The nofollow attribute plays a crucial role in preserving the integrity of your website’s link profile and supporting your SEO efforts.
Introduced in 2005, the nofollow tag was created to combat blog spam comments and manipulative link-building tactics. At the time, how nofollow links affect SEO?; SEO professionals attempted to manipulate Google’s PageRank, much like many of today’s common SEO practices.
The nofollow attribute essentially instructs Google (and other search engines that support it) not to pass any ranking value or endorsement to the linked page.
Initially, nofollow was applied at the page level with a meta tag (<meta name=”robots” content=”nofollow” />). However, it’s now more commonly used on individual links to provide more precise control over which links search engines should ignore.
What Does Nofollow Mean?
The nofollow attribute, represented as <rel=”nofollow”>, specifies the relationship between the page containing the link and the page it points to.
Here’s an example of a nofollow link:
<a href=”https://www.example.com/product” rel=”nofollow”>this</a> type of product.
Using the nofollow attribute doesn’t guarantee that Google won’t discover and index the linked page. It simply prevents Google from passing PageRank (link equity) to the target page, meaning the link won’t directly impact the linked page’s SEO rankings.
Nofollow as a Hint
In March 2020, Google clarified that it treats the nofollow attribute as a “hint” rather than a strict directive. This means Google may still decide to follow the link and pass PageRank, but the nofollow tag signals that you prefer the link not to influence search rankings.
Google’s decision confirmed what many SEO professionals suspected. Interestingly, Bing has always treated nofollow as a hint.
Along with this clarification, Google introduced two new rel attributes to better identify link intent: rel=”sponsored” and rel=”ugc”.
When to Use rel=”sponsored”
This attribute indicates paid links or sponsored content, such as:
- Paid advertisements or banners
- Sponsored posts or articles
- Affiliate links
- Links from collaborations or partnerships
Example:
<a href=”https://www.example.com/product” rel=”sponsored nofollow”>this</a> type of product.
When to Use rel=”ugc”
The rel=”ugc” attribute is used for user-generated content, such as:
- Forum posts
- Blog comments
- User profiles or bios
- User-submitted reviews or testimonials
Example:
<a href=”https://www.example.com/product” rel=”ugc nofollow”>this</a> type of product.
Both sponsored and ugc attributes can be combined with nofollow to indicate that you don’t vouch for the linked content.
When to Use rel=”nofollow”
Previously, the nofollow attribute was used as a catch-all for links that should not pass PageRank. However, it’s now recommended for links that don’t fall into the categories of sponsored or ugc, and when you don’t want the link to pass PageRank.
Google permits using nofollow when the other attributes aren’t applicable, but it’s ideal to start categorizing links more accurately moving forward.
What Is Considered a Paid Link?
Using nofollow for paid links are any links exchanged for money, goods, or services that aim to manipulate rankings. Examples of paid link schemes include:
- Buying or selling links for ranking purposes
- Exchanging goods or services for links
- Providing products in exchange for links
- Excessive link exchanges designed solely for ranking
- Using automated services to generate links
- Requiring a link as part of a contract or Terms of Service without the option to qualify the nofollow outbound links.
- Text ads or links that pass ranking credit
- Advertorials or native advertising involving payment for articles that include links passing ranking credit
- Low-quality directory, bookmark, or widget links
These practices violate Google’s nofollow link guidelines and may result in penalties if detected.
Link Schemes
A link scheme is defined by any activity that manipulates a site’s ranking signals via links, such as:
- Buying, selling, or exchanging links for SEO purposes
- Excessive reciprocal linking (e.g., “I’ll link to you if you link to me”)
- Using low-quality or automated links to boost rankings
- Creating content primarily for the purpose of generating links
Google warns against participating in these practices for nofollow links as they can harm your site’s search engine rankings.
By using the right link attributes (nofollow, sponsored, ugc), you can help Google understand your link structure while maintaining a healthy SEO strategy.
When You Shouldn’t Use a Nofollow
If you’re linking to a resource because you genuinely find it valuable and haven’t been compensated in any way, there’s no need to apply the nofollow attribute. If the link isn’t intended to manipulate PageRank or affect SEO, you don’t need to worry about nofollowing it.
Some webmasters may overdo it and apply nofollow to every nofollow outbound links out of fear of being penalized. This is unnecessary unless your website’s sole purpose is to sell links.
What About Dofollow? nofollow vs dofollow links
Contrary to popular belief, “dofollow” is not an actual attribute. Links that are not explicitly marked as nofollow are automatically considered followed by search engines.
The only exceptions are if a meta robots tag is used to nofollow the entire page. You can read more about this in Google’s nofollow link guidelines official documentation.
What Value Does a nofollow Link Bring?
While a nofollow link benefit may not directly influence your rankings, the fact that Google treats it as a hint means it can still offer some benefits. nofollow links contribute to a natural link profile, which is essential for SEO. A website without any nofollow links may appear suspicious to search engines.
The real benefit of nofollow links is the potential for traffic. A link from a reputable site, even if it’s nofollow, can drive significant traffic to your site. For example, if The New York Times links to your website with a nofollow tag, you’d likely still see a boost in visitors, even though the link doesn’t contribute directly to your SEO rankings.
How Can I See How Many nofollow Links I Have?
To see how many nofollow links you have on your website, you can use several methods. Here are a few options:
1. Google Search Console (Manual Inspection)
Google Search Console doesn’t provide an exact count of nofollow links, but you can manually check links and see if they have the nofollow attribute. Here’s how:
- Go to Search Console > Links.
- Check the list of External Links or Internal Links.
- Manually inspect the links by checking the HTML code or use browser tools to identify the rel=”nofollow” attribute.
2. Use a Web Crawling Tool
There are several tools available that can help you identify nofollow links on your site:
- Screaming Frog SEO Spider
- Screaming Frog is a powerful SEO tool that crawls your website and provides detailed reports about the links on your site.
- To check for nofollow links:
- Download and install Screaming Frog.
- Start a crawl of your website.
- After crawling, go to the ‘Internal’ or ‘External’ tab.
- Filter by the ‘Nofollow’ column to see the list of nofollow links on your site.
- Ahrefs
- Ahrefs provides an Outbound Links report where you can filter for nofollow links.
- Go to Site Explorer > Inbound Links > Outgoing Links.
- Apply the filter for nofollow links to get the data.
- SEMrush
- SEMrush allows you to crawl your website and identify the nofollow links.
- Go to Site Audit in SEMrush and run an audit of your website.
- In the audit results, SEMrush will show a list of Nofollow links in the issues section.
- Moz Link Explorer
- Moz’s Link Explorer can show you external links and their attributes.
- Search for your domain and check the Outbound Links for nofollow tags.
3. Manually Inspect HTML Code
- Another way to identify nofollow links is by inspecting the HTML code of individual pages.
- Right-click on a webpage and select ‘Inspect’ or ‘View Page Source’.
- Look for links with rel=”nofollow” in the code.
- This is tedious if you have many pages, but it’s effective for checking specific pages or individual links.
4. Browser Extensions
There are also browser extensions available that can quickly highlight nofollow links on any page:
- SEO Minion (Chrome extension) helps identify nofollow links directly on the webpage.
- NoFollow (Firefox extension) can highlight nofollow links.
These methods can help you track and analyze the nofollow links on your site. Regularly checking your link profile and ensuring proper use of nofollow can help maintain a healthy SEO strategy.
How Do I Tell If A Link Is nofollow
To determine if a link is nofollow, you need to inspect the HTML of the page to see if the link has the rel=”nofollow” attribute. Check our onpage SEO checklist for 2025, Here’s how you can do this:
1. Using Browser Developer Tools
Most modern browsers have built-in developer tools that allow you to inspect the code of a webpage.
Steps for Google Chrome (and most other browsers):
- Right-click on the webpage and select “Inspect” or “Inspect Element”.
- In the Elements panel, search for the link (<a> tag) you want to check. You can use the search function (Ctrl+F or Cmd+F on Mac) to look for <a href=.
Look at the <a> tag. If the link is nofollow, it will look something like this:
html
Copy code
<a href=”https://www.example.com” rel=”nofollow”>Example</a>
- If the rel=”nofollow” attribute is present, the link is nofollow If it’s not present, the link is followed.
2. Using Online Tools
You can also use online tools that will check whether a link is nofollow or not:
- NoFollow Checker: Websites like Nofollow Checker allow you to input a URL and analyze the links on the page to see if they are nofollow
- SEO Browser Tools: Websites like SEO Minion or Ahrefs’ Site Explorer can also show if the link is nofollow
3. Using Browser Extensions
There are browser extensions that can highlight nofollow links directly on the page:
- SEO Minion (for Chrome): This extension allows you to see nofollow links benefit directly on the webpage by highlighting them.
- NoFollow (for Firefox): Similar to SEO Minion, this extension can highlight nofollow links in red.
4. Viewing the Page Source
You can view the source code of the page to check for nofollow links:
- Right-click on the webpage and select “View Page Source”.
- Use the search function (Ctrl+F or Cmd+F on Mac) and look for <a href=.
- Check if the rel=”nofollow” attribute is present next to any links.
5. Using Screaming Frog SEO Spider Tool
For a more in-depth analysis, you can use SEO tools like Screaming Frog to crawl a website and check for nofollow links. After crawling, you can filter the links by rel=”nofollow” to identify which ones are nofollow
To Nofollow or Not to Nofollow?
Follow:
- Trustworthy Sources: If you’re linking out to a reputable, trustworthy source, there’s no need to apply the nofollow attribute SEO.
- Guest Posts: Unless the guest post is paid or done on a large scale, linking within a true, organic guest post should be followed.
- Social Media Links: Links to social media profiles generally don’t require nofollow, as they are not intended to pass PageRank.
Nofollow:
- Paid Links: If you’ve sold a link, you should always apply the nofollow attribute to avoid penalties.
- Sponsored Content: When someone has paid you to publish content with a link, use nofollow to indicate it’s a paid placement.
- Fear of Penalties: If you’re unsure whether the link might violate Google’s nofollow link guidelines, it’s safer to apply nofollow.
- Sitewide Links: Links that appear across every page of your site, such as a link to your site’s designer, are usually better off being nofollow
- Widgets: Links generated by widgets or embedded code should often be nofollow, as these are typically used for tracking or advertising purposes.
Nofollow in the Real World
In practice, nofollow vs sponsored vs ugc SEO professionals don’t always stick strictly to the rules. We sometimes manipulate strategies that work well until they either lose effectiveness or become risky. Nofollow links are just one example of this balance between adhering to best practices for nofollow links and adapting to an ever-evolving SEO landscape. While nofollow links don’t directly contribute to PageRank, they still play an important role in maintaining a natural link profile and protecting your site from potential penalties.