Dofollow vs Nofollow

Dofollow links pass link equity and influence search rankings. Nofollow links do not pass equity and are used for untrusted or paid content, though they may still drive traffic.

Definition

The rel="nofollow" attribute tells search engines: 'I cannot vouch for this link. Do not pass authority through it.' Google introduced nofollow in 2005 to combat comment spam. In 2019, Google added rel="sponsored" (for paid links) and rel="ugc" (for user-generated content) as more specific alternatives. Dofollow is the default: any link without a nofollow, sponsored, or ugc attribute passes link equity.

The Nofollow Evolution

In 2019, Google announced that nofollow, sponsored, and ugc attributes would be treated as 'hints' rather than strict directives for crawling and indexing. This means Google may still choose to follow or count a nofollow link if it believes doing so serves search quality. The practical takeaway: use the right attribute for the right purpose, but do not assume nofollow is an absolute barrier.

When to Use Each

Use dofollow (no rel attribute) for editorial links you genuinely endorse. Use rel="nofollow" for untrusted content (comments, forum posts). Use rel="sponsored" for paid or sponsored links. Use rel="ugc" for user-generated content. You can combine them: rel="ugc nofollow".

Note

A persistent myth: nofollow links are completely useless for SEO. They are not. Nofollow links can still drive referral traffic, increase brand exposure, and lead to natural dofollow links. A nofollow link from a high-traffic site is still valuable.

In code

<!-- Dofollow (default, no attribute needed) -->
<a href="https://example.com">Great resource</a>

<!-- Nofollow (untrusted content) -->
<a href="https://example.com" rel="nofollow">User comment link</a>

<!-- Sponsored (paid link) -->
<a href="https://example.com" rel="sponsored">Sponsored post</a>

<!-- UGC (user-generated) -->
<a href="https://example.com" rel="ugc">Forum post link</a>

Key takeaways:

• Dofollow passes link equity; nofollow does not (by default)

• Use sponsored, ugc, or nofollow based on the link's nature

• Nofollow is now a hint, not a hard directive