dofollow link, they’re essentially telling Google: “Hey, this content is valuable and trustworthy. You should pay attention to it.”
Here’s what happens behind the scenes: search engine crawlers follow these links from page to page, discovering new content and evaluating the relationships between websites. They use this information to determine your domain authority, relevance, and ultimately where you should rank in search results.
Dofollow links remain one of the top three ranking factors in Google’s algorithm, making them essential for any serious SEO campaign.
The HTML code for a dofollow link looks completely normal because it doesn’t require any special tags:
<a href="https://example.com">anchor text</a>
That’s it. Simple, straightforward, and powerful for organic traffic growth.
Breaking Down Nofollow Links and Their Purpose
Nofollow links, on the other hand, include a special attribute that tells search engines: “Don’t follow this link, and don’t pass any ranking credit to the destination page.”
Google introduced the nofollow attribute back in 2005 primarily to combat comment spam. Website owners needed a way to link to content without endorsing it or passing SEO value. Over the years, the use cases have expanded significantly.
A nofollow link includes the rel="nofollow" attribute in its HTML code:
<a href="https://example.com" rel="nofollow">anchor text</a>
Now, here’s something most beginners overlook: nofollow links aren’t completely worthless for SEO. While they don’t directly pass link equity, they can still drive referral traffic, increase brand visibility, and contribute to a natural-looking backlink profile. Google has even stated that they treat nofollow as a “hint” rather than an absolute directive since 2020.
Let me save you hours of confusion: nofollow links are better than no links at all. They diversify your link profile and can lead to legitimate dofollow opportunities down the road.
“A natural backlink profile includes a healthy mix of both dofollow and nofollow links. Sites with only dofollow links often raise red flags for search engines.”
The Evolution: Understanding UGC and Sponsored Link Attributes
In September 2019, Google introduced two new link attributes to provide more context about why links exist: rel="ugc" for user-generated content and rel="sponsored" for paid or sponsored links.
UGC links (user-generated content) should be used for links in comments, forum posts, or any content created by users rather than the site owner. The HTML looks like this:
<a href="https://example.com" rel="ugc">anchor text</a>
Sponsored links are for advertisements, paid placements, or any link that involves money changing hands:
<a href="https://example.com" rel="sponsored">anchor text</a>
These attributes give Google better information about the nature of links, helping them understand context and fight manipulation. Sites that use these attributes appropriately demonstrate transparency and tend to build more trust with search engines.
Did you know? You can combine attributes like rel=”nofollow sponsored” to provide even more context about a link’s purpose.
Comparing Dofollow vs Nofollow: The Real-World Impact
| Attribute | Passes Link Equity | Crawled by Bots | Common Use Cases | SEO Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dofollow | Yes | Yes | Editorial links, guest posts, resource pages, partnerships | High – Direct ranking impact |
| Nofollow | No (treated as hint) | Maybe | Comments, widgets, untrusted content, internal links | Medium – Indirect benefits through traffic and discovery |
| UGC | No (treated as hint) | Maybe | Forum posts, user reviews, community content | Low to Medium – Context for search engines |
| Sponsored | No | Maybe | Paid links, advertisements, sponsorships | Low – Compliance and traffic focused |
| No attribute (default) | Yes | Yes | Natural editorial links, citations, references | Highest – Natural authority signal |
How Search Engines Actually Treat These Links
Google’s approach to different link types has evolved significantly over the past few years. Originally, nofollow was a directive — meaning search engines completely ignored those links. But since March 2020, Google treats nofollow, UGC, and sponsored attributes as “hints” for crawling and indexing purposes.
What does this mean practically? Google might choose to follow a nofollow link if they find it useful for discovering content. They might even pass a tiny amount of ranking credit in certain circumstances, though they’re intentionally vague about when this happens.
Always focus on building quality links, regardless of their follow status. A natural link profile includes both types, and obsessing over every single link attribute can actually harm your strategy.
The truth is, dofollow links from authoritative, relevant websites in your niche will always be more valuable than dozens of low-quality links from random directories, regardless of their attributes.
Link Building Strategies That Actually Work in 2024
Building a strong backlink profile requires understanding not just the technical differences between link types, but also how to earn quality links that move your search visibility.
Start with creating genuinely valuable content that people want to reference. Content marketing remains the foundation of sustainable link building. When you publish comprehensive guides, original research, or unique insights, other websites naturally want to link to you.
Guest posting on reputable sites in your industry can earn you powerful dofollow links. But here’s the key: focus on sites with genuine audiences and traffic, not just high domain authority scores. A relevant link from a moderately popular blog often outperforms a link from a high-DA site in an unrelated niche.
Broken link building works incredibly well. Find broken links on authoritative websites in your industry, create replacement content, and reach out to suggest your page as an alternative. This provides value to the site owner while earning you a quality backlink.
Digital PR and outreach can generate editorial links from news sites and industry publications. These are typically dofollow and carry significant weight because they’re genuinely earned rather than requested.
Google algorithm updates happen regularly — stay informed about changes to how link signals are evaluated and prioritized.
Building a Natural Link Profile That Search Engines Trust
Your goal isn’t to maximize dofollow links at all costs. It’s to build a natural, diverse backlink profile that looks organic to search engines.
A healthy link profile includes:
- 80-90% dofollow links from quality sources (the bread and butter of your SEO)
- 10-20% nofollow, UGC, or sponsored links showing natural diversity
- Links from various types of websites (blogs, news sites, directories, social media)
- Different anchor text variations (branded, exact match, partial match, generic)
- A natural acquisition pace (not 100 links overnight, then nothing for months)
Avoid link schemes, private blog networks, and bulk link purchases. These tactics might provide short-term gains, but they eventually result in penalties that can devastate your organic rankings.
Focus on relationships over transactions. The best links come from genuine connections with other website owners, content creators, and industry influencers who actually know and trust your brand.
Link Equity Distribution Analysis
Link Equity Flow: Dofollow vs Nofollow Impact
Common Link Building Mistakes You Need to Avoid
Even experienced marketers sometimes make errors that undermine their link building efforts. Here’s what to watch out for.
Don’t ignore nofollow links completely. Yes, dofollow links are more valuable, but a profile with zero nofollow links looks suspicious. Social media links, Wikipedia citations, and mentions on high-traffic sites still drive visitors and brand awareness.
Avoid over-optimizing anchor text with exact-match keywords. If every link pointing to your site uses your target keyword as anchor text, that’s a red flag for Google. Mix it up with branded anchors, URLs, and natural phrases.
Never buy links in bulk or participate in link exchanges at scale. These schemes are easy for Google to detect and will result in manual penalties or algorithmic demotions.
Don’t forget about internal linking. While external backlinks get all the attention, your internal linking structure helps distribute link equity throughout your site and improves crawlability.
Stop chasing irrelevant links just because they’re dofollow. A dofollow link from a completely unrelated website with no topical connection provides minimal value and can actually dilute your topical authority.
Always prioritize relevance and quality over quantity — ten relevant dofollow links from industry sites beat 100 random directory listings every single time.
Tools for Analyzing Your Link Profile
Understanding your current backlink profile is essential for making informed decisions about your SEO strategy.
| Tool/Method | Best For | Price Range | Key Features | Learning Curve |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ahrefs | Comprehensive backlink analysis | $99 – $999/month | Link type identification, anchor text analysis, competitor research, lost links | Moderate |
| SEMrush Backlink Audit | Link quality assessment | $129.95 – $499.95/month | Toxic link detection, disavow file creation, follow/nofollow ratios | Moderate |
| Moz Link Explorer | Beginner-friendly interface | $99 – $599/month | Spam score, link attributes, anchor text distribution, link discovery | Low to Moderate |
| Google Search Console | Free basic link data | Free | Top linking sites, most linked pages, link text, basic insights | Low |
| Majestic SEO | Historical link data | $49.99 – $399.99/month | Trust Flow, Citation Flow, topical relevance, link context | Moderate to High |
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I remove all nofollow links from my website?
Absolutely not! Nofollow links serve important purposes. Use them for paid links (to comply with Google’s guidelines), untrusted user content like comments, and widgets or badges. Removing legitimate nofollow links won’t improve your SEO and might actually hurt your compliance with Google’s webmaster guidelines. A natural site has both types of links.
Can too many dofollow links hurt my SEO?
Not if they’re quality links. The problem isn’t having too many dofollow links — it’s having too many low-quality, spammy, or irrelevant links. Google’s algorithms are sophisticated enough to devalue bad links without penalizing you in most cases. However, if you have hundreds of obvious spam links, consider using Google’s disavow tool to distance yourself from them.
Do nofollow links help with ranking at all?
They provide indirect benefits. Nofollow links don’t pass link equity in the traditional sense, but they drive traffic, increase brand exposure, and can lead to natural dofollow links when people discover your content through them. Since 2020, Google also treats nofollow as a “hint,” meaning they might occasionally use these links for crawling and indexing purposes.
How can I check if a link is dofollow or nofollow?
The easiest way is to inspect the link’s HTML code. Right-click on the link and select “Inspect” or “Inspect Element” in your browser. Look for rel="nofollow", rel="ugc", or rel="sponsored" in the anchor tag. If you don’t see any rel attribute, it’s a dofollow link. Browser extensions like “NoFollow” for Chrome also highlight nofollow links automatically.
Are social media links dofollow or nofollow?
Almost all social media platforms use nofollow links. Facebook, Twitter (X), Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest all add the nofollow attribute to external links. This doesn’t mean social media is useless for SEO — it’s excellent for driving traffic, building brand awareness, and getting your content in front of potential linkers who might give you dofollow links from their websites.
Should I ask for dofollow links when doing guest posting?
Most reputable sites that accept guest posts will give you dofollow links naturally — it’s standard practice for editorial content. Explicitly demanding dofollow links can come across as pushy and might get your pitch rejected. Focus on creating exceptional content for high-quality sites, and the dofollow links will come naturally. If a site offers guest posts but only provides nofollow links, evaluate whether the traffic and exposure are still worthwhile.
How do I disavow toxic backlinks?
Use Google Search Console’s Disavow Tool, but only as a last resort. First, try manually requesting removal by contacting the linking site’s webmaster. Document your attempts. If that fails, create a disavow file listing the toxic domains or URLs, then upload it through Search Console. Only disavow genuinely spammy links — Google is good at ignoring bad links automatically, and aggressive disavowing can accidentally remove good links.
What’s the ideal ratio of dofollow to nofollow links?
There’s no perfect ratio, but most healthy sites have roughly 80-90% dofollow and 10-20% nofollow links. The key is naturalness — if your profile is 100% dofollow or 100% nofollow, it might raise questions. Focus on earning quality links through great content rather than obsessing over perfect ratios. The best link profile is the one that develops naturally from creating valuable resources.
Take Control of Your Link Building Strategy Today
Understanding dofollow and nofollow links isn’t just technical knowledge — it’s practical power that shapes your entire SEO approach. Now that you know how different link types work, you can make smarter decisions about where to invest your time and resources.
The websites that dominate search results don’t just chase any links they can get. They build strategic relationships, create link-worthy content, and earn dofollow links from authoritative sources in their industry. They also maintain natural link profiles that include a healthy mix of different link types.
Remember that link building is a long-term investment. You won’t see dramatic results overnight, but consistent effort in earning quality backlinks compounds over time. Six months from now, you’ll be glad you started today.
Focus on creating content so valuable that other websites can’t help but link to it. Invest in relationships with other site owners in your niche. Be patient, stay ethical, and watch as your domain authority and rankings steadily climb.
Ready to audit your backlink profile? Use Google Search Console’s free link report to see which sites are linking to you, then identify opportunities to convert high-value nofollow links into dofollow ones! Share your biggest link building challenge in the comments — let’s solve it together.
References
- Google Search Central: Qualify Outbound Links to Google
- Google Webmaster Central Blog: Evolving “nofollow” – new ways to identify the nature of links
- Moz: The Beginner’s Guide to Link Building
- Ahrefs: Dofollow vs Nofollow Links for SEO Study (2023)
- SEMrush: State of Backlink Research Report
