Dofollow and Nofollow Links Explained: How They Impact SEO

Brief Overview of Link Types in SEO

There are too many ingredients for SEO. Based on the requirements, they are used for various seasonings. Like keyword relevancy, keyword volume and meta description, links are a staple ingredient for ‘cooking’ SEO. This blog explains the two types of links—Dofollow and Nofollow—and their role in SEO.

Why Understanding Link Attributes Matters for SEO Success

Link attributes carry various information related to the link. They are employed in the HTML to specify the link’s type, destination URL, relationship with the content, accessibility, etc. These link attributes include:

rel: Used to specify the relationship with the shared link
href: Used to specify the URL of the shared link
target: Specifies where to open the linked document (e.g.,” _blank” to open in a new tab).
title: Provides additional information about the link when hovered over, improving user experience.

The Google search engine gets a clear picture from these link attributes and favours SEO, site equity and visibility. Thus, there will be no confusion for the web crawlers to double check the site for pass.

Understanding Link Juice Distribution

Link juice is also known as SEO juice, which metaphorically means the sap of a site’s reputation. This term denotes the value passed from one website to another through hyperlinks.

When one site is linked to another via hyperlink, the ranking gets influenced by the domain authority of the shared site. The web crawlers will see them as an upvote from the shared site. As a result, the page gets ranked based on authority and supportive backlink sites.

How rel attributes impact your SEO?

rel attributes are used to establish the relation with the shared link. Based on the values given, the web crawlers categorize the relationship and their purpose. This is to provide systematic information about the site structure and hyperlinking. rel values are important for:

Controlling the transfer of link juice
Specify the link relationship for improved navigation and user experience
Prevents security risks from spam sites.

What are the major rel attributes?

Dofollow: Allows search engines to follow the link and pass SEO ranking (link juice).
Nofollow: Prevents search engines from passing SEO ranking to untrusted or user-generated links.
Sponsored: Identifies the link as a paid or sponsored link for advertising or affiliate purposes.
Prev: Indicates the previous page in a paginated series, helping define content order.
Next: Indicates the next page in a paginated series for structured navigation and content order.
Noreferrer: Prevents the browser from sending referrer information to the linked site.
Alternate: Specifies an alternate version of the content, such as a different language or format.

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What Are Dofollow Links?

Dofollow links contain a token that allows search engine crawlers to recognize a site’s authority and pass link equity. ‘dofollow’ is mentioned as a value for the ‘rel’ attribute of a link. The rel attribute is used to specify the relationship between the current document and the linked document.

Dofollow Link Example

By default, every link is set as a dofollow. This is to ensure the visibility of a link that appears in websites as a hyperlink. Here, the link rel attribute is assigned with “dofollow” to be identified by the web crawlers to pass the info to the search engine.

An Example URL for a dofollow link:

<a href=”https://raysoftinfotech.com“> Visit Raysoft</a>

Since every link is configured with ‘dofollow’ by default, we don’t have to necessarily mention it in the URL. If a link appears plain without any rel attribute, it is considered a dofollow link

How Dofollow Links Impact SEO

Since dofollow links have the token of rel=”dofollow”, it can easily pass the inspection by search engine crawlers. The dofollow certificate is a green flag that reflects site authenticity, link juice (SEO value) and linking.

Dofollow links strengthen the backlinks, improving the authenticity and reputation of the site. Additionally, the web crawlers get a clear picture of the site map from dofollow internal links. Dofollow links strikingly impact the SEO by acknowledging a site address and transferring link juice from one site to another.

When to Use Dofollow Links

If you wish to cite a particular website for promotional or informational purposes, the link should be treated as dofollow. It includes guest blogs, parallel sites, informational sites, service provider sites, ecommerce sites, etc.

Natural links, internal links and authorized contents come under the dofollow category. This is to enhance the visibility, authority and backlink strength.

What Are Nofollow Links?

Unlike dofollow links, Nofollow links instruct search engines not to pass link equity to the destination page. As a result, they won’t get acknowledged by the search engines as they wish to be hidden. Nofollow hyperlinks are made by using the ‘rel’ attribute. For that, the rel has to be assigned “Nofollow”.

Nofollow Link Example

A hyperlink can be made a ‘nofollow link’ by configuring its rel value. A typical Nofollow link will look like:

<a href=”https://raysoftinfotech.com” rel=”nofollow”>Visit Example</a>

How Nofollow Links Impact SEO

Since nofollow links are obscured for web crawlers, there is no exchange of link juice (SEO value). Also, a nofollow link contributes nothing to the backlinking as it remains unseen by the search engine.

For SEO enhancement, it becomes necessary to hide the hyperlink using the nofollow attribute in case it shows bad reputation or non-secure sources. This way, we can bypass the backlinking for untrustworthy sites without any negative impact on the SEO.

When to Use Nofollow Links

Nofollow links are used when there are concerns about the credibility or trustworthiness of the destination site. They allow a website to mention or reference another site without passing link equity or endorsing its authority. For a website having considerable backlinks, the red flag backlinks can be made hidden from the web crawlers.

Links of sponsored content, user generated content, and unauthorized topics are made to be nofollow links for ensuring the authenticity and strong backlinks.

Offering resolutionKey Differences Between Dofollow and Nofollow Links

Features	Dofollow Links	Nofollow Links
SEO impact (Link Juice)	Pass the link Juice. Improves SEO	Does not pass the link juice. No SEO impact
Search engine crawlers.	Crawlers read the link	Crawlers do not read the link
HTML attribute	No attribute by default or ( ref=”dofollow”)	rel=”nofollow”
Effect on Page Ranking	Enhances the ranking of the referred page	No impact on ranking
Usage Case	Natural backlinks, internal links, references to authoritative sources	Paid/sponsored links, blog comments, forums, user-generated content, Non-trustworthy sites, Unsecure pages

How to Create Dofollow and Nofollow Links on Various Website Builders

Wix

Wix is a cloud-based website builder where you can configure the site appearance and additional plugins using an intuitive user interface. To configure the link by dofollow or nofollow values,

Step 1: click on the text you want to link, select the link icon in the editor

Step 2: go to advanced settings and set the rel value from the dropdown list.

Step 3: assign the rel value to nofollow.

By default, all links in Wix are dofollow. No extra steps are required.

WordPress

WordPress has a variety of webpage builder plugins that allow easy site configuration with a user-friendly interface and templates. To change the default rel value from dofollow to nofollow,

Step 1: highlight the text you want to link

Step 2: click insert link

Step 3: go to the HTML text editor and change the rel Value to “ nofollow”

Both dofollow and nofollow links play vital roles in your SEO strategy. Dofollow links help build authority and improve search rankings, while nofollow links enhance visibility, diversify your backlink profile, and drive referral traffic.

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