Nofollow link
A nofollow link is a hyperlink carrying the rel="nofollow" attribute, which tells search engines not to pass ranking credit through it and, in most cases, to treat it as a weaker crawl signal than a normal link.
What is a nofollow link?
Introduced by Google in 2005 to fight comment spam, the rel="nofollow" attribute is a hint added to an <a> tag that tells search engines the site owner is not vouching for the linked page. Historically this meant the link passed no "link juice" (ranking authority) at all. Since 2019, Google treats nofollow as one signal among several rather than a strict block, but a nofollow link still passes materially less authority than a normal, followed link.
Syntax
The attribute sits directly on the anchor tag:
<a href="https://example.com" rel="nofollow">partner site</a>
Multiple rel values can be combined, for example rel="nofollow noopener" when a link also opens in a new tab.
The nofollow family of attributes
- rel="nofollow": general-purpose, use when a link is untrusted, unpaid, or not editorially endorsed.
- rel="sponsored": marks paid or advertising links, including affiliate links.
- rel="ugc": marks links inside user-generated content, such as blog comments or forum posts.
- rel="follow" (default, rarely written explicitly): the absence of any nofollow-family value; the link passes full authority.
Dofollow vs nofollow links
| Aspect | Dofollow link (default) | Nofollow link |
|---|---|---|
| Passes ranking authority | Yes, full link equity | Little to no direct authority |
| Typical use | Editorial recommendation to a trusted source | Paid link, UGC, untrusted source |
| HTML | <a href="..."> (no rel needed) | <a href="..." rel="nofollow"> |
| Crawled by Google | Usually | Treated as a hint, may still be crawled |
When to use a nofollow link
Nofollow (or a more specific sponsored/ugc value) belongs on paid placements and affiliate links to stay compliant with Google's link schemes guidelines, on links inside comments or forum posts that any visitor can submit, and on links to untrusted or low-quality external sites cited for reference rather than endorsement. Internal links and genuine editorial recommendations to quality external sources should stay followed.
Impact on SEO and link equity
A nofollow backlink pointing to your site rarely boosts rankings the way a followed one does, but it can still drive referral traffic, brand visibility, and, per Google's own guidance, occasionally factor into its systems as a general quality signal. On outbound links, overusing nofollow across an entire site (a "PageRank sculpting" tactic popular in the late 2000s) no longer meaningfully redistributes internal link equity and is not recommended.
Nofollow links at BeBranded
We audit outbound and inbound link profiles, including nofollow usage, as part of every SEO & GEO engagement, to make sure paid and user-generated links are properly tagged without over-restricting genuine link equity.
FAQ
What does rel="nofollow" do?
Is a nofollow link still crawled by Google?
When should I use rel="sponsored" instead of rel="nofollow"?
Do nofollow backlinks help SEO at all?
Should internal links be nofollow?
What is the difference between nofollow and noindex?
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