When you are building backlinks for SEO, not all links are created equal. Beyond the quality of the linking site and the relevance of the anchor text, there is a more fundamental distinction that determines whether a link passes any ranking value at all: whether it is dofollow or nofollow.

This distinction is one of the most important concepts in link building — and one that many beginners either overlook entirely or misunderstand.

What Is a Dofollow Link?

A dofollow link is a standard hyperlink that passes link equity — commonly called "link juice" or PageRank — from the linking page to the destination page. When a high-authority website links to your page with a dofollow link, it is effectively vouching for your content and passing a portion of its own authority to you.

Technically, dofollow is not actually an HTML attribute. It is simply the default state of any link. A link without any special rel attribute is automatically treated as dofollow by search engines:

<a href="https://yoursite.com">anchor text</a>

This is the type of link you want when building backlinks for SEO purposes.

What Is a Nofollow Link?

A nofollow link includes the rel="nofollow" attribute in its HTML code:

<a href="https://yoursite.com" rel="nofollow">anchor text</a>

This attribute was introduced by Google in 2005 as a way to combat comment spam. It tells search engines: "I am linking to this page but I am not vouching for it — do not pass PageRank through this link."

Nofollow links do not directly pass link equity to the destination page. From a pure PageRank perspective, they have no direct ranking value.

New Link Attributes: Sponsored and UGC

In 2019, Google introduced two additional rel attribute values:

rel="sponsored" — used for paid links, advertisements, and sponsored content. Google requires you to use this on any link that was paid for.

rel="ugc" — stands for User Generated Content. Used for links in comments, forum posts, and other user-submitted content.

Both sponsored and ugc links are treated similarly to nofollow — they do not pass PageRank directly. Google treats all three as hints rather than directives, meaning it may choose to follow and credit them in some circumstances.

Do Nofollow Links Have Any SEO Value?

This is where many people get confused. Nofollow links do not pass direct PageRank — but they are not completely worthless for SEO either. Here is why they still matter:

Traffic and visibility. A nofollow link from a major publication that drives thousands of visitors to your site is enormously valuable — even if it passes no PageRank. Real traffic from real users is a genuine business benefit.

Natural link profile. A backlink profile consisting entirely of dofollow links looks unnatural. Real websites earn a mix of dofollow and nofollow links naturally. A healthy proportion of nofollow links — from social media, directories, blog comments, press mentions — makes your overall profile look more organic.

Indirect ranking signals. The traffic that nofollow links drive creates engagement signals — time on site, return visits, brand searches — that Google uses as indirect ranking factors.

Google treats nofollow as a hint. Since 2019, Google's official position is that nofollow is a hint rather than a directive. In practice, Google may choose to count some nofollow links as ranking signals if it determines they are editorially placed and from authoritative sources.

How to Check if a Link Is Dofollow or Nofollow

You can check any link by right-clicking on it in your browser, selecting "Inspect" or "Inspect Element", and looking at the HTML. If you see rel="nofollow", it is nofollow. If there is no rel attribute or the rel attribute does not include nofollow, it is dofollow.

For checking your own backlink profile at scale, upload your backlink data to our anchor text analyser to review your link distribution. Most backlink tools also show dofollow versus nofollow status for each link in your profile.

Common Sources of Nofollow Links

  • Wikipedia outbound links (all nofollow)
  • Social media links (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn — all nofollow)
  • Blog comments on most platforms
  • Many press release distribution services
  • Forum signatures and posts
  • Paid directory listings that comply with Google's guidelines

What This Means for Your Link Building Strategy

When building links for SEO, prioritise earning dofollow backlinks from relevant, authoritative websites. These are what move rankings directly. Use our broken link checker to find broken link building opportunities — the links you earn through broken link building are almost always dofollow editorial links.

Do not actively pursue nofollow links purely for SEO purposes, but do not reject them either. They contribute to a natural link profile and can drive meaningful traffic. A mention in a major news publication with a nofollow link is worth far more to your brand than a dofollow link from a low-quality directory.

Summary

Dofollow links pass PageRank and directly influence rankings. Nofollow links do not pass PageRank directly but contribute to a natural link profile, drive traffic, and may have indirect SEO benefits. Build primarily for dofollow links but maintain a healthy mix. Always check your anchor text distribution with our anchor text analyser to ensure your profile looks natural.

Missed the previous article? Read: How to Find and Fix Orphan Pages on Your Website