User-generated content
What is user-generated content?
User-generated content (UGC) is content created by a website’s users or customers rather than by the site itself, such as product reviews, comments, forum threads, Q&A answers, photos and community posts. Reddit, Quora, Stack Overflow and review sites are built almost entirely on it.
Search engines treat UGC like any other content: helpful discussions can rank well, and spammy or low-quality UGC can hurt how a site is seen. Google asks sites to mark links in user content with rel="ugc" (introduced in 2019) or nofollow, and to take reasonable steps to prevent spam.
Why user-generated content matters for SEO
UGC adds real experience and fresh, long-tail language that site owners would never write. Product reviews, for example, answer questions buyers actually have. Forums and discussions are prominent in Google results and are often cited in AI answers.
It also brings risk. Unmoderated comment sections and forums attract comment spam, and spammy UGC can lead to a manual action for user-generated spam. The site owner is responsible for what is published.
UGC is also a source of brand mentions and content ideas. The questions customers ask in reviews and forums are often the same ones people type into search engines, and recurring themes are good candidates for an FAQ or a full guide.
How to manage user-generated content for SEO
- Moderate: use spam filters, approve first posts and remove spam quickly.
- Add rel="ugc" or rel="nofollow" to links in user content.
- Noindex low-value UGC pages, such as empty profiles or threads with no answers.
- Show reviews and answers as real HTML text on the page so they can be crawled.
- Only mark up reviews with structured data where they meet Google’s review snippet guidelines.
User-generated content example
<a href="https://example.com/" rel="ugc nofollow">a link a user posted</a>User-generated content FAQ
Is user-generated content good for SEO?
Moderated, helpful UGC can be: it adds fresh, relevant content and real experience. Unmoderated spam can harm a site.
Should links in comments be nofollow?
Yes. Google recommends rel="ugc" or rel="nofollow" on links in user-generated content.
Related SEO terms
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.
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.
Online reviews are customer ratings and comments on platforms such as Google, Yelp and Trustpilot. They shape local rankings and buying decisions.
A nofollow link carries rel="nofollow", asking search engines not to pass ranking credit. Since 2019 Google treats it as a hint, not a rule.
Brand mentions are references to your brand name on other websites or in AI answers, with or without a link to your site.