nofollow

nofollow explained

Nofollow is a value for a link's rel attribute: rel="nofollow". It tells search engines you don't want to vouch for the linked page or pass ranking credit to it. Since 2019 Google has treated nofollow as a hint rather than a strict rule, and added two more specific values, "sponsored" and "ugc". Its guide to qualifying outbound links explains when to use each.

How it affects trust

If you're paid, sponsored or given something in return for a link, Google expects it to be marked, usually with rel="sponsored". Leaving paid links unmarked can count as a link scheme. Nofollow also has a place for links you don't want to endorse, such as in comments.

Risky habits

• Nofollowing all your internal links, which only makes your own site harder to crawl.
• Leaving paid or affiliate links unmarked.
• Assuming nofollow links are worthless. They can still send visitors.
• Adding nofollow to links to trusted sources you cite. Linking to good sources is fine.

A realistic example

A café is featured in a paid "best brunch spots" advertorial on a local lifestyle site. The site marks the link as sponsored. That's correct. The feature can still bring customers, and nobody is breaking Google's rules.

How to review yours

To see how a link on your own site is marked, right-click it, choose "Inspect" and look at the code. You'll see rel="nofollow", rel="sponsored" or nothing. For links pointing to you, browser extensions can highlight nofollow links. Don't worry if many of your incoming links are nofollow. That's normal on social and forum sites.

Related link terms

• Sponsored link: A rel value marking paid or sponsored links.
• UGC link: Rel=ugc marks user-generated content links.
• Backlink: A link from another website to yours; a classic off-page signal.