What is Nofollow ? - SEOgroup can do

NoFollow is an attribute used in links on websites that tells search engines, such as Google, that the link should not be considered when assessing the value of a landing page. In the context of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), nofollow plays a key role in managing the value conveyed by links.

The rel=”nofollow” attribute

The rel="nofollow" attribute can be added to the <a> tag in HTML. This means that the site owner does not want search engines to treat the link as an element that affects the ranking of the target page. An example of the use of the nofollow attribute looks like this:

<a href="https://przykladowa-strona.pl" rel="nofollow">Link do przykładowej strony</a>

When to use noFollow?

Here are some cases where the use of nofollow is recommended:

Paid and sponsored links: If the links on your site are the result of a financial transaction or are sponsored, it is worth adding the nofollow attribute. Otherwise, it can lead to penalties from search engines for manipulating search results.
User-posted links: For links posted by users, e.g. in blog comments or forums, it is worth adding the nofollow attribute to avoid problems related to low-quality or spammy links.
Pages of questionable quality: If a link leads to a page of questionable quality or content, nofollow can prevent a negative impact on the SEO of your own website.

NoFollow and SEO

NoFollow can affect SEO both positively and negatively:

Positive impact on SEO: Using nofollow in appropriate situations can help maintain the quality of a website’s link profile and protect against unwanted consequences such as search engine penalties.
Negative impact on SEO: Overly restrictive use of nofollow can result in the value conveyed by links not being fully utilised, which can lead to a lower ranking in search results.

NoFollow versus other link attributes

It is worth noting that nofollow is not the only attribute that can be used in the context of links. Two other commonly used attributes are:

UGC (User Generated Content)

The attribute rel="ugc" is used to mark user-generated links such as comments, reviews or forum posts. Search engines treat these links as less valuable than those placed in content written by the site’s creators.

Dofollow

Although there is no formal designation of ‘dofollow’, the term is often used in an SEO context to describe links that do not have the nofollow attribute. DoFollow is the default link behaviour, meaning that search engines will take it into account when assessing the value of a landing page. It is worth comparing the two types of links to better understand their impact on SEO.

The rel="sponsored" attribute is used to indicate sponsored or paid links. This attribute allows you to clearly indicate that the link was added as a result of an advertising agreement or other type of collaboration.

Summary

NoFollow is an important element in managing your SEO strategy. Using the nofollow attribute in appropriate situations can help maintain the quality of a site’s link profile and protect against undesirable consequences. However, excessive use of nofollow can lead to a loss of value conveyed by links and limit the effectiveness of the SEO strategy. The key is to understand when and how to use the nofollow attribute in practice to achieve optimal results.

Back to glossary

Nofollow