Backlinks are a vital aspect of SEO. They are links from one website to another that pass “link juice,” positively impacting a site’s search engine ranking.
Nofollow links, on the other hand, do not pass link equity and have no direct effect on search rankings. Nofollow links are widely accepted, but the debate on whether or not they are effective remains open.
Link Building
As we all know, backlinks are a huge factor in search engine optimization. They can be compared to votes, and when you link to a page, it tells search engines that you vouch for its quality. However, not all links are created equal. Some are a lot more useful than others, especially the nofollow ones.
The nofollow attribute (rel= “nofollow”) is an HTML tag that prevents search engines from following a particular link and passing its PageRank. It was initially designed to combat blog comment spam, but it’s now a standard part of many websites’ linking strategies.
User-generated content: Websites that feature comments or forums use nofollow backlinks to avoid endorsing spammy or low-quality content. Sponsored links: To maintain control over the links in their ads or sponsorships, many companies use nofollow links. You can find nofollow links by inspecting the source code of a webpage and searching for the rel= “nofollow” attribute. You can also use tools like Moz to analyze a domain and find its backlink profile.
Social Media
Getting your website mentioned in significant publications can help increase your brand awareness and drive traffic. It’s important to note that most of these sites will use the nofollow attribute for external links. There may be better options, but it can still provide valuable exposure and diversify your link profile.
Nofollow links were first introduced in 2005 to combat blog comment spam. Back then, companies would leave their website URLs in comments on blogs and similar websites to improve their search engine ranking.
However, in a blog post, Google’s Matt Cutts clarified that nofollow links do not pass link equity and discouraged “link sculpting.” As of 2020, this is still Google’s official stance on nofollow links.
Article Marketing
Providing valuable content to others is an excellent way to attract credible leads and increase your brand’s reach. It’s also a great way to build trust and relationships with your audience. But if you want to maximize the impact of your content, you need to make it available in as many places as possible. This is where article marketing comes in.
In 2009, Matt Cutts clarified that Nofollow links did not pass link equity and were intended for use in “PageRank sculpting.” While the topic of Nofollow links has been resolved, Google’s recent algorithm update has reopened the debate.
Using tools like Ahrefs, you can search your competitors’ backlinks to find those with the rel= “nofollow” attribute and request that they be changed to Dofollow. However, this can be risky, as it may appear to be a black-hat strategy and could result in a Google penalty. For this reason, it’s essential to do your research and use trustworthy sources.
Off-Page Optimization
Backlinks are one of the most critical factors for a website’s search engine optimization (SEO) ranking. However, quality backlinks are challenging to come by. Besides, you must balance your follow and nofollow links to look natural and avoid Google penalties.
Nofollow backlinks can also help you generate more traffic. For example, getting a nofollow backlink from a high-quality publication like Forbes can drive lots of traffic to your site. Additionally, if the article mentions your brand name, it can boost your exposure and help you get more natural “follow” backlinks.
Some marketers believe that nofollow links don’t pass PageRank value, but that’s not necessarily true. If you build a good reputation with quality content and outreach, you’ll probably gain several nofollow backlinks over time. And even though they don’t pass link juice, nofollow links are still noticed by search crawlers and can add to your overall authority. A tool like Ahrefs can help you keep track of your nofollow links.
