Nofollow vs Dofollow Links: What the Difference Really Is

The difference between nofollow and dofollow links is one HTML attribute. A “dofollow” link is simply a normal link with no rel value that limits it, so Google may use it for ranking and to discover pages. A nofollow link has rel=”nofollow”, which asks Google not to associate your site with the linked page. Since 2019, Google treats nofollow, along with the newer sponsored and ugc values, as a hint rather than a strict rule.

What is a dofollow link?

A dofollow link is an ordinary HTML link, like this:

• <a href=”https://example.com/guide”>example guide</a>

There’s no rel=”dofollow” attribute in HTML, and adding one does nothing. When SEO people say “dofollow”, they mean a link that doesn’t carry nofollow, sponsored or ugc, so it can pass ranking signals in the way Google’s link analysis normally works. Google’s link best practices describe how it uses links both to find new pages and as a signal of relevance.

What is a nofollow link?

A nofollow link carries the rel attribute with the value nofollow:

• <a rel=”nofollow” href=”https://example.com/guide”>example guide</a>

Google’s guide to qualifying outbound links says to use nofollow when the other values don’t apply and you’d rather Google didn’t associate your site with, or crawl, the linked page from your site.

rel=”sponsored” and rel=”ugc”

In September 2019, Google announced two more values in its post on evolving nofollow:

• rel=”sponsored” marks links that are advertisements or paid placements. Nofollow is still accepted for paid links, but sponsored is preferred. See our paid backlinks guide.
• rel=”ugc” marks links inside user-generated content, such as comments and forum posts.

You can combine values, for example rel=”ugc nofollow”.

Nofollow vs dofollow at a glance

Two other values often appear in the same rel attribute: noopener and noreferrer. They are about browser security and referrer data, not search, and don’t make a link nofollow. MDN’s reference on the rel attribute lists what each value does.

Nofollow is a hint, not a block

Before 2019, nofollow links were generally not used for ranking at all. Google’s 2019 announcement changed that. All three values are now hints about which links to consider or exclude. For ranking, the change applied immediately. For crawling and indexing, Google said nofollow would become a hint as of 1 March 2020.

In practice, this means two things. Marking a link nofollow doesn’t guarantee Google ignores it. And a nofollow link isn’t automatically worthless, because Google may still take it into account. What hasn’t changed is the purpose: the attributes tell Google how you relate to the link.

Are nofollow links good for SEO?

They have value, just a different kind. A nofollow link on a busy, relevant page can send real visitors, introduce your brand to a new audience and lead to editorial links later. A healthy backlink profile usually includes both, because that’s what naturally happens on the web: comments, forums, sponsored content and many large publishers use nofollow by default.

What you shouldn’t do is treat a nofollow link as equal to a dofollow link in a deal. If you agreed an editorial dofollow link in a guest post or exchange, and it later becomes nofollow, the terms of that deal have changed.

When to use nofollow on your own site

The attributes aren’t only something you check on other people’s pages. Google’s guidance applies to the links you publish too. A few common situations:

• Comments and forum posts on your site should use rel=”ugc”, so you aren’t vouching for every link a visitor adds.
• Affiliate links, sponsored posts and ads should use rel=”sponsored”. This includes reviews written because you received a free product.
• Links you don’t want to vouch for, such as a source you’re citing as a bad example, can use rel=”nofollow”.
• Normal editorial links to sources you trust need no attribute. Adding nofollow to every outbound link isn’t required, and linking openly to good sources is part of being a helpful page.

If you run partner pages or exchanges, the same logic applies to your side. Linking out naturally and honestly is the best way to make sure the links you receive are judged the same way.

How to check if a link is nofollow or dofollow

1. Open the page where the link sits.
2. Right-click the link and choose Inspect (or view the page source and search for your URL).
3. Read the rel attribute on the <a> tag. If it contains nofollow, sponsored or ugc, it’s qualified. If there’s no rel, or only values such as noopener, it’s a normal (“dofollow”) link.
4. Check the page-level robots meta tag too. A page with <meta name=”robots” content=”nofollow”> applies nofollow to all its links. Google’s robots meta tag documentation explains this.
5. Record what you found, with the date, so you can tell if it changes.

Worked example: catching a quiet switch to nofollow

Sample data. The domains and results are invented to illustrate the process.

An agency tracks five links for a client. All five were agreed as editorial dofollow links. A routine check gives these results:

Every link is still live, so a simple “is it there?” check would pass. But the industry-news.example link has changed from dofollow to nofollow. The agency checks the site and finds a new sitewide policy of nofollow on outbound links. Because it’s a policy, not a mistake, they note the change in the client’s report and adjust the value they place on the link, rather than asking for a reversal. The community link was nofollow from the start, as expected for user content. Over the next quarter, the agency adds the new policy to its notes on that publisher, so future pitches to the site are valued with nofollow in mind from the start.

Nofollow vs dofollow for different link types

How much the attribute matters depends on why the link exists. Here is how we think about it for the links SEO teams build most.

The point isn’t to chase normal links everywhere. A nofollow link on a busy, relevant page can be worth far more to the business than a normal link on a page nobody visits. What matters is that the attribute matches the agreement, and that you notice when it changes. Our guide to why backlinks disappear covers attribute switches alongside other kinds of link loss.

How to choose the right rel value

When you publish a link, or agree one with a partner, pick the attribute with this checklist.

• Was anything exchanged for the link? Money, products, services or a swap: use rel=”sponsored” (nofollow is accepted).
• Did a user add it? Comments, forum posts, reviews: use rel=”ugc”.
• Do you not want to vouch for the page? Use rel=”nofollow”.
• Is it an editorial link you chose on merit? Leave it as a normal link with no rel value.
• Can you combine values? Yes. Google accepts combinations such as rel=”ugc nofollow”.
• Did a partner agree a normal link? Record that in the deal so you can spot a later switch to nofollow.

When in doubt about a commercial link, qualify it. A sponsored label costs you nothing with readers and protects both sites.

How SEOENV tracks link types

Every link you log in SEOENV appears in the Link Tracker with a status (Active, Pending, Lost or Broken) and a type: Dofollow, Nofollow or Unknown. Each check reads the link’s rel attribute, so a switch like the one in the example shows up without anyone inspecting HTML. Run Check all on any plan, or let Starter and above check automatically each day.

Free covers every link type for up to 20 links with manual checks. Starter ($29 a month) adds daily checks and the Link Status Report. Read more on our backlink monitoring page, or see the pricing page.

Sources

• Google Search Central: Qualify your outbound links to Google
• Google Search Central Blog: Evolving “nofollow”: new ways to identify the nature of links
• Google Search Central: Robots meta tag, data-nosnippet and X-Robots-Tag specifications
• MDN Web Docs: HTML attribute: rel

How we wrote this guide

Frequently asked questions

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