Nofollow Link
A nofollow link is a hyperlink that includes a specific HTML attribute, such as “rel=nofollow,” which tells search engines not to follow the link or pass any link juice to the linked page. This means that the linked page does not receive any SEO benefit from the link.
Importance in SEO
Nofollow links are important for SEO because they allow webmasters to indicate to search engines that certain links should not be considered for ranking purposes.
This can be useful for managing link equity and preventing spam or irrelevant links from influencing a site’s search rankings.
Example
A nofollow link to a comment on a blog post would prevent the commenter’s website from receiving any SEO benefit from the link.
Do
- Use nofollow links for user-generated content, such as comments and forum posts, to prevent link spam.
- Implement nofollow links on sponsored or paid content to comply with Google’s guidelines and prevent manipulation of search results.
- Include nofollow links for sites or pages that you do not wish to endorse from an SEO perspective.
Don’t
- Overuse nofollow links on your site, as they can signal to search engines that your site is not trustworthy or that you are trying to manipulate rankings.
- Use nofollow for every external link, as this can limit the value of your content and prevent natural link sharing.
- Rely solely on nofollow links to manage your site’s link profile; a balance of dofollow and nofollow links is typically more effective.