The difference between dofollow and nofollow links is one of the most frequently asked questions in SEO. Both are types of hyperlinks. However, they communicate different instructions to Google about whether ranking authority should pass through them. Understanding this difference is fundamental to building an effective backlink profile and evaluating the true value of your link building efforts.
What Is a Dofollow Link
A dofollow link is the default state of any hyperlink. When you create a standard HTML link — <a href=”https://example.com”>anchor text</a> — it is dofollow by default. No special attribute is needed to make a link dofollow.
Dofollow links tell Google to follow the link, crawl the destination, and pass PageRank — the ranking authority commonly called link juice — from the linking page to the linked page. When you earn a dofollow link from an authoritative website, it passes genuine ranking power to your page. This is why dofollow links from high-authority sources are the primary target of most link building campaigns.
What Is a Nofollow Link
A nofollow link includes a rel=”nofollow” attribute in its HTML code — <a href=”https://example.com” rel=”nofollow”>anchor text</a>. This attribute was introduced by Google in 2005 as a way for website owners to link to pages without endorsing them or passing PageRank.
Originally, nofollow was created to combat comment spam. If blog comments could pass PageRank, spammers had a strong incentive to flood comment sections with keyword-rich links. By making comment links nofollow by default, the incentive for spam diminished significantly.
The traditional understanding was that nofollow links pass zero PageRank. In 2019, Google updated its nofollow guidance. The new stance treats nofollow as a hint rather than a directive — Google may choose to crawl and follow a nofollow link and may pass some PageRank through it depending on context. However, nofollow links still pass significantly less authority than dofollow links in practice.
The Additional Link Attributes: Sponsored and UGC
In 2019, alongside the nofollow update, Google introduced two new link attribute values.
rel=”sponsored” is intended for paid links — advertisements, sponsored content, and affiliate links. Using sponsored on paid placements is the compliant way to disclose commercial relationships while maintaining Google’s understanding of the link’s nature.
rel=”ugc” is intended for user-generated content — links in comments, forum posts, and community contributions. Like nofollow, it signals to Google that the link represents user submission rather than editorial endorsement.
All three attributes can be combined — rel=”nofollow sponsored” is valid. Furthermore, multiple values work together to communicate the precise nature of each link clearly.
How to Identify Dofollow vs Nofollow Links
You cannot visually distinguish dofollow from nofollow links just by looking at a page. Both appear identical to visitors. Identification requires inspecting the link’s HTML code.
The easiest method is using your browser’s inspector tool. Right-click any link, select “Inspect” or “Inspect Element,” and look at the HTML for the link tag. If you see rel=”nofollow,” it’s a nofollow link. If there’s no rel attribute on the link tag, it’s dofollow by default.
Browser extensions make this even easier. MozBar, Ahrefs SEO Toolbar, and the free Link Redirect Trace extension highlight dofollow and nofollow links automatically on any page you visit, using colour coding to distinguish them instantly.
SEO tools like Ahrefs and Semrush label each backlink in your profile as dofollow or nofollow in their reports, making bulk analysis of your link profile straightforward.
Dofollow links actively pass the digital equity that boosts your Google rankings, while nofollow links act as a signpost that says 'look, but don't pass trust.'
Does the Nofollow Link Have Any SEO Value
This is the most debated question in link attribute discussions. The answer is nuanced.
Nofollow links pass less PageRank than dofollow links — in many cases, significantly less. However, they are not entirely without value.
First, a nofollow link from a high-traffic, high-authority page still drives real referral traffic. If a Wikipedia article links to your site with nofollow — as Wikipedia does for all external links — the traffic from that link can be significant. That traffic is real visitors, not a ranking signal, but real visitors have genuine business value.
Second, nofollow links contribute to a natural-looking backlink profile. A link profile consisting entirely of dofollow links looks suspicious — natural editorial linking produces a mix. Google is aware of this, and an unnaturally dofollow-heavy profile can be a manipulation signal.
Third, Google’s 2019 update acknowledged that nofollow links may be followed and may pass some PageRank as a hint. While you shouldn’t rely on nofollow links for authority building, they’re not entirely worthless from a crawling and indexing perspective.
What a Natural Link Profile Looks Like
A healthy, natural backlink profile contains a mix of dofollow and nofollow links. The exact ratio varies by industry and site type, but most natural link profiles lean toward 60 to 80% dofollow with a meaningful proportion of nofollow from sources like Wikipedia, social platforms, news sites, and forum mentions.
A profile that is 100% dofollow raises manipulation flags — it suggests that links were actively placed rather than earned organically, since genuinely editorial linking across the web naturally produces nofollow links from many sources. As part of any white hat SEO strategy, building a naturally mixed link profile is preferable to chasing exclusively dofollow links.
How to Build More Dofollow Links
Since dofollow links pass the most ranking authority, they are the primary focus of serious link building efforts.
Guest posting on editorial publications in your industry typically produces dofollow links within the author bio or content body. Focus on sites with genuine traffic and editorial standards rather than content farms that accept any submission.
Digital PR and media coverage earns editorial dofollow links from journalists who cover your business, data, or expertise. A strong story or original research pitched to relevant journalists produces some of the highest-authority dofollow links available.
Creating linkable assets — tools, calculators, original research, comprehensive guides — attracts organic dofollow links when other content creators reference your work. This is the most scalable dofollow link acquisition strategy over the long term.
Partner and integration listings often produce dofollow links from complementary business websites. These are contextually relevant links from sites in your industry that carry both authority and topical relevance.
For businesses building authority in specific markets, earning dofollow links from local and industry sources is the foundation of both domain authority and Google Map Pack rankings — both of which depend on the quality of your external link profile.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Should I disavow nofollow links from spammy sites?
Generally, nofollow links from spammy sites don’t require disavowal because they pass minimal or no PageRank. However, if a nofollow link exists alongside many dofollow links from the same spammy domain, addressing the full toxic link cluster makes sense. For isolated nofollow links from unrelated low-quality sources, disavowal is usually unnecessary.
- Do social media links count as nofollow?
Yes. Most major social media platforms — Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram — apply nofollow to outbound links. Pinterest applies nofollow to most links. YouTube applies nofollow to video description links. Social media links therefore pass minimal direct PageRank but drive referral traffic and contribute to a natural-looking profile.
- Can I request that a nofollow link be changed to dofollow?
You can ask, but the decision is entirely at the linking site’s discretion. Many high-authority sites apply nofollow to all external links as policy — Wikipedia and most major news organisations do this. Asking them to change the attribute to dofollow is generally not productive. Focus your link acquisition efforts on sites that naturally apply dofollow to editorial links instead.
- Does a nofollow link from a very high-authority site beat a dofollow link from a low-authority site?
In terms of direct PageRank transfer, a dofollow link from even a moderate-authority site typically passes more juice than a nofollow from a very high-authority site. However, the referral traffic value from the high-authority nofollow link may be more valuable for your business. Each link type serves a different purpose.
- Are internal nofollow links ever useful?
Rarely. PageRank sculpting through internal nofollow links is no longer an effective strategy — Google’s current approach dissipates rather than redistributes juice from nofollowed internal links. For internal links, dofollow is almost always preferable. The only case for internal nofollow is on links to pages you genuinely don’t want crawled or associated with your core content, such as login or admin pages.
- How do I check my overall dofollow to nofollow ratio?
Ahrefs and Semrush both show dofollow and nofollow split in their backlink reports. In Ahrefs, filter your backlinks by “Dofollow” and “Nofollow” in the Backlinks report to see the ratio. An overall profile heavily weighted toward one type — particularly 95%+ dofollow — warrants further analysis to ensure the profile looks naturally earned.
