Do-Follow Links vs No-Follow Links

What a do-follow backlink is and its difference from a no-follow backlink. Of course, if you know a little bit about SEO, you’re already aware that search engines, especially Google, consider the quality and quantity of backlinks to determine where your search results lie. Do-follow and no-follow backlinks are two of the types of links out there, but they tell search engines two different things and each has a very different impact on SEO. 

So, what’s the difference between do-follow and no-follow links, and how can you be sure you’re using do-follow and no-follow links properly on your website? I will answer all of these questions and explain exactly how to create do-follow backlinks for your website and where to find good sources for them on the internet about SEO. 

What Is A Do-follow Backlink?

It works well. A dofollow link is a link that points back to your website or blog for Google and other search engines to crawl. When we talk about acquiring backlinks to help improve your website’s domain authority and PageRank, we usually mean do-follow backlinks. Think of it like the thumbs-up button or a website that’s telling search engines, “Hey, this is a good site, and you should send more people here.”

Also, strictly speaking, a do-follow link isn’t really a thing. Do-follow is simply when another website links to yours with a standard (aka do-follow) link. 

The image you see here is an example of a normal do-follow link in an article about easy ways to get backlinks. Here’s what the code looks like behind the scenes:

<a href=”https://example.com”>Visit Example</a>

The more high-quality do-follow links you can get for your website, the more trust and authority search engines will give to your site to help you rank higher for your content and target keywords. If you use WordPress you can use rankmath plugin to control your internal and external links on your site.

What About No-follow Backlinks?

They’re different. Unlike do-follows, a Nofollow backlinks doesn’t really pass any authority onto the website it’s linking out to. If you get nofollow links, chances are it may not improve your rankings or transfer any PageRank. As such, Nofollow backlinks have limited value from an SEO point of view. You should only really use them when you don’t want to pass link juice from the link site. Ideal ratio for a healthy backlink profile has 70-90% dofollow links and 10-30% no-follow links.

This is usually when the content you’re linking to is untrusted, sponsored, user-generated, or sometimes paid for. For example, if you let people post links in comments to all sorts of shady sites, your website will pass along PageRank and link juice.  even though you won’t get link juice. But, you get referral traffic. This is basically you vouching for a spammy website whenever someone posts a link there. You don’t want to do that, so no-follow these links.

Also, you should perform a link audit every year or so to see whether you’ve linked to a site that you don’t want to be associated with—perhaps something scammy or some sort of hack or scandal. But for one reason or another, you still need the site for reference. So, keep the link as no-follow to show Google that you don’t endorse that site.

To the average website user, do-follow and no-follow links look exactly the same. However, no-follow links include a small piece of code called an attribute that lets search engine bots know not to follow the link. If you want to check whether a link is a dofollow link or a nofollow link, all you need to do is inspect the link in your browser and check the HTML code.

<a href=”https://example.com” rel=”nofollow”>Visit Example</a>

To do that, right-click on the link in the browser and select Inspect. This will bring up the HTML code associated with the link. If you see rel=”nofollow”, then the link is a no-follow link. If you do not see rel=”nofollow”, then the link is a do-follow link. As simple as that.

How Do You Get Do-follow Backlinks?

Okay, so we’ve taken a look at what do-follow backlinks are and how they are different from no-follow backlinks, but now let’s look at the various strategies you can use to get do-follow backlinks. Like guest blogging, forum posts, Etc.. In fact  65% of marketers say that link building is the most challenging SEO task. The first option is guest posts, so the most common way to create…

Guest Posts

Do-follow backlinks are to write a guest post for a website that uses do-follow links in their content. 57% of marketers are still figuring out how to create the right content. You can secure guest post opportunities by browsing blogs within your niche and reaching out to each website. This is not so straightforward, however, since most website owners are reluctant to link to anyone for free these days. Most of them will require some sort of monetary compensation, and the cost of this service can typically range from as low as $10 all the way up to thousands of dollars for premium backlinks.

Now, buying do-follow backlinks is a risky business, and you need to properly analyze every link in order to get high-quality backlinks and filter out the ones you actually need a link from. That’s why I recommend going with a link-building agency to build links for you because it will save you time, and you get the expertise. But Google’s Webmaster Guidelines, any links that you pay that must ( “rel=sponsored” attribute). 

Unlinked Business Mentions

Create do-follow backlinks by turning existing business mentions into high-quality external links that pass link juice value for Search engine rankings. There are two ways to do this. Firstly, you can search for your brand or company name on Google to find a list of other websites that are mentioning your business, or you can set up a Google Alert to monitor the internet for your brand or company name and get an email each time Google detects that your website is being mentioned online.

Once you have a list of the sites that are mentioning your brand, check for unlinked mentions. After you identify unlinked mentions, you need to reach out to each website mentioning you and ask if they’ll add a do-follow link to your site.

Get Interviewed

Or a YouTube video or in a written publication will most likely deliver do-follow backlinks. The hosts and authors of this type of content understand the importance of SEO and link building and, therefore, will typically add a do-follow backlink to your site in exchange for being interviewed as an expert in your field. 

Links Outreach

You need to reach out to people and ask for a link to your site. It’s not an easy process because nobody links that easily to your site; mostly you get rejections. You need to maintain a good relationship with bloggers and influencers to get links. Or if you need to create very high-quality user-generated content with data, and insight that provides great value to people so, possibly you can get links. That will increase your search ranking as well. Haro outreach is one of the popular ways to get quality backlinks but now in 2024 they officially shut it down so no more haro. Learn more 

Do No-follow Links Hold Any SEO Value?

There are other indirect benefits they can bring. For example, no-follow links from high-authority sites can bring you traffic when people click through to your site. Personally, I wouldn’t turn down a no-follow link from a relevant idea website in my niche. That’s why we’re doing SEO in the first place to get the right eyeballs on your products or services.

No-follow links will also help you diversify your links to build a natural backlink profile. In fact, Google’s Penguin update recognized that it was suspicious for a website to have all do-follow links, especially if those links all had the same anchor text.

Conclusion

Acquiring high-value do-follow backlinks will help you get link juice to your site, but no-follow links can also bring in valuable traffic and engagement to your site too. Unless you’re an established brand, link building is something you will need to do continuously to ensure your site’s backlink profile is always optimized and healthy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do no-follow links pass link juice?
No, they do not pass link juice, but they are still valuable for your search rankings.

Do no-follow links help Search engine rankings?
Yes, you still get referral traffic that increases your site’s authority and helps achieve higher search engine rankings.

Are Medium links do-follow?
No, Medium does not provide do-follow links.