Nofollow Link
A nofollow link is a hyperlink with rel="nofollow" that tells search engines not to treat the link as an endorsement or to pass ranking credit to the destination page.
Start here
- Add nofollow to paid, UGC, or untrusted links.
- Check the HTML source, not just the visible page.
- Use
rel="sponsored"orrel="ugc"for more specific cases. - Don't ignore nofollow links — they still drive traffic and discovery.
- Google treats nofollow as a hint, not a strict directive since 2020.
I used to think nofollow links were worthless. Turns out, they're just different.
What I'd do first
- Add
rel="nofollow"to any link you don't want to endorse (e.g., paid/sponsored, user-generated comments, untrusted sources). - Check your HTML source — not just the visible page — to confirm the attribute is there.
- Don't use nofollow as a blanket for everything; use
rel="sponsored"orrel="ugc"when they fit better. - Remember: nofollow links still drive traffic and discovery, so don't ignore them entirely.
Plain-English take
A nofollow link is like a handshake where you say, "I'm not vouching for this person." The link still works — people can click it and land on the page — but search engines won't count it as a vote of confidence. Think of it as a neutral nod, not a thumbs-up.
When it actually matters
- Paid links: If you're running sponsored content or ads, use nofollow (or
rel="sponsored") to stay compliant with Google's guidelines. - User-generated content: Comments, forum posts, or any place where users can drop links — nofollow prevents spam from hurting your site.
- Untrusted sources: Linking to a site you're not sure about? Nofollow keeps you safe.
- Link building: You can still get referral traffic and brand exposure from nofollow links, even if they don't boost rankings directly.
What I got wrong
- "Nofollow links can't be crawled." Wrong. Google can still crawl and index the destination page; the attribute only affects how the link is evaluated for ranking.
- "Nofollow links have zero value." Nope. They drive traffic, build brand awareness, and can even lead to organic links later.
- "I can use nofollow for everything." Not ideal. Google introduced
rel="sponsored"andrel="ugc"for more specific cases — use them when they apply. - "I can check nofollow by looking at the page." You need to inspect the HTML source or use a browser extension to be sure.
Next step
Sources
Primary documentation is linked directly. Anything commercial is marked nofollow.
- Google Search Central — Primary source for Google's current guidance on nofollow, sponsored, and UGC link attributes.
- Google Search Central Blog — Explains Google's shift to treating nofollow as a hint and introducing sponsored/UGC.
- Google Search Central — Useful for distinguishing nofollow from noindex.
Notes from Callum Bennett.