What Is Nofollow Links? SEO Glossary

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

What Is Nofollow Links?

A nofollow link is a hyperlink that includes the rel="nofollow" attribute in its HTML code. This attribute tells search engines not to pass link equity (also known as "link juice") from the source page to the linked page. The nofollow value was introduced in 2005 as a joint effort by Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft to combat comment spam and identify links that should not be treated as editorial endorsements. Per the MDN Web Docs reference, rel="nofollow" is an annotation-type relationship valid on the <a>, <area>, and <form> elements, and it signals that the current document's owner does not endorse the referenced document.

A nofollow link looks like this in HTML: <a href="https://example.com" rel="nofollow">Example</a>. The visible appearance to users is identical to any other link. The difference is entirely in how search engines process it.

Why Nofollow Links Matter for SEO

Nofollow links play an essential role in maintaining a healthy web ecosystem and a natural backlink profile. While they do not pass link equity in the traditional sense, they still carry significant value for several reasons.

First, Google announced on September 10, 2019 that it treats the nofollow attribute as a "hint" rather than a directive. As of that announcement nofollow became a hint for ranking purposes, and as of March 1, 2020 it also became a hint for crawling and indexing. This means Google may choose to consider nofollow links for ranking purposes if it deems them relevant and trustworthy. This was a major shift from the original binary treatment where nofollow links were completely ignored for ranking.

Second, nofollow links still drive referral traffic. A nofollow link from a high-traffic website like Reddit, Wikipedia, or a major news outlet can send thousands of visitors to your site. That traffic can lead to conversions, brand awareness, and indirect SEO benefits through increased engagement signals.

Third, a natural backlink profile contains a mix of dofollow and nofollow links. If all of your backlinks are dofollow, it looks suspicious to search engines. Nofollow links from diverse sources add authenticity to your link profile.

How Nofollow Links Work

When a search engine crawler encounters a nofollow link, it acknowledges the link exists but historically did not follow it to the destination page or pass ranking credit. Since the 2019 update, Google processes nofollow as a hint, meaning it might crawl the linked page and consider the link for ranking signals at its discretion.

Google also introduced two additional rel values alongside this change. The rel="sponsored" value marks paid links and advertisements, and Google now prefers it over nofollow for those links. The rel="ugc" value marks user-generated content like comments and forum posts. Google's own guidance states that links carrying any of these three values "will generally not be followed," but it adds that the linked pages may still be found through other means such as sitemaps or links from other sites. These values give search engines more granular signals about the nature of a link.

Website platforms often apply nofollow automatically in certain areas. WordPress, for instance, adds nofollow to all comment links by default. Social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn nofollow all outbound links. Most forum and community platforms do the same.

Best Practices for Nofollow Links

Use nofollow on paid and sponsored links. If you accept payment for a link, whether through a sponsored post, affiliate program, or advertising, that link must be marked with rel="nofollow" or rel="sponsored". Failing to do so violates Google's guidelines and can result in penalties for both parties.

Apply nofollow to user-generated content. Any link that appears in comments, forum posts, or community contributions should carry a nofollow or ugc attribute. This protects your site from being associated with spam links that users might post.

Do not dismiss nofollow links in your strategy. A nofollow link from an authoritative source like Wikipedia, a major news site, or an industry publication still provides brand exposure, referral traffic, and potential ranking hints. These links are worth pursuing.

Monitor your nofollow ratio. Use backlink analysis tools to track the ratio of dofollow to nofollow links pointing to your site. A natural profile typically contains 20% to 40% nofollow links, though this varies by industry.

Use nofollow for untrusted outbound links. If you link to a website you cannot vouch for, such as a user-suggested resource or a site you have not thoroughly reviewed, applying nofollow is a prudent choice that protects your own site's reputation.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Nofollowing all outbound links. Some webmasters nofollow every external link on their site in an attempt to hoard link equity. This practice, sometimes called "PageRank sculpting," does not work as intended and makes your site look unnatural to search engines.

Ignoring nofollow link opportunities. Dismissing a link opportunity simply because it is nofollow is shortsighted. Many of the most valuable links on the web are nofollow, including links from Wikipedia, social media, and major publications.

Forgetting to nofollow affiliate links. Affiliate links are commercial in nature and must be nofollowed. Google specifically calls out affiliate programs in its link spam guidelines. Use rel="nofollow sponsored" for these links.

Assuming nofollow means zero value. Since Google treats nofollow as a hint, these links may still contribute to your rankings. Combined with the referral traffic and brand visibility they provide, nofollow links are far from worthless.

Not checking platform defaults. Before launching a blog, forum, or community feature on your site, verify that the platform applies nofollow to user-submitted links by default. Many modern CMS platforms handle this automatically, but custom implementations may not.

In Practice

Say you run a recipe blog and a kitchen-appliance brand pays you to write a sponsored review with a link to their store. You also let readers drop links in the comments. Google's guidance maps each case to a specific value.

The paid review link uses the sponsored value, and you can stack nofollow with it for older crawlers:

<a href="https://brand.example/blender" rel="sponsored nofollow">the blender we tested</a>

A link a reader posts in the comments uses the ugc value:

<a href="https://reader-site.example" rel="ugc">reader's site</a>

And an outbound link you simply do not want to vouch for or have Google crawl from your page uses plain nofollow:

<a href="https://unverified.example" rel="nofollow">unverified resource</a>

All three of these are now hints rather than hard directives, so Google may still choose to crawl and consider them. The values are space-separated keywords inside one rel attribute, which is why rel="sponsored nofollow" is valid markup.

What Is Dofollow? explains the default link type that does pass ranking signals.
What Is Link Equity? covers the ranking value that nofollow links historically did not transfer.
What Are Sponsored Links? details the rel="sponsored" value Google now prefers for paid placements.
What Are Backlinks? describes the inbound links whose nofollow and dofollow mix makes up your profile.
What Is Anchor Text? covers the clickable text that sits inside every link, nofollow or otherwise.

Conclusion

Nofollow links are a fundamental part of SEO that every website owner needs to understand. While they do not pass link equity in the same direct way as dofollow links, they contribute to a natural backlink profile, drive referral traffic, and may still influence rankings under Google's hint-based system. Using nofollow appropriately on paid, sponsored, and user-generated links keeps your site compliant with search engine guidelines, while earning nofollow links from authoritative sources remains a valuable part of any link building strategy.