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Dofollow vs Nofollow Backlinks: What’s the Difference?

BacklinkScan Teamon Dec 20, 2025
24 min read

Dofollow vs Nofollow backlinks describe how a link is treated by search engines and how much SEO value it can pass. In simple terms, dofollow backlinks let authority and “link juice” flow to the target page, while nofollow backlinks use attributes like rel="nofollow", rel="sponsored", or rel="ugc" to limit that SEO influence and signal caution or context instead.

Understanding this difference helps you plan safer, more effective link building. Dofollow links are core to ranking improvements, but a natural profile also includes nofollow links that bring traffic, brand visibility, and trust. Below, you’ll learn exactly how search engines handle each type, when to use them, and how to balance dofollow vs nofollow backlinks in your SEO strategy.

A dofollow backlink is just a normal hyperlink that search engines can crawl and use in their ranking algorithms. There is no special “dofollow” code. If you add a regular <a> tag and do nothing else, that link is effectively dofollow by default.

A nofollow backlink is a link that includes a specific attribute telling search engines that you do not want to pass on ranking credit or endorsement in the usual way. In HTML, that looks like rel="nofollow" added to the link.

In practice, modern search engines treat nofollow as a strong hint, not an absolute rule. They may still crawl or even count some of these links, but the signal you are sending is: “I am linking here, but I am not vouching for this page as a ranking recommendation.”

By default, search engines assume that:

  • A standard link is a vote of confidence in the page you are linking to.
  • That vote can help the target page rank better, because it passes PageRank or “link equity.”
  • The anchor text (the clickable words) helps search engines understand what the target page is about.

So if you publish an article and link to another site with a normal <a href="https://example.com">Example</a> link, search engines can:

  1. Crawl from your page to that page.
  2. Use your link as one of many signals when deciding how important and relevant that page is.

This is why high‑quality dofollow backlinks are so valuable in SEO: they combine discovery (crawling) with a ranking signal (authority).

At the code level, the difference between a dofollow and nofollow backlink is just the rel attribute on the <a> tag:

  • Dofollow (standard) link

  • HTML: <a href="https://example.com">Example</a>

  • No rel value that blocks equity, so search engines can follow it and treat it as a ranking signal.

  • Nofollow link

  • HTML: <a href="https://example.com" rel="nofollow">Example</a>

  • The rel="nofollow" value tells search engines you prefer that this link not pass ranking credit or endorsement.

Google’s current documentation explains rel="nofollow" like this: use it when you want to link to a page but do not want to imply endorsement or pass ranking credit. Today, Google treats nofollow (and related attributes like sponsored and ugc) as hints. That means:

  • They will usually not count the link as a normal vote.
  • They may still use the link for crawling or for understanding the web, if it helps improve search quality.

So in simple terms:

  • No rel attribute (or a neutral one) = dofollow behavior.
  • rel="nofollow" = “link is there, but please handle it cautiously for rankings.”

The history of the nofollow tag and fighting comment spam

In the early 2000s, search engines relied heavily on links as votes of confidence. That worked well until blog comments, guestbooks and forums were flooded with spam links dropped only to manipulate rankings.

To tackle this, Google and other major search engines introduced the rel="nofollow" attribute in early 2005, after a proposal from Google’s Matt Cutts and Blogger’s Jason Shellen. The idea was simple: if a link had rel="nofollow", Google would not count it for PageRank or ranking purposes.

Blog platforms and CMSs quickly adopted nofollow on comment links by default. That made it much less attractive for spammers to blast thousands of low‑quality comments just to get “free” SEO value. Over time, site owners also started using nofollow on other types of links they did not want to endorse, such as untrusted user submissions or certain paid placements.

So in practice:

  • A normal link (what SEOs call a “dofollow” link, even though that is not an official term) passes PageRank and can help rankings.
  • A nofollow link was originally a clear signal to search engines: “ignore this for ranking; I am not vouching for it.”

This distinction exists mainly to protect search quality and give site owners a way to link out without automatically boosting every page they mention.

As the web evolved, one nofollow tag had to cover a lot of different situations: ads, sponsored posts, widgets, user comments, and more. That made it hard for Google to understand why a link was nofollowed.

In September 2019, Google introduced two additional link attributes to be more precise:

  • rel="sponsored" Used for links that are part of advertising, sponsorships or any kind of paid placement or compensation agreement. It tells Google, “this link exists because of a commercial relationship.” Google still allows rel="nofollow" for these, but says sponsored is preferred.

  • rel="ugc" (User Generated Content) Recommended for links inside user‑generated areas such as comments, forum posts, Q&A sections or community profiles. It signals that the link was added by a user, not the site owner, and may not be fully vetted.

At the same time, Google changed how it treats all three attributes (nofollow, sponsored, and ugc). Instead of being strict “do not count this” rules, they are now hints that Google can choose to honor or override when evaluating links for ranking, crawling and indexing. This hint model has been in place for rankings since 2019 and for crawling/indexing since March 1, 2020.

The core reason these link types exist has not changed: they help search engines separate genuine editorial recommendations from paid, user‑generated or untrusted links, which in turn keeps link‑based rankings harder to game and more useful for searchers.

A dofollow backlink is simply a normal link that search engines are allowed to follow and use for ranking. By default, any standard HTML link without special attributes is treated as a dofollow link.

When a page links to another page with a dofollow link, part of its PageRank and overall authority flows through that link. In practical terms, Google treats it as a kind of vote or recommendation. The stronger and more trusted the linking page, the more “link juice” it can pass.

This flow of authority is not equal for every link. Search engines look at many factors, such as:

  • How authoritative and relevant the linking page and domain are
  • How many other links are on that page (link equity is shared)
  • The anchor text used in the link and how natural it looks

Dofollow backlinks help:

  • Improve a page’s ability to rank for relevant keywords
  • Strengthen a site’s overall domain-level authority
  • Speed up discovery and crawling of new pages, since bots follow these links

They are not magic on their own, but a consistent set of high‑quality dofollow backlinks is still one of the strongest direct ranking signals in modern SEO.

Most editorial links that a real person chooses to place on a page are dofollow by default. Some common examples of dofollow backlinks include:

  • Guest posts and contributed articles where the author bio or in‑content references link back to your site and are not marked with nofollow or sponsored attributes.
  • Resource page links, such as “recommended tools,” “further reading,” or “helpful guides,” when the site owner genuinely thinks your content is useful.
  • Digital PR coverage, like news stories, interviews, or expert quotes that link to your homepage, product page, or research. Many of these are standard dofollow links unless the publication has a strict nofollow policy.
  • Contextual editorial links inside blog posts, guides, or case studies where your content is cited as a source.
  • Partner and vendor links, for example from a technology partner’s site or a client’s “our agencies” page, when the relationship is not primarily paid promotion.

In short, any natural, editorially given link that is not tagged with rel="nofollow", rel="sponsored", or rel="ugc" will usually count as a dofollow backlink and can pass meaningful SEO value.

What “nofollow” tells Google today (a hint, not a hard rule)

A nofollow backlink is a link that includes a rel="nofollow" attribute. In simple terms, it tells Google, “Do not treat this link as a strong endorsement.”

For SEO, the key point is that nofollow is now a hint, not a strict command. Google has said it may choose to:

  • Ignore the link for ranking signals, or
  • Use it in a limited way when its systems think the link is useful or trustworthy.

Compared with a normal dofollow link, a nofollow link usually passes little or no PageRank. It is not something you can rely on to boost rankings directly. However, it can still help search engines understand how pages are connected, and it can support spam control by separating “endorsed” links from ones that are paid, user‑generated, or untrusted.

So, think of nofollow backlinks as weak or optional votes. They rarely move rankings on their own, but they help Google interpret the web more safely and can still bring value through traffic and visibility.

Most platforms add nofollow to links in places where site owners cannot fully control or verify every URL. Common examples include:

  • Blog comments: Links dropped in comment sections are often nofollow to prevent spam and discourage people from posting only for SEO.
  • Paid ads and sponsored placements: Banner ads, sponsored posts, and many affiliate links use nofollow (or related attributes) so that paid promotion does not pass full ranking power.
  • Forums and community sites: User profiles, signatures, and discussion posts usually have nofollow links, since anyone can post and the site cannot vouch for every destination.
  • Public wikis and open directories: When many people can edit content, nofollow helps reduce link manipulation.

You will also see nofollow used on widgets, press release distribution sites, and other areas where links can be created at scale and might be abused for SEO.

Key differences between dofollow and nofollow at a glance

At a high level, a dofollow backlink is a normal link that can pass ranking signals, while a nofollow backlink is a link that tells search engines not to treat it as a full vote of confidence.

With a dofollow link:

  • Google can pass PageRank and other authority signals through the link.
  • The linking page’s strength, relevance and internal context can help the target page rank better.
  • Anchor text can influence what topics the target page is seen as relevant for.

With a nofollow link:

  • The link is marked with rel="nofollow" (often alongside other attributes).
  • Google treats it as a hint, not a strict block. That means it may choose to ignore it for ranking, or may use it in some situations, but you cannot rely on it to pass link equity.
  • In practice, nofollow links usually have little or no direct impact on rankings compared with similar dofollow links.

So if two links are identical except for the attribute, the dofollow link almost always has more SEO value. The nofollow link can still send traffic and help users discover your site, but it is not counted as a clear endorsement in the same way.

Crawling, indexing and trust signals: what really changes

Dofollow and nofollow links also differ in how they guide search engines around the web.

A dofollow backlink:

  • Acts like a path that crawlers are encouraged to follow.
  • Helps search engines discover new pages and revisit existing ones more often.
  • Contributes to how much trust and importance a page appears to have, especially when it comes from a reputable, relevant site.

A nofollow backlink:

  • Tells crawlers, “Do not treat this as a link I fully vouch for.”
  • Google may still crawl the target URL if it finds it elsewhere, but it is less likely to rely on this specific link for discovery or importance.
  • Sends a weaker trust signal, since the linking site is explicitly distancing itself from the recommendation.

In short, dofollow links help with discovery, authority and trust all at once. Nofollow links are mainly for user navigation, compliance and transparency. They can still be useful, but they are not meant to carry the same ranking weight or endorsement as a standard dofollow backlink.

You should almost always add rel="nofollow" (often together with rel="sponsored") to any link that exists because money, products, or commissions are involved. That includes:

  • Sponsored posts and advertorials
  • Banner ads and text ads that link out
  • Affiliate links, whether they are raw, shortened, or go through a redirect

Search engines expect paid and affiliate links to be marked so they are not treated like pure editorial recommendations. Using a nofollow (and ideally sponsored) attribute tells Google that:

  1. This link is part of a commercial arrangement.
  2. You are not asking for PageRank or “link juice” to be passed.

Doing this protects you from manual actions and algorithmic distrust around “unnatural outbound links.” It also makes it easier to accept sponsorships without risking your site’s long‑term SEO.

User‑generated or untrusted content

Any link that users can add themselves should be treated with caution. This includes:

  • Blog comments
  • Forum posts and profiles
  • Public Q&A sections
  • Guestbooks or open directories

Because you cannot fully control what people link to, these areas are prime targets for spam and low‑quality promotions. The safest default is to apply rel="nofollow" (or rel="ugc" nofollow) to all user‑generated links.

You can still manually remove nofollow from a specific link if you have reviewed it and genuinely trust it, but that should be the exception, not the rule. This approach keeps spammers from using your domain to boost shady sites and helps maintain your site’s overall trust signals.

Sometimes you want to link to a page for context, but you are not ready to endorse it. Common cases:

  • Citing a questionable claim or example of bad practice
  • Linking to a site you have not deeply reviewed
  • Referencing competitors or tools you have not tested
  • Pointing to content that might change or be removed

In these situations, a nofollow tag is a useful middle ground. You still give your readers a path to more information, but you are telling search engines:

“I am not fully vouching for the quality or reliability of this page.”

Use nofollow when you would not be comfortable staking your site’s reputation on that external page. If, over time, you come to trust the resource and want to support it, you can always remove the nofollow and turn it into a standard, fully endorsed outbound link.

Referral traffic, brand exposure and indirect SEO benefits

Nofollow links are not useless. They simply help in different ways than classic dofollow backlinks.

A nofollow link can still send visitors to your site. If that link sits on a busy blog, a popular forum thread, a viral social post, or a major news article, people can click it and land on your page. Many sites report big spikes in referral traffic from nofollow links on platforms like large communities or news outlets, even though those links are not meant to pass PageRank.

That traffic can turn into email signups, leads, sales, or new followers. It can also lead to secondary SEO gains. When more people discover your content, some of them will:

  • Mention you on their own sites with dofollow links
  • Share your content on social media
  • Search for your brand name directly

All of these are positive signals for search engines and can support rankings over time.

Nofollow links also build brand exposure. Being cited on a big publication or well known community, even with a nofollow attribute, increases how often people see your name and associate it with a topic. In 2025, search systems and AI features pay attention to brand mentions and citations, not just raw link equity, so this visibility still matters.

On top of that, Google now treats nofollow (and related attributes like sponsored and ugc) as hints, not strict rules. That means Google may sometimes use these links for understanding the web and, in some cases, for ranking, even if they are not meant to pass full authority. The exact impact is limited and not guaranteed, but it is another reason nofollow links are not “worth zero.”

A healthy backlink profile almost never consists of only dofollow links. In the real world, sites naturally pick up a mix of:

  • Dofollow links from articles, resources, and recommendations
  • Nofollow links from comments, forums, social platforms, and many large publishers

Search engines expect this mix. If your site has an unusually high share of dofollow backlinks, especially from similar types of pages, it can look like you are trying to manipulate rankings. A more balanced pattern of dofollow and nofollow links feels organic and reduces the risk of algorithmic or manual penalties.

Nofollow links also let other sites mention you without fully “vouching” for the target page. That is useful for:

  • Sponsored content and affiliate promotions
  • User generated content
  • Situations where the publisher does not fully trust or control the destination

By using nofollow correctly, those sites protect themselves, and you still gain visibility, traffic, and potential future dofollow mentions.

So, nofollow backlinks should not be your main metric when you chase rankings, but they absolutely belong in a long term strategy. Think of dofollow links as your direct ranking fuel and nofollow links as the channels that spread your brand, bring people in, and help your backlink profile look natural and resilient.

Quick browser check with Inspect or View Source

You can tell if a backlink is dofollow or nofollow in any modern browser by looking at the link’s HTML. The process is simple and only takes a few seconds once you get used to it.

Method 1: Right‑click Inspect (fastest for single links)

  1. Open the page that contains the backlink.
  2. Right‑click directly on the link text.
  3. Choose Inspect (or Inspect Element) from the menu.
  4. Your browser’s developer tools will open with the link’s HTML highlighted.

Now look at the <a> tag:

  • If you do not see a rel attribute, the link is treated as a normal dofollow link by default.
  • If you see rel="nofollow" (or a list that includes it, like rel="nofollow ugc" or rel="sponsored nofollow"), then it is a nofollow backlink.
  • Other values like rel="sponsored" or rel="ugc" may also be present. If nofollow is missing, search engines may still treat it as a signal, but technically it is not a classic nofollow link.

Method 2: View Source (good for scanning a few links)

  1. On the page, use your browser menu to open View Page Source (or press a shortcut like Ctrl+U / Cmd+Option+U).
  2. Use the find function (Ctrl+F / Cmd+F) and search for part of the anchor text or the target URL.
  3. Check the <a> tag you find in the source and look again for rel="nofollow" or other rel values.

This manual check is enough when you only need to review a handful of backlinks.

When you need to check many backlinks, doing it by hand becomes slow. This is where SEO tools and browser extensions help by automatically labeling links as dofollow or nofollow.

Most backlink analysis platforms let you:

  • Import or crawl a domain.
  • See a list of inbound links with a link type column.
  • Filter by follow / nofollow / sponsored / UGC.

This makes it easy to spot patterns, such as a site sending you only nofollow links or a sudden spike in followed links from low‑quality domains.

Browser extensions can highlight link types directly on the page. After installing one, you typically:

  1. Visit any URL.
  2. Click the extension icon or toggle its overlay.
  3. See followed links in one color and nofollow links in another, often with a small label or outline.

These tools are ideal when you are:

  • Auditing a site’s outbound links.
  • Reviewing a guest post or sponsored placement.
  • Quickly checking whether key links in a new article are dofollow or nofollow.

Combining quick manual checks with tool‑based reports gives you both accuracy on individual backlinks and a clear picture of your overall link profile.

A healthy backlink profile is less about hitting a perfect percentage and more about looking natural. Real sites earn a mix of dofollow and nofollow links from many different sources over time. If your backlinks are almost all one type, or come from one narrow tactic, that is what starts to look suspicious.

In general, most established sites naturally end up with a majority of dofollow links, because standard editorial links are dofollow by default. At the same time, it is normal to have a noticeable chunk of nofollow links from comments, social platforms, sponsored placements and user‑generated content. The exact ratio will vary by niche, brand size and marketing activity, so there is no “official” ideal number to chase.

Natural ratios and patterns Google expects to see

Google has said many times that it looks at patterns, not magic percentages. A natural backlink profile usually has:

  • More dofollow than nofollow overall, especially for older, authoritative sites.
  • A visible share of nofollow links from places where links are commonly tagged: social networks, big news sites, forums, directories, widgets and sponsored placements.
  • Variety in anchor text, with branded, URL and generic anchors mixed in, not just keyword‑stuffed phrases.
  • Links from a wide range of domains, page types and content formats.

If you are doing a lot of digital PR, outreach or content marketing, you might see a higher proportion of dofollow links from articles and resources. If you are active on communities and platforms that default to nofollow, your profile may lean more that way. Both can be fine as long as the pattern matches how a real brand would be talked about online.

Instead of targeting a fixed ratio, focus on whether your link profile makes sense for your size, industry and marketing activity. If it would look reasonable to a human reviewer, it is usually fine for search engines too.

Problems start when your dofollow vs nofollow mix clearly reflects manipulation rather than normal behavior. Some warning signs include:

  • Almost 100 percent dofollow links, especially if most come from low‑quality sites or appeared in a short time window. That can look like paid or automated link building.
  • Very few or zero nofollow links for a site that is active on social media, gets press mentions or participates in communities. In the real world, some of those links will be nofollow.
  • Large bursts of new dofollow links with very similar anchor text pointing to the same page. This often signals link schemes or private blog networks.
  • Backlinks from irrelevant or spammy sites where every outbound link is dofollow and clearly commercial.
  • Sitewide dofollow links in footers or sidebars across many unrelated domains, especially if they use exact‑match keyword anchors.
  • A sudden shift in your ratio after starting a new SEO campaign, such as going from a mixed profile to almost all dofollow from questionable sources.

If you notice these patterns in your own backlink data, slow down and adjust your strategy. Aim for links that you would still want even if search engines ignored them: relevant, visible placements that send real people to your site. When you build links that make sense for users, the balance of dofollow and nofollow backlinks tends to take care of itself.

When you think about link building, treat dofollow backlinks as something you earn, not something you buy in bulk. Your safest and most effective dofollow links usually come from:

  • Relevant, editorial mentions in articles
  • Thoughtful guest posts on real sites with real audiences
  • Digital PR, interviews, and expert quotes
  • Resource pages and “best of” lists in your niche

Focus on a few principles:

  1. Relevance first, metrics second. A dofollow link from a smaller, tightly related site is often more valuable than a random link from a huge but off‑topic domain.

  2. Earn links with content that deserves them. Original research, strong how‑to guides, data visualizations, and case studies naturally attract dofollow backlinks because they make other writers’ jobs easier.

  3. Keep anchors natural. Mix branded, URL, and partial‑match anchors. Avoid repeating the same exact‑match keyword across many dofollow links, which can look manipulative.

  4. Avoid obvious link schemes. Large packages of “high DA dofollow links,” private blog networks, and scaled low‑quality guest posts are all patterns Google has warned about. These links are often ignored or can trigger manual actions.

  5. Respect Google’s paid link rules. If money, products, or any compensation changed hands, the link should not pass PageRank. Use rel="sponsored" or at least qualify it so it is not treated as a clean editorial dofollow.

If you build dofollow links with user value, topical fit, and transparency in mind, you can grow authority without putting your site at risk.

Nofollow backlinks are not pointless. Google now treats rel="nofollow", rel="sponsored", and rel="ugc" as hints, which means they are usually discounted for rankings but can still help with discovery, context, and spam detection.

Instead of chasing “pure dofollow only,” use nofollow links strategically:

  • Be active where your audience hangs out. Helpful answers in forums, Q&A sites, and comment sections often carry nofollow links, but they can send targeted referral traffic and build your brand. Many of these areas are correctly marked as rel="ugc" or rel="nofollow ugc".

  • Leverage platforms that default to nofollow. Big communities, directories, and social platforms often nofollow external links to control spam. A mention there can still expose you to journalists, bloggers, and potential customers who later link to you with dofollow from their own sites.

  • Use nofollow for anything borderline. If you are unsure whether a link might look paid, biased, or untrusted, err on the side of rel="nofollow" or rel="sponsored". You still get visibility and clicks without sending the wrong signal to search engines.

  • Skip automated spam. Blasting blog comments, forum profiles, or wiki pages with nofollow links is a waste of time and can damage your reputation with both users and moderators. Modern algorithms are very good at ignoring these patterns.

Think of nofollow links as supporting players: they help people discover you, they diversify your backlink profile, and some may still be used as hints by Google. Combined with a core of strong, relevant dofollow backlinks, they contribute to a safer and more sustainable link building strategy.