Backlinks are very important for your website’s visibility and ranking. Dofollow and nofollow links are two key types of links you should know about.
Dofollow links tell search engines to give credit to the linked site, which can help it rank higher. Nofollow links, on the other hand, tell search engines not to pass on this credit. While these links might seem like small details, they can have a big impact on your site’s success.
In this blog post, we’ll explain what dofollow and nofollow links are, how they work, and which ones are better for your SEO strategy.
What are Do-Follow Links
Dofollow links are important for SEO because they act like votes of confidence from one website to another. When a site uses a dofollow link to connect to another site, it says, “I trust this site, and you should too.” These links can be earned by black hat techniques but if you want long-term success, you must use white hat link building techniques.
These links pass on “link juice,” which is SEO value that helps the linked site rank higher in search results.
In HTML, a dofollow link looks like this:
<a href=”example.com”>Visit Example</a>
Here’s an example of a dofollow backlink of linkcrafters:
By default, all links are dofollow unless specified otherwise. Search engines like Google see these links as positive signals, showing that the linked content is valuable and trustworthy. This is crucial for SEO because having many high-quality dofollow backlinks can greatly improve a site’s visibility and ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs).
Dofollow links help build a strong backlink profile. They not only bring more traffic to your site but also increase its credibility and authority. For example, if you find a great article and link to it from your blog, you’re telling search engines that the content is worth recommending. This process is important for search engines because it helps them provide valuable and relevant search results to users.
Benefits of Do-Follow Links for SEO
- Higher Search Rankings: Do-follow links help improve your site’s search engine rankings. When many reputable sites link to yours, search engines see your site as trustworthy and relevant, pushing it higher in search results.
- Increased Website Authority: Each do-follow link acts as a vote of confidence. The more quality do-follow links you have, the more authority your site gains in the eyes of search engines.
- More Traffic: Do-follow links can bring more visitors to your site. When people see links to your site on other websites, they might click on them to check out your content.
- Better Indexing: Search engines use links to discover new web pages. Do-follow links help search engines find and index your content faster, making sure your new pages appear in search results more quickly.
- Enhanced Credibility: When well-known sites link to your content, it boosts your site’s credibility. This not only helps with SEO but also builds trust with your audience.
What are No-Follow Links
Nofollow links are like cautious recommendations. When you link to another site using a nofollow link, you’re saying, “I’m sharing this, but I’m not endorsing it.” These links have a special tag that tells search engines not to pass on SEO value, or “link juice,” to the linked site. 62% of digital marketers indicated that they count nofollow links toward their link targets, which means that these links are also important to some extent.
In HTML, a nofollow link looks like this:
<a href=”https://example.com” rel=”nofollow”>Visit Example</a>
Here’s an example of a nofollow link of a website:
Nofollow links were introduced to help combat spam and manage link quality. They allow you to link to other content without directly affecting your site’s SEO. While nofollow links do not boost the linked site’s ranking, they are still useful for maintaining a balanced link profile and managing how search engines interpret your links.
Do nofollow backlinks have benefits?
Yes, despite not passing traditional SEO value like dofollow links, nofollow backlinks still offer several benefits:
1. Traffic Generation: Nofollow links can still bring visitors to your website. When people click on these links on other sites, they might visit yours, potentially leading to more traffic.
2. Natural Link Mix: Having a mix of different types of links (including nofollow ones) looks good to search engines. It shows that your site is linked to for various reasons, not just for SEO.
3. Brand Visibility: Getting mentioned on reputable sites with nofollow links can increase your brand’s visibility. Even if these links don’t affect SEO directly, they help more people discover your brand.
4. Building Trust: Linking to trustworthy sources with nofollow links shows your audience that you provide reliable information. It builds trust and credibility for your website.
5. Following Guidelines: Using nofollow links correctly keeps you in line with search engine rules. It shows you’re ethical in how you link to other sites, which helps maintain your site’s reputation.
6. Engaging Users: Nofollow links can guide users to more content they might find useful. This improves their experience on your site and encourages them to explore further.
While nofollow backlinks may not directly affect how high you rank in search results, they still bring benefits that can enhance your website’s visibility and reputation online.
How to check if a link is nofollow or dofollow?
The easiest method to check the nature of a link is to use the Inspect tool, right-click on the link, and select “Inspect”.
In the Elements tab, locate the `<a>` tag corresponding to the link. Examine the `rel` attribute within this tag. If the `rel` attribute includes `nofollow`, the link is a nofollow link. If the `rel` attribute is absent or does not contain `nofollow`, then the link is a dofollow link. This quick inspection allows you to determine the link type directly from the HTML code.
You can also use tools to analyze backlinks of a site such as ahrefs, moz or semrush. In the following example of analyzing linkcrafters.com on ahrefs. You can easily select the dofollow or nofollow backlinks from the backlinks section of linkcrafters.
Comparing No-Follow and Do-Follow Links
When it comes to SEO, understanding the differences between no-follow and do-follow links is crucial. Let’s explore these links by looking at their key differences, their impact on link juice and SEO, and their role in how search engines crawl and index your website.
Key Differences Between No-Follow and Do-Follow Links
Do-Follow Links:
- Standard Links: These are the default links you create on a website. When you make a hyperlink, it is automatically a do-follow link unless you specify otherwise.
- SEO Boosters: Do-follow links pass on SEO value, or “link juice,” to the linked site, helping to improve its search engine ranking.
- Trust Signals: They indicate to search engines that the linked content is credible and valuable.
No-Follow Links:
- Special Attribute: These links have a special `rel=”nofollow”` attribute that tells search engines not to pass on link juice to the linked site.
- No SEO Boost: Nofollow links do not contribute to the SEO ranking of the linked site.
- Selective Linking: These are often used for user-generated content, sponsored posts, or when linking to sites you don’t want to fully endorse.
Impact on Link Juice and SEO
Do-Follow Links:
- Pass Link Juice: They transfer SEO value from one site to another, enhancing the linked site’s authority and ranking.
- SEO Enhancement: High-authority do-follow backlinks from reputable sites can significantly boost your site’s search engine performance.
- Desirable Links: Because of their direct impact on rankings, these links are highly sought after in SEO strategies.
No-Follow Links:
- No Link Juice: They do not transfer SEO value to the linked site, meaning they don’t help improve its search engine ranking directly.
- Indirect Benefits: Although they don’t boost SEO directly, they can still drive traffic and increase visibility.
- Natural Link Profile: They contribute to natural link building that builds a natural-looking link profile, which is beneficial for overall SEO health.
Role in Crawlability and Indexing
Do-Follow Links:
- Crawl Paths: Search engines follow these links, using them to discover and index new pages.
- Enhanced Discovery: A network of do-follow links can help search engines find and understand the structure of your website more efficiently.
- Boosted Indexing: Strong do-follow links can improve how search engines index your site, leading to better visibility in search results.
No-Follow Links:
- Crawl Hints: Search engines may still follow these links to discover new pages, but they do not pass authority.
- Controlled Link Juice: They allow you to link to content without endorsing it or passing on SEO value, which is useful for maintaining a balanced and ethical link profile.
- Spam Prevention: Using no-follow links can help prevent spam and ensure that only high-quality, trusted content receives your SEO endorsement.
Strategic Use of No-Follow Links
Using no-follow links strategically can help maintain the integrity and effectiveness of your website’s SEO. Here’s a detailed look at when to use no-follow links, scenarios to avoid, and how to effectively manage user-generated content and social media links.
When and Why to Use No-Follow Links
1. Sponsored and Paid Content:
When you have sponsored posts, affiliate links, or any form of paid content, it’s crucial to use the `rel=”sponsored”` attribute. This signals to search engines that these links are paid for and helps maintain transparency.
A sponsored link from paid content looks like this;
<a href=”http://example.com” rel=”sponsored nofollow”>Sponsored Link</a>
2. User-Generated Content:
Comments, forum posts, and other user-generated content can be a goldmine for spammy links. Using the `rel=”ugc”` attribute helps manage the quality of outbound links and protects your site’s SEO health.
These type of backlinks seems like this;
<a href=”http://example.com” rel=”ugc nofollow”>User-Generated Content Link</a>
3. Linking to Unendorsed Content:
If you need to reference a site without endorsing it—such as a gambling or controversial site—use no-follow links. This tells search engines you don’t want to pass authority to the linked page.
An example of an Unendorsed link is;
<a href=”http://example.com” rel=”nofollow”>Unendorsed Link</a>
Scenarios to Avoid Using No-Follow Links
1. Internal Links:
Using no-follow for internal links is generally a bad practice. Internal links should be do-follow to ensure proper site navigation and SEO benefits. If you need to manage crawling, use `robots.txt` or meta tags instead.
2. All External Links:
Applying no-follow to all outbound links can harm your SEO. High-quality, authoritative external links can boost your site’s credibility and SEO.
3. PageRank Sculpting:
The outdated practice of PageRank sculpting, where no-follow was used to direct more link juice internally, no longer works. Google changed how no-follow links are handled, making this tactic ineffective and potentially harmful to your SEO.
Managing User-Generated Content and Social Media Links
1. Comment Sections:
To prevent spam and maintain link quality, use no-follow links in comments. This keeps your site safe from being penalized for linking to potentially harmful sites.
2. Forum Posts:
In forums, where users frequently post links, applying no-follow helps control the quality and credibility of outbound links. Forum backlinks safeguard your SEO while allowing user interaction.
3. Social Media Links:
Links from social media should generally be no-follow since they are user-generated and can’t always be vetted. This prevents any negative impact from low-quality or irrelevant links. The best placement of social media links is in the bio of an Instagram or Facebook account. Whoever visits your profile must see your bio and click on the link placed there.
Strategic Use of Do-Follow Links
You can boost your website’s SEO by understanding when and how to use do-follow links effectively. Following is the analysis of do-follow links and the best practices for using these links
When and Why to Use Do-Follow Links
1. Linking to High-Quality, Relevant Content:
Use do-follow links when you want to endorse high-quality, authoritative websites that are relevant to your content. This helps to improve the credibility of your site by associating it with other reputable sources.
2. Internal Linking:
Do-follow links should be used for internal links to ensure that link juice flows throughout your site. This helps in improving the ranking of various pages within your site and enhances site navigation for users.
3. Editorial Links
When writing blog posts or articles, use do-follow links for editorial references to other relevant articles, studies, or sources. This not only provides value to your readers but also helps search engines understand the context and authority of your content.
Best Practices for Maximizing SEO Benefits
1. Ensure Relevance:
Always ensure that the do-follow links you include are relevant to the content. Irrelevant links can confuse readers and harm your SEO. Search engines reward pages that provide valuable and contextually relevant links.
2. Use Keyword-Rich Anchor Text:
The anchor text of your do-follow links should be descriptive and include relevant keywords. This helps search engines understand the topic of the linked page, improving its chances of ranking well.
3. Diversify Your Link Profile:
A healthy link profile includes a mix of do-follow and no-follow links. While do-follow links pass link juice, no-follow links can also provide value by driving traffic and showing natural linking behavior to search engines.
4. Regularly Audit Your Links:
Perform regular audits of your links to ensure that they are still relevant and pointing to authoritative sources. Remove or update any broken or outdated do-follow links to maintain the credibility of your site.
5. Avoid Overuse:
While do-follow links are beneficial, overusing them can appear spammy to search engines. Use them naturally and sparingly within your content to maintain a balanced and effective SEO strategy.
6. Link to Updated and Authoritative Sources:
Linking to current and authoritative sources ensures that your content remains relevant and trustworthy. This practice not only benefits your readers but also signals to search engines that your site is a valuable resource.
Conclusion
A natural backlink profile combines both types of links. For better results, focus on relevance, and quality, and regularly monitor backlink profile.
With linkcrafters, you can balance your backlink profile because we specialize in natural link-building by giving you authoritative backlinks. If you want to boost up your ranking and make a strong backlink profile, feel free to contact us.
