What Is Dofollow Links? SEO Glossary

Learn what dofollow links means in SEO, why it matters, and how to use it.

What Is Dofollow Links?

A dofollow link is a standard hyperlink that allows search engine crawlers to follow it and pass link equity (also called "link juice") from the source page to the destination page. By default, every link on the web is dofollow unless explicitly marked otherwise with a rel="nofollow" or other qualifying attribute.

There is no actual rel="dofollow" HTML attribute. This is confirmed by both Google Search Central and the MDN HTML reference, neither of which lists a dofollow keyword. MDN documents only the opposite value, nofollow, which "tells search engine spiders to ignore the link relationship." The term "dofollow" is simply the SEO community's shorthand for a regular link that carries none of the restrictive rel values. When you create a plain anchor tag like <a href="https://example.com">Example</a>, that link is dofollow by default because it has no rel attribute qualifying it.

One important nuance to state plainly. Google's official guidance on the three qualifying values (nofollow, sponsored, and ugc) describes how to mark a link you do not want to endorse, but it does not publish a numeric formula for how much authority a regular dofollow link passes. The exact weighting is not a public spec. What Google does document is the behavior of the qualifying attributes, covered below, so the most authoritative way to understand a dofollow link is as the absence of those attributes.

Why Dofollow Links Matter for SEO

Dofollow links are the backbone of how search engines evaluate authority and relevance across the web. When a reputable website links to your page with a dofollow link, it signals to Google that your content is trustworthy and valuable. This endorsement directly influences your page's ability to rank in search results.

Google's PageRank algorithm, while evolved significantly since its original form, still relies on links as one of its core ranking signals. Each dofollow link acts as a vote of confidence. Pages with more high-quality dofollow links from authoritative sources tend to rank higher than pages with fewer or lower-quality links.

Beyond rankings, dofollow links also help search engines discover and index new pages. Googlebot follows these links during its crawl process, which means a dofollow link from an already-indexed page can help your new content get discovered and indexed faster.

How Dofollow Links Work

When Googlebot encounters a dofollow link on a page, it does two things. First, it follows the link to discover and potentially index the destination page. Second, it passes a portion of the source page's authority to the linked page. The amount of authority transferred depends on factors like the source page's own authority, the number of outbound links on that page, and the contextual relevance of the link.

The link equity flows through the anchor text as well. If a dofollow link uses the anchor text "best project management tools," Google interprets that as a relevance signal, associating the destination page with that topic. This is why anchor text diversity and relevance matter in any link building strategy.

It is worth noting that not all dofollow links carry equal weight. A dofollow link from a high-authority news site within a relevant article carries far more value than a dofollow link from a low-quality directory or an unrelated blog. Context, placement, and source authority all play a role in how much equity a dofollow link transfers.

A dofollow link is best understood by contrast with the links that are qualified. On September 10, 2019, Google introduced two new rel values, sponsored (for ads and paid placements) and ugc (for user-generated content), to sit alongside the existing nofollow. In the same announcement Google changed how all three are treated. They became hints rather than strict directives. The hint model applied to ranking purposes from that 2019 announcement, and Google began treating nofollow as a hint for crawling and indexing purposes from March 1, 2020. A plain dofollow link carries none of these hints, so it is the default link Google is free to follow and to count as an endorsement.

Best Practices for Dofollow Links

Earn dofollow links naturally. The most sustainable approach to building dofollow links is creating content that people genuinely want to reference and link to. Original research, comprehensive guides, and useful tools tend to attract dofollow links organically.

Focus on relevance over volume. Ten dofollow links from websites in your niche are more valuable than one hundred from unrelated sites. Search engines evaluate topical relevance when assessing link quality.

Diversify your anchor text. Having all your dofollow links use the same exact-match keyword as anchor text looks manipulative to Google. A natural link profile includes a mix of branded anchors, generic phrases, naked URLs, and varied keyword anchors.

Aim for editorial placement. Dofollow links placed within the body content of an article carry more weight than links in sidebars, footers, or author bios. Contextual links surrounded by relevant text provide the strongest ranking signals.

Audit your existing dofollow links. Use tools like Ahrefs, Moz, or Semrush to regularly review which sites link to you with dofollow links. Identify your strongest link sources and look for patterns you can replicate.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Buying dofollow links. Google explicitly prohibits the purchase of links that pass PageRank. Websites caught participating in link schemes risk manual penalties that can devastate their search visibility.

Obsessing over dofollow vs. nofollow ratios. A natural backlink profile contains both dofollow and nofollow links. If 100% of your links are dofollow, it can actually look unnatural to search engines.

Ignoring link quality. A dofollow link from a spammy or penalized website can hurt rather than help your rankings. Not all dofollow links are beneficial. Quality always matters more than the follow status alone.

Using manipulative anchor text. Over-optimizing anchor text with exact-match keywords is a well-known spam signal. Google's Penguin algorithm specifically targets this kind of manipulation.

Neglecting internal dofollow links. Your own internal links are dofollow by default, and they play a critical role in distributing authority throughout your site. A solid internal linking strategy amplifies the value of every external dofollow link you earn.

In Practice

The clearest way to see a dofollow link is to put it next to the qualified versions of the same anchor. Suppose a recipe blog links out to an ingredient supplier. Here is the default dofollow link, which passes a first-party endorsement because it has no rel value:

<a href="https://supplier.example/flour">organic bread flour</a>

Now suppose that link is a paid placement. Google's guidance says to qualify it so you are not implying an endorsement Google should count. You add the sponsored value:

<a href="https://supplier.example/flour" rel="sponsored">organic bread flour</a>

If the same URL instead appeared inside a reader comment, the recommended value is ugc, and Google notes that multiple values can be combined, so a sponsored link inside user-generated content is validly written as:

<a href="https://supplier.example/flour" rel="sponsored ugc">organic bread flour</a>

The before-and-after is the whole concept. The first tag is dofollow. The moment you add any of nofollow, sponsored, or ugc to the rel attribute, it stops being a dofollow link. There is nothing to add to make a link dofollow, since that is the state of every <a> tag that has not been qualified.

What Is Nofollow? The qualified counterpart to a dofollow link, now treated by Google as a hint.
What Are Sponsored Links? The rel="sponsored" value for ads and paid placements.
What Is Link Equity? The authority that a dofollow link passes from one page to another.
What Are Backlinks? Inbound links to your site, where the dofollow versus qualified distinction matters most.
What Is Anchor Text? The clickable text whose relevance signal travels along a dofollow link.

Conclusion

Dofollow links remain one of the most important ranking factors in SEO. They pass authority between pages, help search engines discover content, and signal trust and relevance. The key to a healthy dofollow link strategy is focusing on quality, relevance, and natural acquisition. Rather than chasing every possible dofollow link, invest your effort in earning links from authoritative sources within your niche through content that genuinely deserves to be referenced.