Nofollow link is a hyperlink with an HTML attribute that tells search engines not to pass authority or ranking value.
What Is a Nofollow Link?
A nofollow link is a type of hyperlink that uses the rel="nofollow" attribute in its HTML code. This tag signals to search engines that they should not pass PageRank or authority from the linking page to the destination page.
Originally introduced by Google in 2005, the nofollow attribute helps prevent manipulative link-building practices like spammy blog comments or paid links.
HTML Example:
htmlCopyEdit<a href="https://example.com" rel="nofollow">Visit Example</a>
When to Use Nofollow Links:
- Sponsored or paid links (to comply with Google’s guidelines)
- User-generated content (like blog comments or forum posts)
- Untrusted or unknown sources
- Affiliate links (often nofollowed for safety and transparency)
- To limit link equity flow to non-priority pages (e.g., login, terms pages)
SEO Impact of Nofollow Links:
- Nofollow links don’t pass link juice, but they can still drive referral traffic and brand exposure
- Google now treats nofollow as a hint (since 2019), meaning it may still choose to crawl or index the link
- Balanced link profiles should include both dofollow and nofollow links for a natural backlink profile
Best Practices:
- Use nofollow for links you don’t want to vouch for
- Combine with
rel="sponsored"for paid promotions - Don’t rely solely on nofollow links for SEO benefits
- Monitor your backlink profile to avoid unnatural ratios
