There are several factors involved in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), which determines how well a website ranks in search engines such as Google or Bing.

Quality content, keywords, page speed, metadata, and overall site structure are just part of this process. Search engines have more ranking factors than we can keep track of, which is why it is important to make sure you are at the top of your game with the main factors.

This includes backlinks from authoritative sources. Backlinks are hyperlinks from another source that redirects to your website, essentially allowing you to “piggyback” off of the original source’s credibility, trustworthiness, and authority.

It has been proven that backlinks, specifically those from a high-quality source, can give your website a big boost in rankings. The question is, do nofollow backlinks even impact your website’s SEO?

The short answer is yes. It is important to have a mix of dofollow and nofollow links pointing to your site. This makes your backlink profile look much more natural to search engines, allowing them to trust your website more.

In this guide, you will learn:

What are Nofollow Backlinks?

Nofollow backlinks, simply put, are HTML ref tags that contain the attribute rel=”nofollow.”

A basic example of this, when used on a page, will look like this:

So, what does this attribute do?

Tagging a hyperlink with the “nofollow” attribute instructs search engines that this link should not be used to compute the rank of the site it refers to.

While other values can be set for the rel attribute, such as “sponsored” or “UGC,” the default setting is blank. This default setting is considered for SEO ranking and is called ” do follow” links.

The main purpose of a nofollow backlink is to include a link that references a source or another site without officially endorsing the said site or vouching for the authority of the content within the page you are referencing.

Why Were Nofollow Backlinks Created?

The main purpose of nofollow backlinks was to combat pages filled with spammy links that were intended to manipulate SEO algorithms.

This lack of ethical link-building practices was prevalent in the mid-2000s, especially in forums and blogs, where people sought to ride on the coattails of more reputable sites SEO-wise, commonly known as “link juice.”

To prevent this, Google introduced nofollow backlinks, followed by ” UGC” and “sponsored” backlinks, to determine the nature of these links.

Backlinks tagged as UGC will be classified as user-generated content, while those tagged as “sponsored” are classified as paid links, sponsorships, or partnerships.

A healthy combination of these links in a page, although the exact proportions are unknown, is highly recommended. On the other hand, misuse and improper tagging of backlinks, especially for low-quality pages, are penalized and will cause the opposite effect on your SEO rankings.

This strategy prevents SEO managers from simply filling pages upon pages with links and forcing them to analyze the nature of these links and analyze placement and relevancy at the risk of being penalized.

Do Nofollow Backlinks Matter for SEO?

Different sources will have different answers to this question. The official answer, however, is no.

This is because nofollow backlinks do not pass PageRank, which means that they do not directly impact SEO rankings.

Some experiments, though, have shown that having nofollow backlinks directed toward your site has an impact, although not as much as dofollow backlinks. In fact, Google has stated that they do not generally follow these types of links, which shows that it is not as simple as black and white.

Google has also announced that nofollow backlinks are more of hints than directives, which means that, while they do not hold the same impact as do follow backlinks do, they can affect how search engines compute for rank, especially if these backlinks are from reputable and trustworthy sources.

As such, while nofollow backlinks do not directly impact SEO due to link juice, they do have several indirect benefits that can impact your rank.

What are the Indirect Benefits of Nofollow Backlinks?

Nofollow backlinks have indirect benefits that can help your page rank higher.

Chief among these is the potential increase in web traffic due to referrals, especially if these backlinks are coming from a reputable site.

More backlinks, especially from sites such as Quora or Reddit and social media platforms, can drive traffic to your site. This can have a direct impact on your rankings, as more visitors can have very positive effects.

Another indirect impact of nofollow backlinks is the impact of your backlinks on your reputability and credibility.

For example, nofollow backlinks to authoritative sites like the New York Times or CNN can give your site the image of being accurately written and well-researched, improving your image to your audience.

When Should You Use Nofollow Backlinks?

As you can see, nofollow backlinks still have an impact when it comes to SEO, albeit indirectly. When used properly, these types of backlinks can still help you improve your SEO rankings.

Experts recommend a dofollow to nofollow backlink ratio of 70:30 or 60:40. This, however, has no official endorsement from Google and should be taken with a grain of salt.

Still, this is a very good strategy for creating a more natural link profile. It also helps make your site look less spammy or like a jungle of irrelevant links.

It is also highly important to link only to trustworthy sources to further build your credibility and avoid penalization. Likewise, focus more on the quality of your links than on the quantity.

When it comes to backlinking, less is often more. This holds true even for nofollow backlinks, especially as poor or excessive backlinking is penalized rather than rewarded.

Social media platforms, forums, and blogs are also important tools for building nofollow backlinks.

One of the good things about this type of backlink is that it helps you build traffic without being penalized. However, it can still indirectly impact you, especially your brand reputation, as spammy sites are always viewed negatively.

As such, only insert your backlinks if they are relevant and valuable to the viewers.

What Sites Use Nofollow Backlinks?

Several sites, mainly forums and social media platforms, automatically tag links with the “nofollow” attribute. These include Reddit, Wikipedia, Quora, X (formerly known as Twitter), and more.

Still, wisely using nofollow backlinks on these sites can definitely help increase your website traffic and improve your brand recognition and relevance, which will, in turn, directly impact your SEO rankings.

How to Create Nofollow Backlinks?

Creating nofollow backlinks is very easy. When posting on social media platforms or sites like Reddit, links will automatically be tagged as “nofollow” or “UGC.”

This will inform search engines not to pass link authority but will rather have the main purpose of exposing your site to the public, whether in a positive or negative manner.

When creating your own content, you can use plugins to help you tag your backlinks as nofollow. If you are using WordPress to develop your site, an example is the “External Links” plugin.

You can also opt to do this manually. Access the HTML file and manually add the rel=”nofollow” attribute to the href tag that you want to tag as nofollow.

Alternatively, depending on the actual nature of your link, you may also use the rel attribute values “UGC” or “sponsored.”

Again, make sure to use backlinks, whether dofollow or nofollow, sparingly and responsibly so as to avoid penalties from search engines.

Conclusion

While it is unclear exactly how nofollow backlinks impact SEO rankings, it is certain that they can affect rank as a result of proper usage and implementation.

It is also important to dismiss the notion that nofollow backlinks are less important than dofollow ones. While dofollow backlinks have a bigger impact due to their link juice-passing capabilities, nofollow backlinks still play an integral part in enhancing your site’s natural link profile as well as your reputation. If you can responsibly use nofollow backlinks, Google will definitely reward you for your efforts.

If you found this guide useful, consider sharing it with a friend or reading one of our related articles: What is Product-led SEO

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