Backlinks are crucial for SEO, but ever wondered why some backlinks have no follow? In 2025, with Google’s evolving algorithm, understanding the difference between dofollow and nofollow backlinks is more important than ever. Not every link passes link juice—some use the rel=”nofollow” attribute to avoid boosting a site’s PageRank. These nofollow backlinks often appear in user-generated content, paid links, or sources with low editorial control. While they don’t directly impact rankings, they still add value to your backlink profile. Knowing when to use nofollow links is now part of smart link building strategies.
What is No Follow Backlink?
A nofollow backlink is a link that tells Google not to count it for ranking. It uses a special tag called rel=”nofollow”. This means the link does not help the other website rank higher. It’s used when the website owner does not want to pass link juice or give full credit.
Many people ask why some backlinks have no follow. The answer is simple: some links are paid, made by users, or not trusted. That’s why people use nofollow backlinks. They help websites stay safe and follow the rules of Google.
Difference Between Dofollow and Nofollow Backlinks
Many people ask, why some backlinks have no follow and some don’t. The answer is: there are two types of backlinks — dofollow and nofollow. Both are used in websites, but they work in different ways for SEO.
Dofollow Backlinks
These are normal links. Google follows them and gives SEO value to the site they point to. They help the other website rank higher on Google.
Dofollow backlinks:
- Pass link juice
- Help with PageRank
- Improve website ranking
- Used in editorial content
- Important for link building strategies
Nofollow Backlinks
These links tell Google not to pass SEO value. They do not help the other site rank higher, but they are still useful.
Nofollow backlinks:
- Do not pass link juice
- Don’t help with PageRank
- Are used in user-generated content, comments, or paid links
- Help websites follow Google’s rules
- Keep your backlink profile natural
🔍 Comparison Table: Dofollow vs Nofollow Backlinks
| Feature | Dofollow Backlink | Nofollow Backlink |
| Passes Link Juice | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Helps in SEO Ranking | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (directly) |
| Used in Editorial Content | ✅ Yes | ❌ Rarely |
| Used for Paid Links | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Helps with PageRank | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Safe for User Content | ❌ Not Always | ✅ Yes |
| Follows Google Guidelines | ✅ Yes (if natural) | ✅ Yes |
How Nofollow Links Impact SEO in 2025
Many people ask, why some backlinks have no follow, and if they help with SEO. The answer has changed over the years. In 2025, nofollow backlinks still don’t pass link juice like dofollow links, but they are more useful than before.
In the past, Google ignored nofollow links completely. But now, Google may treat nofollow links as a hint, not a rule. That means sometimes, Google may follow them and give a little SEO value, depending on where the link comes from.
✅ How Nofollow Backlinks Help SEO in 2025:
- Drive real traffic to your site from blogs, forums, and social media
- Help Google discover new pages on your website
- Make your backlink profile look natural and safe
- Show your site is mentioned on trusted websites
- Build brand awareness and online visibility
- Protect you from Google penalties for spammy or paid links
- Support your SEO strategy by improving your site’s reputation
Even though nofollow backlinks don’t pass full SEO power, they still play a big role in a smart link building strategy. Google wants websites to have a mix of dofollow and nofollow links—this looks more natural and safe.
So in 2025, using nofollow backlinks wisely helps you stay safe, grow traffic, and build trust.
Is There Any SEO Value of Nofollow Backlinks?
Yes, nofollow backlinks do have SEO value, even though they don’t directly improve rankings like dofollow backlinks. Many people wonder why some backlinks have no follow and if they matter for SEO. In 2025, the role of nofollow backlinks has become more important than ever, and they are far from useless.
Here’s how nofollow backlinks still offer value:
✅ SEO Value of Nofollow Backlinks in 2025:
- Referral Traffic: Nofollow links can still send real, targeted traffic to your site. This traffic can lead to higher engagement, more shares, and better chances for conversions.
- Brand Awareness: A link from a reputable website with a nofollow tag can help your brand get noticed by new audiences. It shows your site is mentioned on trusted sources.
- Natural Backlink Profile: Having a mix of dofollow and nofollow backlinks makes your backlink profile look natural and diverse, which is what Google prefers.
- Helps with Indexing: Even though nofollow links don’t pass link juice, they can still help Google discover and crawl your website pages, especially when your site is linked in user-generated content or social media.
- Staying Safe: Using nofollow backlinks on paid links or untrusted content helps you avoid penalties from Google for violating their guidelines.
In 2025, nofollow links are not completely ignored by search engines. They are now treated as valuable hints for Google. Although nofollow links don’t boost rankings directly, they still add SEO value by improving brand presence, helping with site discovery, and creating a healthy backlink profile.
How Do You Check If a Link is Nofollow?
If you’re wondering why some backlinks have no follow, you might need to check if a link is nofollow. A nofollow link is one that has a special HTML tag that tells search engines not to pass SEO value or link juice. Knowing how to identify these links is crucial for managing your website’s backlink profile.
✅ Ways to Check If a Link is Nofollow:
Here are a few easy ways to check if a link is nofollow:
- Inspect the HTML Code:
- Right-click on the webpage and select “Inspect” or “View Page Source”.
- Look for the rel=”nofollow” attribute next to the link in the code.
- If you see this tag, the link is nofollow.
- Right-click on the webpage and select “Inspect” or “View Page Source”.
- Use Browser Extensions:
- Tools like NoFollow or SEOquake can show you which links are nofollow while browsing the page.
- These extensions highlight nofollow links so you can quickly spot them.
- Tools like NoFollow or SEOquake can show you which links are nofollow while browsing the page.
- Check Link Properties in Search Engines:
- Some SEO tools or plugins like Moz or Ahrefs will tell you whether a link is nofollow or dofollow.
- Simply enter the link into these tools to see its properties.
- Some SEO tools or plugins like Moz or Ahrefs will tell you whether a link is nofollow or dofollow.
Why Did Search Engines Create the Nofollow Tag?
Search engines, especially Google, introduced the nofollow tag to help control the quality of links and improve the way websites are ranked. So, why some backlinks have no follow is a result of this strategy to reduce spam and ensure fair search engine rankings.
✅ Reasons for Creating the Nofollow Tag:
- Combat Spam:
- In the early days of the web, people would spam links in comments, forums, and guestbooks to boost their SEO rankings. The nofollow tag helped prevent this kind of link manipulation by telling search engines not to count these links for ranking purposes.
- In the early days of the web, people would spam links in comments, forums, and guestbooks to boost their SEO rankings. The nofollow tag helped prevent this kind of link manipulation by telling search engines not to count these links for ranking purposes.
- Control Link Influence:
- Search engines wanted to prevent people from artificially increasing their SEO rankings by creating links on untrusted or irrelevant websites. The nofollow tag made it clear that some links should not pass SEO value (link juice) to avoid giving an unfair advantage.
- Search engines wanted to prevent people from artificially increasing their SEO rankings by creating links on untrusted or irrelevant websites. The nofollow tag made it clear that some links should not pass SEO value (link juice) to avoid giving an unfair advantage.
- Distinguishing Trusted Links:
- The nofollow link helps search engines distinguish between editorial links (which are more trustworthy) and links that are advertisement-based or user-generated. This helps maintain the integrity of search rankings by valuing editorial links higher.
- The nofollow link helps search engines distinguish between editorial links (which are more trustworthy) and links that are advertisement-based or user-generated. This helps maintain the integrity of search rankings by valuing editorial links higher.
- Provide Website Owners Control:
- The nofollow tag gives website owners control over their link-building strategies. For example, you can use nofollow on sponsored links or comments to avoid any penalties from Google for linking to low-quality or spammy sites.
- The nofollow tag gives website owners control over their link-building strategies. For example, you can use nofollow on sponsored links or comments to avoid any penalties from Google for linking to low-quality or spammy sites.
- Better Link Profiling:
- By introducing the nofollow tag, Google could create a more balanced and natural backlink profile. It ensures that websites don’t get penalized for linking to untrusted sites but also keeps the search engine results more reliable and fair.
- By introducing the nofollow tag, Google could create a more balanced and natural backlink profile. It ensures that websites don’t get penalized for linking to untrusted sites but also keeps the search engine results more reliable and fair.
What Types of Links Are Nofollow?
You may have wondered, why some backlinks have no follow—and the answer lies in the type of links they are. There are several types of nofollow links used in SEO, and understanding them helps you manage your website’s backlink profile.
✅ Types of Links That Are Nofollow:
- Paid Links:
- Links that are part of sponsored posts or advertisements are often nofollow. This is because paid links are meant to avoid passing SEO value in exchange for money, and Google doesn’t want people to rank higher by buying links.
- Links that are part of sponsored posts or advertisements are often nofollow. This is because paid links are meant to avoid passing SEO value in exchange for money, and Google doesn’t want people to rank higher by buying links.
- User-Generated Content (UGC):
- Links placed in user comments, forums, and message boards are typically nofollow. This is done to avoid spamming and to ensure that the site owner doesn’t get penalized for links that others place.
- Links placed in user comments, forums, and message boards are typically nofollow. This is done to avoid spamming and to ensure that the site owner doesn’t get penalized for links that others place.
- Paid Reviews:
- Links in reviews or endorsements for payment are also nofollow. If someone writes a review in exchange for a product or money, the link in the review usually has a nofollow tag.
- Links in reviews or endorsements for payment are also nofollow. If someone writes a review in exchange for a product or money, the link in the review usually has a nofollow tag.
- Social Media Links:
- Many social media platforms, like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, use nofollow for the links in posts. These links don’t pass SEO value, but they still bring in traffic and can help with brand awareness.
- Many social media platforms, like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, use nofollow for the links in posts. These links don’t pass SEO value, but they still bring in traffic and can help with brand awareness.
- Comment Links:
- When you leave a link in the comments section of a blog or article, it’s often nofollow to prevent people from spamming the comment section for SEO purposes.
- When you leave a link in the comments section of a blog or article, it’s often nofollow to prevent people from spamming the comment section for SEO purposes.
- Login Pages and Forms:
- Links within login pages, registration forms, or contact pages are often nofollow. These links are not meant to affect your website’s SEO rankings and are typically used for user navigation.
- Links within login pages, registration forms, or contact pages are often nofollow. These links are not meant to affect your website’s SEO rankings and are typically used for user navigation.
- Wiki Links:
- Some wikis, such as Wikipedia, automatically apply the nofollow attribute to links. These links do not pass link juice to avoid manipulation.
What Are the Benefits of Nofollow Links?
You may be wondering, why some backlinks have no follow, and whether they bring any SEO value. Even though nofollow backlinks don’t directly impact your search engine rankings, they still offer several important benefits for your website and overall SEO strategy.
✅ Benefits of Nofollow Links:
- Helps Maintain a Natural Backlink Profile:
- A natural backlink profile includes a mix of dofollow and nofollow links. Google looks for diversity in links to avoid penalties. Using nofollow links helps prevent over-optimization and shows that your site is not trying to manipulate rankings.
- A natural backlink profile includes a mix of dofollow and nofollow links. Google looks for diversity in links to avoid penalties. Using nofollow links helps prevent over-optimization and shows that your site is not trying to manipulate rankings.
- Prevents Penalties for Paid Links:
- If you’re linking to sponsored content or advertisements, the nofollow tag ensures Google doesn’t treat these links as a form of manipulation. This helps protect your website from potential Google penalties for violating link-building guidelines.
- If you’re linking to sponsored content or advertisements, the nofollow tag ensures Google doesn’t treat these links as a form of manipulation. This helps protect your website from potential Google penalties for violating link-building guidelines.
- Can Drive Targeted Traffic:
- Even though nofollow backlinks don’t pass link juice or directly impact rankings, they can still drive real, targeted traffic to your website. For example, if you get a nofollow link from a popular blog or social media platform, it can bring new visitors to your site.
- Even though nofollow backlinks don’t pass link juice or directly impact rankings, they can still drive real, targeted traffic to your website. For example, if you get a nofollow link from a popular blog or social media platform, it can bring new visitors to your site.
- Helps with Site Discovery and Crawling:
- Google uses nofollow links to discover new pages on your website, especially when they are placed on user-generated content like forums or social media. This can help improve your website’s overall visibility in search engines.
- Google uses nofollow links to discover new pages on your website, especially when they are placed on user-generated content like forums or social media. This can help improve your website’s overall visibility in search engines.
- Builds Brand Awareness and Reputation:
- Getting a nofollow link from a high-authority site increases brand awareness. Even if these links don’t directly improve rankings, they can still build trust and credibility for your website among users.
- Getting a nofollow link from a high-authority site increases brand awareness. Even if these links don’t directly improve rankings, they can still build trust and credibility for your website among users.
- Keeps Your Site Safe from Spam:
- Nofollow backlinks are great for user-generated content like comments or forums. They help you avoid the risk of spammy links that could damage your website’s reputation or lead to penalties from Google.
- Nofollow backlinks are great for user-generated content like comments or forums. They help you avoid the risk of spammy links that could damage your website’s reputation or lead to penalties from Google.
- Diversifies Your Link Profile:
- A varied link profile, with both nofollow and dofollow links, helps prevent any suspicion of manipulation. Google appreciates a natural approach to link-building, and nofollow backlinks are part of that strategy.
What’s the Difference Between Nofollow and Noindex?
If you’re diving into the world of SEO, you’ve likely come across the terms nofollow and noindex. Though they might sound similar, they have different purposes and impacts on your website’s SEO strategy. Understanding the difference is crucial for managing your site’s backlink profile and ensuring proper search engine visibility.
✅ What is Nofollow?
The nofollow tag is used to tell search engines not to follow a specific link. It essentially prevents the search engine from passing link juice or SEO value from one page to another. This is useful when you want to link to a page but don’t want to give it any ranking power.
- Purpose of Nofollow: Stops search engines from passing SEO value to the linked page.
- Use Cases: Paid links, user-generated content (like blog comments), and links you don’t fully trust.
✅ What is Noindex?
The noindex tag is used to tell search engines not to index a page in their search results. When a page is noindexed, search engines like Google will crawl the page but won’t include it in their search results. This helps you keep certain pages off Google’s index, even though they can still be crawled.
- Purpose of Noindex: Prevents a page from appearing in search results.
- Use Cases: Private pages, duplicate content, or pages that don’t need to rank.
✅ Key Differences Between Nofollow and Noindex:
| Feature | Nofollow | Noindex |
| Purpose | Prevents search engines from passing link juice | Prevents the page from being included in search results |
| Effect on Rankings | Doesn’t affect rankings, only link value | Affects rankings by removing the page from search results |
| Use Case | Paid links, user-generated content, low-trust links | Private pages, duplicate content, low-priority pages |
| Search Engine Crawling | Link is still crawled, but no SEO value passed | Page is still crawled but not indexed or shown in search results |
How Do I Use Nofollow Links on My Site?
If you’re wondering why some backlinks have no follow, it’s likely because nofollow links are an essential part of SEO strategy. These links don’t pass SEO value (or “link juice”) to the destination, but they can still be useful for various reasons. Here’s how you can use nofollow links effectively on your site.
✅ 1. Use Nofollow for Paid Links
When you use paid links in advertisements, sponsored content, or affiliate marketing, it’s important to add the nofollow tag. This ensures that Google and other search engines won’t treat these paid links as part of your SEO strategy, avoiding potential penalties for link manipulation.
- Example: If you’re running ads or promoting affiliate products, make sure the links to these sites are nofollow.
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<a href=”https://example.com” rel=”nofollow”>Buy Now</a>
✅ 2. Apply Nofollow to User-Generated Content (UGC)
Many websites allow users to post content like comments, forums, or reviews. However, links in UGC could be spammy or irrelevant, which is why they are often given the nofollow tag. This helps you avoid unwanted links affecting your SEO rankings.
- Example: If a user comments with a link to an external website, you can add the nofollow attribute to the link to prevent it from affecting your rankings.
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<a href=”https://spammywebsite.com” rel=”nofollow”>Check out this site!</a>
✅ 3. Use Nofollow for Low-Trust or Uncertain Links
Sometimes, you might want to link to a site but don’t fully trust it, or it’s not relevant to your audience. In such cases, using nofollow helps you avoid giving any SEO value to the linked page.
- Example: If you’re linking to a source you’re unsure about or don’t want to promote, use the nofollow tag to keep your rankings safe.
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<a href=”https://example.com” rel=”nofollow”>Visit this website</a>
✅ 4. Apply Nofollow to Paid Reviews
If you’re working with influencers or other partners who create sponsored reviews, any link included in those reviews should be nofollow to prevent manipulating your site’s link profile.
- Example: Influencers or partners might add links to your product in their review, and these links should be nofollow.
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<a href=”https://yourproduct.com” rel=”nofollow”>Read our review!</a>
✅ 5. Prevent SEO Risks with Nofollow Links
By using nofollow links strategically, you reduce the risk of having low-quality or spammy links on your website, which could harm your SEO and Google rankings.
✅ How to Add Nofollow Links:
To add a nofollow link to your site, simply include the rel=”nofollow” attribute in your anchor (<a>) tag like this:
html
<a href=”https://example.com” rel=”nofollow”>Link Text</a>
You can use this method for external links, comments, forums, and any other links you want to mark as nofollow.
Best Practices for Using Nofollow Links
✅ Identifying Low-Quality or Spammy Websites
- Nofollow links should be used for websites you consider low-quality or spammy. If a website doesn’t seem trustworthy or is filled with irrelevant or harmful content, it’s best to add the nofollow tag to any links pointing to it.
✅ Paid Links
- When linking to sponsored content, ads, or affiliate marketing, always use nofollow. This ensures that search engines don’t treat these as part of your natural link-building strategy, protecting your site from penalties for manipulative linking.
✅ User-Generated Content
- Nofollow is essential for links in user-generated content (UGC), such as comments, forums, or reviews. This prevents spammy or irrelevant links from affecting your SEO rankings while still allowing users to share links.
Common Misconceptions About Nofollow Links
| Misconception | Explanation |
| Nofollow links have no SEO value | Nofollow links don’t pass link juice, but they can still drive traffic and help with brand awareness. |
| Nofollow links don’t affect SEO at all | While they don’t impact rankings directly, nofollow links help maintain a natural backlink profile. |
| Nofollow links are useless | Nofollow links can still contribute to site discovery and traffic, especially from high-authority sources. |
| Nofollow links should be avoided | Using nofollow strategically (for paid links, UGC, or low-quality sites) helps protect your site. |
| Nofollow links are a sign of poor SEO | A mix of nofollow and dofollow links is normal and helps avoid penalties for over-optimization. |
| Google ignores nofollow links entirely | Google uses nofollow links for discovery, even though it doesn’t pass ranking value. |
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Do nofollow links affect my website’s rankings?
No, nofollow links don’t directly influence your rankings, as they don’t pass SEO value or “link juice.” However, they can help maintain a natural backlink profile and prevent penalties for manipulative link building.
2. Are nofollow links completely useless for SEO?
No, nofollow links are not useless. While they don’t pass ranking power, they can still drive traffic, contribute to brand visibility, and help with site discovery by search engines.
3. Should I use nofollow links for all external links?
No, use nofollow for specific links, like paid links, user-generated content, and low-trust sites. For natural and relevant links, it’s better to use dofollow to pass SEO value.
4. Can nofollow links help with site discovery by Google?
Yes, Google still crawls and discovers pages linked with the nofollow tag. Even though the link doesn’t pass SEO value, it can help search engines find new pages on your site.
5. How do I add a nofollow link to my website?
To add a nofollow link, simply include the rel=”nofollow” attribute in your anchor tag. For example: <a href=”https://example.com” rel=”nofollow”>Link Text</a>.
Conclusion
Nofollow links play a key role in maintaining a natural backlink profile and protecting your site from penalties. While they don’t pass SEO value, they can still contribute to site discovery and brand visibility. Understanding when and how to use nofollow links, especially for low-quality sites, paid links, and user-generated content, can help optimize your site’s overall SEO strategy and avoid common pitfalls.
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