What Is a Nofollow Link
In the global online marketplace, website links are a valuable commodity. Not only do they drive traffic and help build brand awareness, but they also play an important role in the search engine optimization (SEO) of a website.
Nofollow is a link attribute used on links to prevent search engines from following the link. Nofollow was introduced in 2005 as a way for web admins to indicate to search engines that they did not want PageRank or other authority transferred to the link’s target. This link is often used on paid or sponsored links and links in comments and forum posts. Below we will inform you more about nofollow links.
Why Would You Use a Nofollow Link?
There are a few reasons why you might want to use a nofollow link:
To prevent PageRank from being passed on to a target site:
As mentioned earlier, nofollow was created as a way for webmasters to tell search engines that they didn’t want any PageRank or other authority transferred to the target of the link. This is often used on paid or sponsored links and links in comments and forum posts.
To avoid giving away too much link juice:
When a site has a lot of links pointing to it, the search engines can assume that the site is more authoritative. This is known as “link juice.” By using nofollow on some of your links, you can spread the authority among your other links.
To protect against link spam:
In the past, people would try to scam webmasters by leaving links to their sites in comments and forum posts. By using nofollow, you can protect yourself from these types of attacks.
To encourage social media sharing:
When you share a link on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, the site will automatically add a rel=“nofollow” attribute to the link. This tells the search engines not to follow the link and pass any authority on to the target site.
To improve click-through rates:
Sometimes, you might want to include a nofollow link in your content to encourage people to click through to the target site.
When Should You Use Nofollow?
There are a few instances when you might want to use the nofollow attribute on your links:
1. When you’re linking to a site that you don’t trust or don’t want to pass authority on, This could be a link to a spammy site or a site that you don’t think is reputable.
2. When you’re linking to a site that you don’t want to get any traffic from, Maybe you’re running a contest, and you only want people to enter by clicking through on a banner ad. In this case, you would use a nofollow link on the banner ad.
3. When you’re linking to a site that you don’t want to rank in the search engines: Maybe you have a sister site that you don’t want to rank in the search engines because it’s competing with your main site. In this case, you would use a nofollow link on the sister site’s links.
4. When you’re linking to an affiliate link. Affiliate links are when you promote someone else’s product and earn a commission on the sale. Since you don’t own the product, you don’t want to pass any authority on to the target site.
5. When you’re linking to a site that you don’t want to appear in the search engine results. Maybe you have a press release on your site, and you don’t want it to show up in the search engine results. In this case, you would use a nofollow link on the press release.
6. When you’re linking to a site that you don’t want to track; When you’re using Google Analytics, you can track how many people are clicking through on your links. However, sometimes you might not want to track a particular link. In this case, you would use a nofollow link.
Are Nofollow Links Bad?
Some people believe that nofollow links are bad because they don’t pass any authority to the target site. However, this isn’t always the case. In some instances, using a nofollow link can benefit both the site owner and the target site.
For example, let’s say you’re running a contest and want people to enter by clicking on a banner ad. You would use a nofollow link on the banner ad because you don’t want the site to rank in the search engines.
This way, you can track how many people are clicking through on the banner ad without affecting the site’s ranking.
On the other hand, if you’re running a PPC campaign and want to track the results, you would use the following link on the banner ad. This way, the site will get all of the authority from the link, and you’ll be able to track how many people are clicking through.
What Does a Nofollow Link Look Like?
Here’s an example of a nofollow link:
The rel=“nofollow” attribute is added to the link, and it looks like this:
<a href=”http://www.google.com” rel=”nofollow”>Google</a>
The search engines will ignore the link, and the target site won’t get any authority from the link.
Should I Nofollow All External Links?
No, you shouldn’t nofollow all of your external links. You should only use the nofollow attribute on links you don’t want to pass authority on to the target site.
For example, you might want to use a nofollow link on a spammy site or a site that you don’t think is reputable. You can also use a nofollow link on affiliate links or links you don’t want to track.
However, you should always use a follow link on your own site’s links. This way, you’ll be able to pass on the authority to the target site, and you’ll be able to track the results.
Does Google Crawl Nofollow Links?
Nofollow is a link attribute applied to any link to instruct search engines not to follow the link. When a search engine crawls a page with the nofollow attribute applied, it will not crawl any of the links on that page.
This is useful for preventing search engines from crawling links to pages that you don’t want them to index, such as pages with spammy links.
Google does not generally crawl nofollow links, but there are some exceptions. For example, if a nofollow link is included in a sitemap, Google will crawl it.
Additionally, if a page has a large number of nofollow links, Google may choose to crawl some of them.
So, while nofollow links generally won’t help you rank in Google, they can still be useful for preventing search engines from indexing unwanted pages.
And if you’re looking to increase your website’s crawlability, it’s a good idea to include a healthy mix of both followed and nofollow links.
When it comes to SEO, nofollow links can be a bit of a mystery. Some people believe that nofollow links don’t impact your website’s Google ranking, while others claim they can still help you rank. And then there are the folks who say that nofollow links are useless altogether.
So, what’s the truth?
Well, unfortunately, no one answer fits all. The truth is that nofollow links can have various effects on your website’s Google ranking, depending on various factors.
For example, if you have a lot of high-quality nofollow links pointing to your website, they may help you rank in Google. But if most of your links are nofollow, it’s unlikely that they will have a significant impact.
Likewise, if you’re using nofollow links as a way to control how much link juice your website is passing on, they may be effective. But if you’re only using them because you don’t want people to link to your website, they won’t do much good.
What is the Difference Between Followed and Nofollow Links?
Followed links are links that search engines will crawl and index, while nofollow links are links that search engines will not crawl or index. Followed links pass along some of the website’s link juice to the destination page, while nofollow links do not.
So, if you’re looking for a way to get more traffic from search engines, you should focus on creating followed links. But if you’re looking for a way to prevent your website from being penalized by Google, nofollow links can be a good solution.
In general, nofollow links aren’t as valuable as followed links, but they still have some SEO value. And if you’re looking to increase your website’s crawlability, it’s a good idea to include a healthy mix of both types of links.
In the world of SEO, both followed, and nofollow links hold a lot of value. Followed links are the bread and butter of any successful SEO strategy, while nofollow links can be used to help you avoid penalties from Google.
How Do You Use Nofollow Links Effectively?
Nofollow links are essentially a way to tell Google not to count the link as a vote of confidence for your website. When you have a link on your website that you don’t want to help your SEO, you can use the nofollow attribute to let Google know that you don’t want that link to influence your ranking.
There are a few things to keep in mind when using nofollow links:
1. You should only use nofollow links if you don’t want the link to help your SEO. If you include nofollow on a link that would normally help your ranking, you could hurt your SEO efforts.
2. Nofollow links don’t have to be ugly. You can use them to make your website look more professional and help you stand out from the competition.
3. Nofollow links should still send traffic to your website. Even if Google doesn’t count the link as a vote of confidence, that doesn’t mean that people won’t click on the link. Make sure your nofollow links are still helpful and provide value to your visitors.
4. Nofollow links can help you build relationships with other websites. If you have a link on your website that you don’t want to help your SEO, you can use the nofollow attribute to let Google know that you don’t want that link to influence your ranking.
The Bottom Line:
Nofollow links are not as powerful as followed links, but they still have the potential to help your website rank in Google. Just be sure to use them wisely, and don’t expect them to solve all your SEO problems.
Sources & External Links
Pages that search results are linking to (excluding internal links):
- We Analyzed 11.8 Million Google Search Results. Here’s What We Learned About SEO
- What Is a Nofollow Link? Here’s A Simple Plain English Answer
Google: Nofollow Is Not A Dampening Factor - Search Engine Roundtable
March 31, 2022 - Search Engine RoundtableGoogle: Nofollow Is Not A Dampening Factor Search Engine Roundtable...
Are Nofollow Links a Google Ranking Factor? - Search Engine Journal
January 9, 2022 - Search Engine JournalAre Nofollow Links a Google Ranking Factor? Search Engine Journal...
