Nofollow link
What is a nofollow link?
A nofollow link is a hyperlink with `rel="nofollow"` in its HTML. It tells search engines that the site does not want to vouch for the linked page or pass ranking credit to it. Google introduced nofollow in 2005 to fight blog comment spam.
In September 2019 Google changed how it treats nofollow. It became a hint rather than a directive, meaning Google may still use the link for ranking or discovery if it chooses, and since March 2020 that hint also applies to crawling and indexing. At the same time Google added two more specific values, rel="sponsored" for paid links and rel="ugc" for user-generated content. Nofollow still works for both.
This page is about nofollow on individual links. A page-level `nofollow` in the meta robots tag applies to every link on the page; see nofollow for the directive itself.
Why nofollow link matters for SEO
Nofollow is how you link to something without endorsing it, and it is how you stay inside Google’s rules when a link is paid or untrusted. Many large sites, such as Wikipedia and most social networks, nofollow all outbound links by default.
Nofollow backlinks can still be worth having. They send visitors, put your brand in front of new readers and can lead to followed links from people who discover you. A natural link profile contains plenty of them.
When to use nofollow
- Use `rel="sponsored"` (or nofollow) on any link you were paid for or given something in exchange for, including affiliate links.
- Use `rel="ugc"` (or nofollow) on links in comments, forum posts and other content your users add.
- Use nofollow when you need to link to a page but do not want to vouch for it, for example a source you are criticising.
- Do not nofollow your own internal links to “sculpt” PageRank. It does not save link equity and it can stop Google crawling those pages.
Nofollow link example
<a href="https://example.com/" rel="nofollow">Example</a>
<!-- Values can be combined -->
<a href="https://shop.example.com/product" rel="sponsored nofollow">Product</a>Nofollow link FAQ
Do nofollow links help SEO?
Not directly in the way followed links do, but since 2019 Google may use them as a hint. They also bring traffic and visibility that can lead to followed links.
Does Google follow nofollow links?
It can. Since March 2020 nofollow is a hint for crawling and indexing too, so Google may crawl a nofollowed URL. Use noindex or robots.txt if you need to keep a page out of search.
Related SEO terms
Nofollow is a link attribute or meta directive asking search engines not to follow or credit links. Google treats it as a hint.
A dofollow link is a normal link with no rel="nofollow", "sponsored" or "ugc" value, so it can pass ranking credit to the page it points to.
rel="sponsored" is a link attribute that marks a link as paid, sponsored or an affiliate link, so it does not pass ranking credit.
rel="ugc" is a link attribute for links inside user-generated content, such as comments and forum posts, signalling the site does not vouch for them.
Paid linksBlack hat
Paid links are links bought to pass ranking credit, without rel="sponsored" or nofollow, which breaks Google’s link spam policy.
Comment spamBlack hat
Comment spam is posting links in blog comments, forums or profiles to gain backlinks, which breaks Google’s link spam and user-generated spam policies.