UGC link

UGC link explained

A UGC link is a link marked with rel="ugc", which stands for user-generated content. It's for links in places where visitors post content, such as blog comments, forum posts and reviews. Google introduced the value in 2019 alongside "sponsored". It tells search engines you didn't choose to endorse those links.

How it affects trust

If your site has comments, a forum or a reviews section, spammers will try to post links. Marking user links as ugc, moderating content and blocking obvious spam protects your site's reputation. Google's guidance on user-generated spam covers practical steps.

Unmoderated user content can also attract hacked or spammy pages that sit on your domain under your name. Google's site reputation abuse and spam policies mean those pages can affect how your site is seen, so moderation matters.

Risky habits

• Leaving comment sections unmoderated.
• Removing ugc or nofollow from user links.
• Allowing anonymous users to create profile pages full of links.
• Forgetting old pages where comments are still open.

A realistic example

A cycling shop's blog allows comments. Within months, old posts are full of comments linking to betting and pharmacy sites. The shop turns on moderation, marks comment links as ugc and removes the spam. Its blog posts become useful again.

How to review yours

Look at any area of your site where visitors can post. Inspect a link in a comment or review to see its rel attribute. Most modern platforms add ugc or nofollow automatically, but older themes may not. Check whether spam is appearing and whether moderation is switched on.

Related link terms

• nofollow: A link attribute hinting the link should not pass ranking credit in the usual way.
• Sponsored link: A rel value marking paid or sponsored links.
• Link building: Earning or acquiring backlinks: quality and relevance matter.