Backlinks (links from other websites directing to yours) are one of the most critical factors in SEO. Yet, digital marketers often scratch their heads when building a successful link-building strategy. As SEO optimisations get further refined and perfected, creating high-quality content isn’t enough on its own.
For content to rank well and attract traffic, it needs to be recognised and endorsed by other authoritative websites. Backlinks serve as signals to search engines, telling them that your content is relevant and informative.
However, not all backlinks are created equal, and this is where dofollow and nofollow links come into play. While both links are important, they serve different purposes in link-building and have distinct impacts on your SEO strategies.
What Are DoFollow Links?
A dofollow link is a standard link that allows search engines to follow the link and pass on “link juice” or PageRank from the referring page to the linked website. When a webpage links to another page with a dofollow link, it informs search engines that the linked content is trusted and relevant, thus improving the SEO of the linked page.
This means that dofollow links help your website get noticed and rank better on search engines because your content is reliable and worth checking out.
What Are NoFollow Links?
While dofollow links act as letters of endorsement, nofollow links are akin to polite mentions. They don’t pass along any “link juice” or PageRank, which means they don’t directly help your website rank higher in search results.
On the user’s end, nofollow links are no different from dofollow links; both will take the user to the destination when clicked. The main difference lies in how search engines view them, nofollow links prevent the linked page from being crawled by search engines and not pass on “endorsements”. Here is what a Nofollow link looks like:
<a href=”https://example.com” rel=”nofollow”>anchor text here</a>
But why would anyone use nofollow links if it doesn’t improve their SEO directly? Simply put, it allows you to link to other content without directly impacting your site’s SEO. Google introduced nofollow links as a way to prevent spammy websites from benefiting from link manipulation.
If hundreds of low-quality and shady sites have backlinks to your website, Google will associate your site with these low-quality sites, which will negatively impact your SEO.
Difference Between Dofollow Links vs Nofollow Links
Link Authority And SEO Impact
The main difference between dofollow and nofollow links is how they influence SEO crawl and index. Dofollow backlinks pass link authority, which helps the linked website gain credibility and improve its position in search engine results. In contrast, nofollow backlinks do not pass authority and do not directly affect SEO rankings.
However, it’s important to remember that NoFollow links can still generate referral traffic and increase a website’s overall online presence, even if they don’t directly impact SEO rankings.
Search Engine Crawlability
Search engine crawlers will identify dofollow links and spread link authority throughout the internet, leading to greater visibility. Naturally, the more people click on your links, the higher the traffic and SEO ranking. Nofollow links are ignored by search engine crawlers when it comes to indexing, meaning they don’t contribute directly to a site’s search engine visibility.
That said, nofollow links still bring valuable traffic from other sources, such as social media and referrals.
Balance The Types Of Links
Generally, dofollow links are more beneficial for SEO, but it is very important to balance dofollow and nofollow backlinks in your website’s link profile. A mix of both types helps your backlink profile appear more authentic to search engines, reducing the risk of penalties for unnatural linking patterns. Too many dofollow links on a site can seem suspicious, and Google may interpret it as a way to manipulate the system.
When To Implement Dofollow Links: 5 Key Scenarios
1. To Improve Organic Search Rankings
Originally designed to improve site SEO and increase organic search rankings, when a reputable site links your content with a dofollow link, it informs search engines that your page is trustworthy and provides value to users. This boosts your page’s authority and increases the chances of ranking higher in search results. The more quality dofollow links a page receives, the more it signals to search engines that the content is valuable, which can improve its position for related search terms.
Use DoFollow links when you want to improve the search engine rankings of key pages on your website, such as important service or product pages, blogs or informative content that provide value to users.
2. For Link Building From Authoritative Sources
Search engines place a high value on links from reputable sites, and these links pass authority to your website, improving your own site’s trustworthiness in the eyes of search engines.
If a well-respected industry website or a major publication links to your page, it tells search engines that your content is valuable because it is endorsed by reputable companies. Links from sources like Forbes and other authoritative sites within your niche will significantly boost your site’s authority and establish your site as a reputable source of information.
Focus on acquiring links from high-authority sources in your industry or niche through collaborations or partnerships. These types of links provide the greatest impact on your SEO performance.
3. Internal Linking
Picture this, you recently wrote a timely and informational blog title “How to Start a Business from Home” that you want others to read. Using dofollow links in your website’s internal linking can directly improve the overall SEO of your site. While it may seem like patting yourself on the back, you are actively guiding your readers to content or information that is relevant or valuable to them.
Using the blog post example earlier, you add a dofollow link to another page on your site about “Business Planning Tips.” This helps search engines recognise that the “Business Planning Tips” page is essential and relevant, which helps it rank higher in search results when searching for “How to Start a Business from Home.”
4. To Strengthen Domain Authority
Just as brands rely on ambassadors and celebrity endorsements to boost their credibility and attract attention, having a variety of dofollow links works similarly for your website. When relevant and respected websites link to your content using DoFollow links, it’s like receiving endorsements from trusted sources.
For instance, if multiple respected websites in your niche link to your content, each dofollow link increases your website’s perceived authority. Over time, this improves your chances of ranking higher for a broader range of keywords and competing in a more competitive market.
5. Guest Posts And Content Partnerships
One of the most common and effective ways to earn dofollow links is through guest posting or content partnerships. Guest posts on another website or collaborating on content relevant to your own, including backlinks in your bio or contextual linking, will improve your SEO.
For example, if you contribute a guest post to a popular blog in your industry, including a dofollow link to your website within the post will allow readers to discover your content. More importantly, it will pass PageRank from the authoritative site to your own, boosting your site’s SEO.
When To Use Nofollow Links: 5 Key Scenarios
As mentioned, nofollow links are not inherently harmful to your SEO. In fact, they can be instrumental in certain situations.
1. When Linking To Paid Content
If you’re linking to sponsored content, advertisements, or any paid promotional material, using Nofollow links is important. This helps prevent search engines from considering these links as votes of confidence that could manipulate rankings.
For cases such as running an ad or linking to a sponsored blog post, tagging those links with nofollow ensures they won’t influence your site’s ranking or the related content.
2. To Avoid Passing Link Equity To Untrusted Sources
Sometimes, information on the web is scarce, mainly if you cover niche topics. You may encounter websites or pages that you don’t fully trust or want to associate with your site.
In these cases, using nofollow links is a safe way to avoid passing any link juice or authority to those pages. This is especially helpful when linking to content with questionable credibility or standards.
3. User-Generated Content
Internet bots have exploded in recent years, often flooding blog comment sections, forums, or social media. These areas usually become targets for spammy links, where malicious users or bot farms actively include backlinks that could manipulate search engine rankings.
Using nofollow on these user-generated links prevents spam from passing authority to untrustworthy sites and protects your website from ranking issues. Sites like WordPress automatically have nofollow attributes in all of their comment links.
4. To Control Link Flow
Not all backlinks provide value. You should maintain strict control over which pages pass PageRank or authority. Nofollow links are helpful when you don’t want certain pages on your site to impact the SEO of other pages. This is especially important for limiting the flow of authority to pages you don’t want to rank for specific keywords or when managing content with lower priority.
For instance, if you have internal links to non-essential pages, like privacy policies or terms and conditions, using nofollow ensures those pages don’t pass authority that could be used elsewhere in your site’s structure.
5. For Social Media Links
Social media platforms often use nofollow links by default. This is done to avoid SEO manipulation, as social media links are widely shared and could be easily exploited if they pass link authority. While these links don’t directly affect rankings, they are still valuable in driving traffic and boosting brand exposure.
If you share your content on platforms like X or Facebook, any link to your website will likely be nofollow. This ensures that while your content may gain visibility and traffic, it doesn’t directly impact your search engine rankings.
How To Track The Effectiveness Of Dofollow And Nofollow Links
Tracking the effectiveness of your links is important for adjustments and SEO strategising. Here’s how you can track their impact:
Use SEO Tools: Tools like Google Analytics, Ahrefs, and SEMrush can help you track the traffic each type of link brings to your site. They can also show you where your backlinks are coming from and how they are influencing rankings.
Monitor Referral Traffic: Nofollow links can drive significant referral traffic even though they don’t pass PageRank. Use analytics to track how much traffic comes from these links and evaluate the effectiveness of your social media, forums, or other platforms.
Assess Keyword Rankings: Track the rankings of pages that received dofollow backlinks. If your rankings improve after acquiring high-quality dofollow links, it indicates that these links positively influence your SEO performance.
Analyse Backlink Profile: Regularly audit your backlink profile to ensure a healthy mix of dofollow and nofollow links. Tools like Google Search Console or Ahrefs can help identify the ratio of each type of link, giving you insights into whether your backlink strategy is balanced. Too many dofollow links can be suspicious to the search engine.
Measure Domain Authority: Use tools like Moz to track your website’s domain authority over time. A steady increase in domain authority often correlates with an increase in high-quality doFollow backlinks, signalling positive SEO progress.
Conclusion On Dofollow vs Nofollow Links
Both dofollow and nofollow links are effective in building a solid SEO strategy. By understanding when and how to use each type of link, you can build a balanced, natural backlink profile that maximises your SEO potential.
Undeniably, it can be difficult to keep track of these links’ performance. Having the right people handle your SEO strategy makes a difference in creating leads and sales.
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Frequently Asked Questions About Dofollow vs Nofollow Links
What Is The Impact Of Nofollow Links On Domain Authority?
Nofollow links do not directly influence your website’s domain authority. However, they can still be valuable in creating a natural backlink profile.
Should I Focus On Getting Dofollow Or Nofollow Links For My Blog?
Focus on a balance of both. DoFollow links directly benefit your rankings, while NoFollow links can bring traffic and help make your backlink profile appear more natural and organic.
How Do Search Engines Handle Mixed Dofollow And Nofollow Links?
They follow dofollow links to pass PageRank and improve rankings, while they ignore nofollow links regarding passing authority. However, both link types can create a more natural and diverse backlink profile, favouring SEO in the long run.
What Happens if I Get Too Many Nofollow Links?
Having an abundance of nofollow links is not harmful to SEO, but it can limit the amount of PageRank your site can pass on, affecting rankings. It’s best to aim for a balance with dofollow links, especially from authoritative sources.
No. Using Nofollow internally could prevent search engines from discovering and ranking key pages.
Is It Safe To Buy Dofollow Links?
Absolutely Not. It is against Google’s guidelines and Google can detect unnatural link-building patterns and may penalise your site for manipulative practices.
