Dofollow Link

Dofollow links take the form of a standard backlink that passes ranking value, which is often referred to as link equity, or ‘link juice,’ which is passed from the linking page to the one that it points to.

The name itself can be a little misleading, because there isn’t actually a rel=”dofollow” attribute in HTML; a dofollow link simply represents a normal link without any special instructions attached.

It’s for this reason that it’s the default state of all links from page to page online. The term mostly exists as a contrast to nofollow links, which carry a rel=”nofollow” attribute which tells search engines not to pass value on.

Importance of Dofollow Links

The value that dofollow links is pretty straightforward but remains a core component of all good link building. When another site hands you a dofollow link, it’s effectively passing on an element of its authority to your page, which can provide a boost to your rankings.

The whole mechanism is why backlinks impact your SEO, and it traces back to PageRank, Google’s original method of measuring the importance of pages by the links pointing to it.

In this regard, dofollow links participate directly in the flow of authority, which is why they’re the type that link builders primarily aim to earn.

Contrasts with Nofollow

On the flipside, nofollow links tell search engines that a website is linking to a page but it doesn’t want to vouch for it, and thereby isn’t interested in passing its authority on.

The nofollow links you’ll see flowing to your website were introduced as a way of letting sites link to pages while avoiding sending any kind of endorsements. This was mostly used as a way of preventing comment spam but is now more often used for paid or sponsored links and user-generated content.

Dofollow links from pages tend to be more valuable when it comes to rankings compared to their nofollow counterparts, even if they’re from the same page. This is because dofollow passes ranking signals to pages in a direct way.

Despite this, it doesn’t mean that you should only ever look to add dofollow links to your pages while disregarding your nofollows entirely. The best and most natural backlink profiles contain a healthy mix of both types of links, because real linking will typically produce both.

Having a full backlink profile of dofollow links can look unnatural, this is because genuine websites will always build nofollow links through mentions across social media networks, news sites, and other sources that are nofollow by default.

Beyond the ranking signals that you can earn by keeping things dofollow, nofollow links are still great at increasing your referral traffic and building your brand awareness. They’ll also work wonders in supporting a natural-looking profile.

Google has also confirmed that it now treats nofollow links as a hint rather than a strict directive, so there’s certainly value to be had in earning different types of backlinks.

Practical Tips

The best way to manage your nofollow links is to aim for relevant and high-quality backlinks without obsessing over winning dofollow status with every referring domain.

By all means, make dofollow links from relevant and trusted sources, because those are the ones that offer more direct value, but make sure you welcome nofollow links that can also flow towards your site.